Judges 17

1 There was a man named Micah who lived in the hilly area where the tribe of Ephraim live.

There was a man in the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Micah.

2 One day he said to his mother, “I heard you curse whoever stole (1,100 pieces/28 pounds/13 kg.) of silver from your house. I am the one who took the silver, and I still have it.” His mother replied, “My son, I pray that Yahweh will bless you [for admitting that you took it].”

He said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you spoke a curse, and which I heard—look here! I have the silver with me. I stole it.” His mother said, “May Yahweh bless you, my son!”

3 Micah gave all the silver back to his mother. Then she said [to herself], “I will give [some of] this silver to Yahweh.” And she said to her son, “My son, I want you to make an idol and a statue [from this silver]. So I will give [some of] this silver back to you [for making these things].”

He restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother and his mother said, “I set apart this silver to Yahweh, for my son to make carved and cast metal figures. So now, I restore it to you.”

4 So when he gave all the silver to his mother, she took (200 pieces/about 5 pounds/1.6 kg.) of it to a (silversmith/man who made things from silver). With the silver that man made an idol and a statue, [and gave them to Micah]. Micah put them in his house.

When he restored the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to a metal worker who made them into carved and cast metal figures, and they were placed in the house of Micah.

5 He had in his house a special (shrine/place for putting sacred things). He made a sacred vest and some small idols [and put them in this shrine along with the big idol and the statue]. Then Micah chose one of his sons to become his priest.

The man Micah had a house of idols and he made an ephod and household gods, and he hired one of his sons to become his priest.

6 At that time, the Israeli people did not have a king. So [Micah and everyone else] did whatever they considered to be the right thing to do.

In those days there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

7 There was a young man who had been living in Bethlehem in the area where the tribe of Judah lives. He [wanted to work as a priest because he] was a member of the tribe of Levi.

Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the clan of Judah, who was a Levite. He stayed there to fulfill his duties.

8 So he left Bethlehem to find another place to live [and work]. He came to Micah’s house in the hilly area where the tribe of Ephraim live.

The man left Bethlehem in Judah to go and find a place to live. As he journeyed, he came to Micah's house in the hill country of Ephraim.

9 Micah asked him, “Where are you from?” He replied, “I come from Bethlehem. I am from the tribe of Levi, and I am looking for a place to live [and work as a priest].”

Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” The man said to him, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am traveling to find a place where I might live.”

10 Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and you can become like a father [to counsel me], and be my priest. Each year I will give to you ten pieces of silver and some [new] clothes. And I will provide food for you.”

Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a suit of clothes, and your food.” So the Levite went into his house.

11 So the young man agreed to live with Micah. He became like one of Micah’s own sons.

The Levite was content to live with the man, and the young man became to Micah like one of his sons.

12 Micah appointed him to be a priest, and he lived in Micah’s house.

Micah set apart the Levite for sacred duties, and the young man became his priest, and was in Micah's house.

13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that Yahweh will do good things for me, because I have a man from the tribe of Levi to be my priest.”

Then Micah said, “Now I know that Yahweh will do good for me, because this Levite has become my priest.”