| NET Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1There was a man named Micah from the Ephraimite hill country. | 1A man named Micah lived in the mountainous region of the territory of Ephraim. |
| 2He said to his mother, "You know the eleven hundred pieces of silver which were stolen from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole it, but now I am giving it back to you." His mother said, "May the LORD reward you, my son!" | 2He told his mother, "Do you remember those 1,100 silver coins that were stolen from you and about which you uttered a curse when I could hear it? Well, I have the silver. I took it." So she replied, "May my son be blessed by the LORD." |
| 3When he gave back to his mother the eleven hundred pieces of silver, his mother said, "I solemnly dedicate this silver to the LORD. It will be for my son's benefit. We will use it to make a carved image and a metal image." | 3Her son gave back the 1,100 silver coins to his mother, and she said, "I'm totally giving this silver—from my hand to the LORD—so my son can make a carved image and a cast image. So I'm returning it to you." |
| 4When he gave the silver back to his mother, she took two hundred pieces of silver to a silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a metal image. She then put them in Micah's house. | 4When he had returned the silver to his mother, his mother took 200 of the silver coins and handed them over to a silversmith. He crafted them into a carved image and into a cast image, and they were set up in Micah's house. |
| 5Now this man Micah owned a shrine. He made an ephod and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest. | 5This man Micah had his own shrine, had crafted his own ephod and some household idols, and had installed one of his sons as a priest. |
| 6In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right. | 6Back in those days, Israel didn't yet have a king, so each person did whatever seemed right in his own opinion. |
| 7There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah. He was a Levite who had been temporarily residing among the tribe of Judah. | 7A young male descendant of Levi happened to be visiting there from Bethlehem in the territory of Judah. |
| 8This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah's house. | 8The man had left his city Bethlehem in Judah to live wherever he could. As he traveled along, he eventually arrived at Micah's house in the mountainous region of Ephraim, looking for work. |
| 9Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" He replied, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a new place to live." | 9Micah asked him, "Where did you come from?" He replied, "I'm a descendant of Levi from Bethlehem in Judah, and I'm going to stay temporarily wherever I can find a place." |
| 10Micah said to him, "Stay with me. Become my adviser and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food." | 10So Micah replied, "Come live with me! You can be a spiritual father to me, as well as a priest. I'll pay you ten silver coins a year, plus a priestly uniform and an income." So the descendant of Levi moved in. |
| 11So the Levite agreed to stay with the man; the young man was like a son to Micah. | 11The descendant of Levi agreed to live with the man, and the young man became like one of the family. |
| 12Micah paid the Levite; the young man became his priest and lived in Micah's house. | 12Micah set up the descendant of Levi in ministry, and the young man became his priest while he lived in Micah's house. |
| 13Micah said, "Now I know God will make me rich, because I have this Levite as my priest." | 13As for Micah, he kept saying, "Now I know the LORD will make me rich, because I have a descendant of Levi for a priest!" |
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