Judges 17:1-10 ▼

1 There was a man named Micah from the Ephraimite hill country.

2 He 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!|

3 When 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.|

4 When 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.

5 Now 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.

6 In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right.

7 There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah. He was a Levite who had been temporarily residing among the tribe of Judah.

8 This 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.

9 Micah 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.|

10 Micah 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.|