World English Bible

Chapter 17

¹There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. ²He said to his mother, The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you did utter a curse, and did also speak it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. His mother said, Blessed be my son of Yahweh. ³He restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said, I most assuredly dedicate the silver to Yahweh from my hand for my son, to make an engraved image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it to you. ⁴When he restored the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made of it an engraved image and a molten image: and it was in the house of Micah. ⁵The man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. ⁶In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. ⁷There was a young man out of Bethlehem Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he sojourned there. ⁸The man departed out of the city, out of Bethlehem Judah, to sojourn where he could find a place, and he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he traveled. ⁹Micah said to him, Whence come you? He said to him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem Judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place. ¹⁰Micah said to him, Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver by the year, and a suit of clothing, and your food. So the Levite went in. ¹¹The Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons. ¹²Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. ¹³Then said Micah, Now know I that Yahweh will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.