Juges 17

Micah’s carved image

¹There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. ²He said to his mother, “You know the about 28 pounds of silver that was taken from you, and how you pronounced a curse over it, and I heard you say it? Look, I have the silver. I am the one who took it.” His mother said, “May the LORD bless my son!” ³When he gave the about 28 pounds of silver back to his mother, she said, “I solemnly dedicate this silver to the LORD from my own hand, for my son, to make a carved image and a cast idol. So now I will give it back to you.”^{a 4}So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took about 5 pounds of silver and gave it to a silversmith. He made it into a carved image and a cast idol, and it was kept in Micah’s house. ⁵Now this man Micah had a shrine. He made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest.^{b 6}In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what they thought was right.

A Levite becomes Micah’s priest

⁷There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the clan of Judah. He was a Levite and had been living there as an outsider. ⁸The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find somewhere else to live. As he traveled, he came to the hill country of Ephraim, to Micah’s house. ⁹Micah asked him, “Where have you come from?” He answered, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to settle wherever I can find a place.” ¹⁰Then Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be a father and a priest to me. I will give you about 4 ounces of silver a year, a set of clothes, and your food.” So the Levite went in.^{c 11}The Levite agreed to stay with the man, and the young man became like one of his own sons to him. ¹²So Micah ordained the Levite. The young man became his priest, living in Micah’s household. ¹³Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will treat me well, because I have a Levite as my priest.”