Chapter 17
- There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
- And he said to his mother, The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be my son by the Adonai.
- And he restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, I dedicate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.
- So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Micah.
- And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest.
- In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
- Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
- And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah.
- And Micah said to him, Where do you come from? And he said to him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place.
- And Micah said to him, Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living. And the Levite went in.
- And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons.
- And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
- Then Micah said, Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.