Judges
Chapter 17
1 A man from the hill country of Ephraim was named Micah.
2 He told his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were stolen from you, which you cursed and told me about, I have it; I took it.” His mother said, “You are blessed by God, my son.”
3 When he gave back the 1,100 silver coins to his mother, she said, “I fully devoted this silver to God for my son, to make a carved and cast statue; now I will give it back to you.”
4 He gave the money back to his mother, and she took two hundred silver coins to the craftsman. He made a carved and a metal idol, which were kept in Micah’s house.
5 Micah had a house with idols, made a special vest and household gods, and appointed one of his sons as his priest.
6 During that time, Israel had no king, and everyone did what they thought was right.
7 A young man from Bethlehem in Judah, from the tribe of Judah, who was a Levite, was staying there.
8 The man left the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. During his travels, he reached the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.
9 Micah asked him, “Where are you from?” He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am traveling to find a place to stay.”
10 Micah said to him, “Live with me, be my father and priest, and I’ll pay you ten pieces of silver a year, give you clothes, and provide your food.” So the Levite stayed.
11 The Levite agreed to live with the man, and the young man was like a son to him.
12 Micah made the Levite special, and the young man became his priest, living in Micah’s house.
13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that God will be good to me because I have a Levite as my priest.”