Micah and the Levite

17 There was a man of ^(A)the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. ² 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, ^(B)“Blessed be my son by the Lord.” ³ 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 ^(C)a carved image and ^(D)a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.” ⁴ So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother ^(E)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. ⁵ And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made ^(F)an ephod and ^(G)household gods, and ^(H)ordained^[a] one of his sons, who became his priest. ^6 (I)In those days there was no king in Israel. ^(J)Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

⁷ Now there was a young man of ^(K)Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. ⁸ 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 ^(L)the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. ⁹ 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.” ¹⁰ And Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me ^(M)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. ¹¹ And the Levite ^(N)was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. ¹² And Micah ^(O)ordained the Levite, and the young man ^(P)became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. ¹³ Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.”

⁴⁴ “Our fathers had ^(A)the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses ^(B)directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. ⁴⁵ Our fathers in turn ^(C)brought it in with Joshua when they ^(D)dispossessed the nations ^(E)that God drove out before our fathers. So it was ^(F)until the days of David, ^46 (G)who found favor in the sight of God and ^(H)asked to find a dwelling place for ^(I)the God of Jacob.^{[a] 47} But it was ^(J)Solomon who built a house for him. ^48 (K)Yet the Most High does not dwell ^(L)in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

^51 (O)“You stiff-necked people, ^(P)uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. ^(Q)As your fathers did, so do you. ^52 (R)Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of ^(S)the Righteous One, ^(T)whom you have now betrayed and murdered, ⁵³ you who received the law ^(U)as delivered by angels and ^(V)did not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

⁵⁴ Now when they heard these things ^(W)they were enraged, and they ^(X)ground their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But he, ^(Y)full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw ^(Z)the glory of God, and Jesus standing ^(AA)at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ And he said, “Behold, I see ^(AB)the heavens opened, and ^(AC)the Son of Man standing ^(AD)at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together^[b] at him. ⁵⁸ Then ^(AE)they cast him out of the city and ^(AF)stoned him. And ^(AG)the witnesses laid down their garments ^(AH)at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ And as they were stoning Stephen, ^(AI)he called out, “Lord Jesus, ^(AJ)receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ And ^(AK)falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ^(AL)“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, ^(AM)he fell asleep.

Saul Ravages the Church

8 And ^(AN)Saul ^(AO)approved of his execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and ^(AP)they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

The Authority of the Son

¹⁹ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(A)the Son ^(B)can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father^[a] does, that the Son does likewise. ²⁰ For ^(C)the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And ^(D)greater works than these will he show him, so that ^(E)you may marvel. ²¹ For as the Father ^(F)raises the dead and ^(G)gives them life, so ^(H)also the Son gives life ^(I)to whom he will. ^22 (J)For the Father judges no one, but ^(K)has given all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all may honor the Son, just as they ^(L)honor the Father. ^(M)Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(N)whoever hears my word and ^(O)believes him who sent me has eternal life. He ^(P)does not come into judgment, but ^(Q)has passed from death to life.

²⁵ “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(R)an hour is coming, and is now here, when ^(S)the dead will hear ^(T)the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear ^(U)will live. ^26 (V)For as the Father has life in himself, ^(W)so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he ^(X)has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Do not marvel at this, for ^(Y)an hour is coming when ^(Z)all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out, ^(AA)those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.