Judges 17
King James Version
17 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my son.
3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.
4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.
5 And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
7 And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
8 And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.
9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.
10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.
11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.
12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.
Judges 17
The Voice
17 A man named Micah lived in the hill country of Ephraim.
Micah (to his mother): 2 Do you remember those 1,100 pieces of silver that were stolen from you? I heard you curse the person who took them. Well, I have them. I took them, and now I want to return them to you.
Micah’s Mother: May my son be blessed by the Eternal!
3 He returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to her.
Micah’s Mother: I want to give this silver as a holy offering to the Eternal from me for my son to create an image in cast silver.
4 After Micah returned the silver, she took 200 of the coins returned by her son and gave them to the silversmith, who cast an idol that was kept in Micah’s house. 5 Micah had a shrine, and in his house he had a priestly vest used in seeking oracles and the images of household gods. He had set aside one of his sons to be his priest. 6 In those days of the judges, there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what seemed right in his own eyes.
7 Now in Bethlehem in Judah, there was a young man who was a Levite, from the tribe of priests, and he was sojourning among the clan of Judah. 8 He left Bethlehem in Judah to make his way as best he could. On his way, he arrived at Micah’s home in the hill country of Ephraim seeking work.
Micah: 9 Where are you from?
Levite: I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am traveling and looking for a place to live and work.
Micah: 10 You can stay here. Be a father and a priest to me; and I will give you 10 silver pieces a year, a set of clothes, and your room and board.
11 The Levite agreed to stay with Micah and came in to live with him like one of his sons. 12 So Micah installed the Levite as priest in his house.
Micah: 13 Now I know that the Eternal will look with favor on me, since I have invited this Levite to be my priest.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.