Judges 17
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Micah’s Priest
17 There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Micah. 2 He said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver taken from you, and that I heard you utter a curse about—here, I have the silver with me. I took it. So now I return it to you.”[a]
Then his mother said, “My son, you are blessed by the Lord!”(A)
3 He returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I personally consecrate(B) the silver to the Lord for my son’s benefit to make a carved image overlaid with silver.”[b] 4 So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took five pounds of silver and gave it to a silversmith. He made it into a carved image overlaid with silver,[c] and it was in Micah’s house.
5 This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household idols,(C) and installed one of his sons to be his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel;(D) everyone did whatever he wanted.[d]
7 There was a young man, a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who resided within the clan of Judah.(E) 8 The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to settle wherever he could find a place. On his way he came to Micah’s home in the hill country of Ephraim.
9 “Where do you come from?” Micah asked him.
He answered him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I’m going to settle wherever I can find a place.”
10 Micah replied,[e] “Stay with me and be my father(F) and priest, and I will give you four ounces of silver a year, along with your clothing and provisions.” So the Levite went in 11 and agreed to stay with the man, and the young man became like one of his sons. 12 Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest(G) and lived in Micah’s house. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”
Footnotes
- Judges 17:2 MT places this sentence at the end of v. 3.
- Judges 17:3 Or image and a cast image
- Judges 17:4 Or image and a cast image
- Judges 17:6 Lit did what was right in his eyes
- Judges 17:10 Lit replied to him
Judges 17
International Standard Version
Micah’s Descent into Idolatry
17 A man named Micah lived in the mountainous region[a] of the territory of[b] Ephraim. 2 He told his mother, “Do you remember[c] those 1,100 silver coins that were stolen from you and about which you uttered a curse when I could hear it? Well, I have the silver. I took it.”
So she replied, “May my son be blessed by the Lord.”
3 Her son gave back the 1,100 silver coins to his mother, and she said, “I’m totally giving this silver—from my hand to the Lord—so my son can make a carved image and a cast image. So I’m returning it to you.”
4 When he had returned the silver to his mother, his mother took 200 of the silver coins and handed them over to a silversmith. He crafted them into a carved image and into a cast image, and they were set up[d] in Micah’s house. 5 This man Micah had his own shrine,[e] had crafted his own ephod and some household idols,[f] and had installed one of his sons as a priest.
6 Back in those days, Israel didn’t yet have a king, so each person did whatever seemed right in his own opinion.
7 A young male descendant of Levi happened to be visiting there from Bethlehem in the territory of[g] Judah. 8 The man had left his city Bethlehem in Judah to live wherever he could. As he traveled along, he eventually arrived at Micah’s house in the mountainous region[h] of Ephraim, looking for work.
9 Micah asked him, “Where did you come from?”
He replied, “I’m a descendant of Levi from Bethlehem in Judah, and I’m going to stay temporarily wherever I can find a place.”[i]
10 So Micah replied, “Come live with me! You can be a spiritual father[j] to me, as well as a priest. I’ll pay you ten silver coins a year, plus a priestly uniform[k] and an income.” So the descendant of Levi moved in. 11 The descendant of Levi agreed to live with the man, and the young man became like one of the family.[l] 12 Micah set up the descendant of Levi in ministry, and the young man became his priest while he lived in Micah’s house. 13 As for Micah, he kept saying, “Now I know the Lord will make me rich, because I have a descendant of Levi for a priest!”
Footnotes
- Judges 17:1 Or the hill country
- Judges 17:1 The Heb. lacks the territory of
- Judges 17:2 The Heb. lacks Do you remember
- Judges 17:4 The Heb. lacks set up
- Judges 17:5 Lit. own house of God
- Judges 17:5 Lit. and teraphim; i.e. images of pagan gods used in divination; and so throughout the book
- Judges 17:7 The Heb. lacks the territory of
- Judges 17:8 Or the hill country
- Judges 17:9 The Heb. lacks a place
- Judges 17:10 The Heb. lacks spiritual; cf. Judg 18:19
- Judges 17:10 Or a suit of clothes
- Judges 17:11 Lit. of his sons
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