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.

18 In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.

² And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

³ When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here?

⁴ And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest.

⁵ And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.

⁶ And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the Lord is your way wherein ye go.

⁷ Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man.

⁸ And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye?

⁹ And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.

¹⁰ When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth.

¹¹ And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.

¹² And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim.

¹³ And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.

¹⁴ Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do.

¹⁵ And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him.

¹⁶ And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.

¹⁷ And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.

¹⁸ And these went into Micah's house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye?

¹⁹ And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?

²⁰ And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

²¹ So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them.

²² And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.

²³ And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?

²⁴ And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee?

²⁵ And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.

²⁶ And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.

²⁷ And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.

²⁸ And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein.

²⁹ And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.

³⁰ And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

³¹ And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

89 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

² For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.

³ I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,

⁴ Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

⁵ And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.

⁶ For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?

⁷ God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

⁸ O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

⁹ Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.

¹⁰ Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.

¹¹ The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.

¹² The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.

¹³ Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.

¹⁴ Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

¹⁵ Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.

¹⁶ In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

¹⁷ For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.

¹⁸ For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.

¹⁹ Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.

²⁰ I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:

²¹ With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.

²² The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

²³ And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.

²⁴ But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

²⁵ I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.

²⁶ He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

²⁷ Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.

²⁸ My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.

²⁹ His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

³⁰ If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;

³¹ If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;

³² Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

³³ Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

³⁴ My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

³⁵ Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.

³⁶ His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

³⁷ It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

³⁸ But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.

³⁹ Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.

⁴⁰ Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin.

⁴¹ All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.

⁴² Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.

⁴³ Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle.

⁴⁴ Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.

⁴⁵ The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.

⁴⁶ How long, Lord? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?

⁴⁷ Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?

⁴⁸ What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.

⁴⁹ Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?

⁵⁰ Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;

⁵¹ Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.

⁵² Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and Amen.

3 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?

² Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:

³ Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

⁴ And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:

⁵ Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

⁶ Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

⁷ But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:

⁸ How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?

⁹ For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

¹⁰ For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

¹¹ For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

¹² Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:

¹³ And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:

¹⁴ But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.

¹⁵ But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

¹⁶ Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.

¹⁷ Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

¹⁸ But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.