Micah’s Idolatry

17 Now there was a man of 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 hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the Lord.” ³ He then returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I wholly consecrate the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son ^(A)to make a carved image and a cast metal image; so now I will return ^[a]them to you.” ⁴ So when he returned the silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith, who made ^[b]them into a carved image and a cast metal image, and ^[c]they were in the house of Micah. ⁵ And the man Micah had a ^[d](B)shrine and he made an ^(C)ephod and ^[e](D)household idols, and ^[f]consecrated one of his sons, ^(E)so that he might become his priest. ⁶ In those days ^(F)there was no king in Israel; ^(G)everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Danites Seek Territory

18 ^(A)In those days there was no king of Israel; and ^(B)in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day ^[a]an inheritance had not ^[b]been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel.

A Levite’s Concubine Raped and Killed

19 Now it came about in those days, when ^(A)there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite ^[a]staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah.

Resolve to Punish the Guilty

20 Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one person to the Lord at ^(A)Mizpah. ² And the ^[a]leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot ^[b]soldiers ^(B)who drew the sword. ³ (Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wickedness take place?” ⁴ So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. ⁵ But the ^[c](C)citizens of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night, ^[d]threatening me. They intended to kill me; instead, they ^(D)raped my concubine so that she died. ⁶ And I ^(E)took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance; for ^(F)they have committed an outrageous sin and vile act in Israel. ⁷ Behold, all you sons of Israel, ^(G)give your ^[e]response and advice here.”

^25 (A)In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.