米迦的神像

17 以法莲山区住了一个名叫米迦的人。 他对母亲说:“你那一千一百块银子丢了,我还听见你咒诅小偷。看啊,银子在我这里,是我拿去的。”他母亲说:“我儿啊,愿耶和华赐福给你!” 米迦把一千一百块银子还给母亲。他母亲说:“我要为你把这些银子献给耶和华,用来雕刻、铸造神像。现在这银子还是你的。” 米迦把银子还给母亲后,他母亲拿出二百块银子交给银匠雕刻、铸造神像,放在米迦的房子里。 米迦有一个神庙,他制造了一件以弗得和一些家庭神像,并指派他的一个儿子做祭司。 那时,以色列没有王,人人各行其是。

犹大的伯利恒住着一个年轻的利未人。 他离开伯利恒想到别的地方居住,一路走到以法莲山区米迦的家。 米迦问他:“你从哪里来?”他回答说:“我是从犹大 伯利恒来的利未人,我要找一个住的地方。” 10 米迦说:“你就住在我这里吧,做我的师父和祭司。我每年给你十块银子,还为你提供衣服和膳食。”利未人就进了米迦的家, 11 住了下来。米迦待他就像待自己的儿子一样。 12 这样,米迦派他做祭司,让他住在自己家里。 13 米迦说:“现在我有一个利未人做我的祭司,耶和华一定会赐福给我。”

Micah and the Levite

17 There was a man of (A)the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 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.” 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.” 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. 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. (I)In those days there was no king in Israel. (J)Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Now there was a young man of (K)Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 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. 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.”

Footnotes

  1. Judges 17:5 Hebrew filled the hand of; also verse 12

Micah’s Idols

17 Now a man named Micah(A) from the hill country of Ephraim said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels[a] of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have that silver with me; I took it.”

Then his mother said, “The Lord bless you,(B) my son!”

When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I solemnly consecrate my silver to the Lord for my son to make an image overlaid with silver.(C) I will give it back to you.”

So after he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred shekels[b] of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who used them to make the idol.(D) And it was put in Micah’s house.

Now this man Micah had a shrine,(E) and he made an ephod(F) and some household gods(G) and installed(H) one of his sons as his priest.(I) In those days Israel had no king;(J) everyone did as they saw fit.(K)

A young Levite(L) from Bethlehem in Judah,(M) who had been living within the clan of Judah, left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way[c] he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.

Micah asked him, “Where are you from?”

“I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,(N)” he said, “and I’m looking for a place to stay.”

10 Then Micah said to him, “Live with me and be my father(O) and priest,(P) and I’ll give you ten shekels[d] of silver a year, your clothes and your food.” 11 So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 Then Micah installed(Q) the Levite, and the young man became his priest(R) and lived in his house. 13 And Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.”(S)

Footnotes

  1. Judges 17:2 That is, about 28 pounds or about 13 kilograms
  2. Judges 17:4 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
  3. Judges 17:8 Or To carry on his profession
  4. Judges 17:10 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams

Micah Makes His Own Religion

17 There was a man named Micah from the Ephraimite hill country. He said to his mother, “You know[a] the 1,100 pieces of silver which were stolen[b] from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole[c] it, but now I am giving it back to you.”[d] His mother said, “May the Lord reward[e] you, my son!” When he gave back to his mother the 1,100 pieces of silver, his mother said, “I solemnly dedicate[f] this silver to the Lord. It will be for my son’s benefit. We will use it to make a carved image and a metal image.”[g] When he gave the silver back to his mother, she[h] took 200 pieces of silver[i] to a silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a metal image. She then put them in Micah’s house.[j] Now this man Micah owned a shrine.[k] He made an ephod[l] and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest.[m] In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right.[n]

Micah Hires a Professional

There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah. He was a Levite who had been temporarily residing among the tribe of Judah.[o] This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah’s house.[p] Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a new place to live.”[q] 10 Micah said to him, “Stay with me. Become my adviser[r] and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food.”[s] 11 So the Levite agreed to stay with the man; the young man was like a son to Micah.[t] 12 Micah paid[u] the Levite; the young man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house. 13 Micah said, “Now I know the Lord will make me rich,[v] because I have this Levite as my priest.”

Footnotes

  1. Judges 17:2 tn The words “You know” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  2. Judges 17:2 tn Heb “taken.”
  3. Judges 17:2 tn Heb “took.”
  4. Judges 17:2 tn In the Hebrew text the statement, “but now I am giving it back to you,” appears at the end of v. 3 and is spoken by the mother. But v. 4 indicates that she did not give the money back to her son. Unless the statement is spoken by the woman to the Lord, it appears to be misplaced and fits much better in v. 2. It may have been accidentally omitted from a manuscript, written in the margin, and then later inserted in the wrong place in another manuscript.
  5. Judges 17:2 tn Traditionally, “bless.”
  6. Judges 17:3 tn Heb “dedicating, I dedicate.” In this case the emphatic infinitive absolute lends a mood of solemnity to the statement.
  7. Judges 17:3 tn Heb “to the Lord from my hand for my son to make a carved image and cast metal image.” She cannot mean that she is now taking the money from her hand and giving it back to her son so he can make an image. Verses 4-6 indicate she took back the money and used a portion of it to hire a silversmith to make an idol for her son to use. The phrase “a carved image and cast metal image” is best taken as referring to two idols (see 18:17-18), even though the verb at the end of v. 4, וַיְהִי (vayehi, “and it was [in the house of Micah]”), is singular.
  8. Judges 17:4 tn Heb “his mother.” The pronoun (“she”) has been substituted for the noun (“mother”) in the translation because of English style.
  9. Judges 17:4 tn The Hebrew text has “and gave it.” The referent (the pieces of silver) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  10. Judges 17:4 tn Heb “and it was in Micah’s house.”
  11. Judges 17:5 tn Heb “house of God.”
  12. Judges 17:5 sn Here an ephod probably refers to a priestly garment (cf. Exod 28:4-6).
  13. Judges 17:5 tn Heb “and he filled the hand of one of his sons and he became his priest.”
  14. Judges 17:6 tn Heb “Each was doing what was right in his [own] eyes.”
  15. Judges 17:7 tn Heb “There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the tribe of Judah, and he was a Levite, and he was temporarily residing there.”
  16. Judges 17:8 tn Heb “He came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, making his way.”
  17. Judges 17:9 tn Heb “And I am going to reside in a place I can find.”
  18. Judges 17:10 tn Heb “father.” “Father” is here a title of honor that suggests the priest will give advice and protect the interests of the family, primarily by divining God’s will in matters, perhaps through the use of the ephod. (See R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 257; also Gen 45:8, where Joseph, who was a diviner and interpreter of dreams, is called Pharaoh’s “father,” and 2 Kgs 6:21; 13:14, where a prophet is referred to as a “father.” Note also 2 Kgs 8:9, where a king identifies himself as a prophet’s “son.” One of a prophet’s main functions was to communicate divine oracles. Cf. 2 Kgs 8:9ff.; 13:14-19).
  19. Judges 17:10 tn The Hebrew text expands with the phrase: “and the Levite went.” This only makes sense if taken with “to live” in the next verse. Apparently “the Levite went” and “the Levite agreed” are alternative readings which have been juxtaposed in the text.
  20. Judges 17:11 tn Heb “the young man became like one of his sons.”
  21. Judges 17:12 tn Heb “filled the hand of.”
  22. Judges 17:13 tn Heb “do good for me.”