Judges 17
New King James Version
Micah’s Idolatry
17 Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was (A)Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you (B)put a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took it.”
And his mother said, (C)“May you be blessed by the Lord, my son!” 3 So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son, to (D)make a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you.” 4 Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother (E)took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a molded image; and they were in the house of Micah.
5 The man Micah had a (F)shrine, and made an (G)ephod and (H)household[a] idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 (I)In those days there was no king in Israel; (J)everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
7 Now there was a young man from (K)Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and (L)was staying there. 8 The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. 9 And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?”
So he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay.”
10 Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, (M)and be a (N)father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in. 11 Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 So Micah (O)consecrated[b] the Levite, and the young man (P)became his priest, and lived in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since I have a Levite as (Q)priest!”
Footnotes
- Judges 17:5 Heb. teraphim
- Judges 17:12 Lit. filled the hand of
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
Habrit Hakhadasha/Haderekh “The Way” (Hebrew Living New Testament)
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.