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Judges 17
1599 Geneva Bible
Judges 17
1599 Geneva Bible
17 3 Micah’s mother according to her vow, made her son two idols. 5 He made his son a Priest for his idols, 10 and after he hired a Levite.
1 There [a]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, for the which thou cursedst, and spakedst it, even in mine hearing, behold, the silver is with me, I took it. Then his mother said, Blessed be my son of the Lord.
3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had dedicate the silver to the Lord of mine hand for my son, to make [b]a graven and molten image. Now therefore I will give it thee again.
4 And when he had restored the money unto his mother, his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, which made thereof a graven and molten image, and it was in the house of Micah.
5 And this man Micah had an house of gods, and made an (A)[c]Ephod, and (B)[d]Teraphim, and [e]consecrated one of his sons, who was his Priest.
6 (C)In those days there was no [f]King in Israel, but every man did that which was good in his own eyes.
7 ¶ There was also a young man out of Bethlehem Judah, [g]of the family of Judah: who was a Levite, and sojourned there.
8 And the man departed out of the city, even out of Bethlehem Judah, to dwell where he could find a place: and as he journeyed, he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah.
9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And the Levite answered him, [h]I come from Bethlehem Judah, and go to dwell where I may find a place.
10 Then 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 year, and a suit of apparel, and thy meat and drink. So the Levite went in.
11 And the Levite was [i]content to dwell with the man, and the young man was unto him as one of his own sons.
12 And Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man was his Priest, and was in the house of Micah.
13 Then said Micah, Now I know that the Lord will be [j]good unto me, seeing I have a Levite to my Priest.
Footnotes
- Judges 17:1 Some think this history was in the time of Othniel, or as Josephus writeth, immediately after Joshua.
- Judges 17:3 Contrary to the commandment of God and true religion practiced under Joshua, they forsook the Lord and fell to idolatry.
- Judges 17:5 He would serve both God and Idols.
- Judges 17:5 By Teraphim some understand certain idols, having the likeness of a man, but others understand thereby all manner of things and instruments belonging unto those, who sought for any answer at God’s hands, as Judg. 18:5,6.
- Judges 17:5 Hebrew, filled the hand of one.
- Judges 17:6 For where there is no Magistrate fearing God, there can be no true religion or order.
- Judges 17:7 Which Bethlehem was in the tribe of Judah.
- Judges 17:9 For in those days the service of God was corrupt in all estates, and the Levites were not looked unto.
- Judges 17:11 Not considering that he forsook the true worshipping of God for to maintain his own belly.
- Judges 17:13 Thus the idolaters persuade themselves of God’s favor, when indeed he doth detest them.
Judges 17
English Standard Version
Judges 17
English Standard Version
Micah and the Levite
17 There was a man of (A)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 ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, (B)“Blessed be my son by the Lord.” 3 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.” 4 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. 5 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. 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 of (K)Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8 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. 9 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
- Judges 17:5 Hebrew filled the hand of; also verse 12
Judges 17
New International Version
Judges 17
New International Version
Micah’s Idols
17 Now a man named Micah(A) from the hill country of Ephraim 2 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!”
3 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.”
4 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.
5 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) 6 In those days Israel had no king;(J) everyone did as they saw fit.(K)
7 A young Levite(L) from Bethlehem in Judah,(M) who had been living within the clan of Judah, 8 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.
9 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
- Judges 17:2 That is, about 28 pounds or about 13 kilograms
- Judges 17:4 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
- Judges 17:8 Or To carry on his profession
- Judges 17:10 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.