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 place a curse on—here’s the silver. I took it.”

Then his mother said, “My son, may you be 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 and a silver idol.^[a] I will give it back to you.” 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 and a silver idol, 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 seemed right to him.

⁷ There was a young man, a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who was staying within the clan of Judah.^{(E) 8} The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to stay 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 stay wherever I can find a place.”

¹⁰ Micah replied,^[b] “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.”

Dan’s Invasion and Idolatry

18 In those days, there was no king in Israel,^(H) and the Danite tribe was looking for territory to occupy.^(I) Up to that time no territory had been captured by them among the tribes of Israel. ² So the Danites sent out five brave men^(J) from all their clans, from Zorah and Eshtaol,^(K) to scout^(L) out the land and explore it. They told them, “Go and explore the land.”

They came to the hill country of Ephraim as far as the home of Micah and spent the night there. ³ While they were near Micah’s home, they recognized the accent of the young Levite. So they went over to him and asked, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is keeping you here?”

⁴ He told them, “This is what Micah has done for me: He has hired me, and I became his priest.”

⁵ Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God^(M) for us to determine if we will have a successful journey.”

⁶ The priest told them, “Go in peace. The Lord is watching over the journey you are going on.”

⁷ The five men left and came to Laish. They saw that the people who were there were living securely, in the same way as the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking^[c] in the land and no oppressive ruler. They were far from the Sidonians, having no alliance with anyone.^[d]

⁸ When the men went back to their relatives at Zorah and Eshtaol,^(N) their relatives asked them, “What did you find out?”

⁹ They answered, “Come on, let’s attack them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why wait? Don’t hesitate to go and invade and take possession of the land! ¹⁰ When you get there, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a spacious land, for God has handed it over to you. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking.”^{(O) 11} Six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol armed with weapons of war. ¹² They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim^(P) in Judah. This is why the place is still called the Camp of Dan^[e] today; it is west of Kiriath-jearim. ¹³ From there they traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and arrived at Micah’s house.

¹⁴ The five men who had gone to scout out the land of Laish told their brothers, “Did you know that there are an ephod, household gods, and a carved image and a silver idol^[f] in these houses? Now think about what you should do.” ¹⁵ So they detoured there and went to the house of the young Levite at the home of Micah and greeted him. ¹⁶ The six hundred Danite men were standing by the entrance of the city gate, armed with their weapons of war. ¹⁷ Then the five men who had gone to scout out the land went in and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the silver idol,^[g] while the priest was standing by the entrance of the city gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war.

¹⁸ When they entered Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the silver idol, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹ They told him, “Be quiet. Keep your mouth shut.^[h](Q) Come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one person or for you to be a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?” ²⁰ So the priest was pleased and took the ephod, household idols, and carved image, and went with the people. ²¹ They prepared to leave, putting their dependents, livestock, and possessions in front of them.

²² After they were some distance from Micah’s house, the men who were in the houses near it were mustered and caught up with the Danites. ²³ They called to the Danites, who turned to face them, and said to Micah, “What’s the matter with you that you mustered the men?”

²⁴ He said, “You took the gods I had made and the priest, and went away. What do I have left? How can you say to me, ‘What’s the matter with you?’”

²⁵ The Danites said to him, “Don’t raise your voice against us, or angry men will attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.” ²⁶ The Danites went on their way, and Micah turned to go back home, because he saw that they were stronger than he was.

²⁷ After they had taken the gods Micah had made and the priest that belonged to him, they went to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people. They killed them with their swords and burned the city.^{(R) 28} There was no one to rescue them^(S) because it was far from Sidon and they had no alliance with anyone. It was in a valley that belonged to Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city and lived in it. ²⁹ They named the city Dan, after the name of their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel. The city was formerly named Laish.

³⁰ The Danites set up the carved image for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses,^[i] and his sons were priests for the Danite tribe until the time of the exile from the land.^{(T) 31} So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image that he had made, and it was there as long as the house of God was in Shiloh.^(U)

Beware of Religious Hypocrisy

12 Meanwhile, a crowd of many thousands came together, so that they were trampling^(A) on one another. He began to say to his disciples first,^(B) “Be on your guard^(C) against the leaven^[a](D) of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.^{(E) 2} There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered,^(F) nothing hidden that won’t be made known.^{(G) 3} Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms^(H) will be proclaimed on the housetops.^(I)

Fear God

⁴ “I say to you, my friends,^(J) don’t fear^(K) those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. ⁵ But I will show you the one to fear: Fear^(L) him who has authority to throw people into hell^(M) after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the one to fear! ⁶ Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies?^[b] Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight.^{(N) 7} Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Acknowledging Christ

⁸ “And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges^(O) me before others, the Son of Man^(P) will also acknowledge him before the angels of God,^{(Q) 9} but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.^{(R) 10} Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,^(S) but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit^(T) will not be forgiven. ¹¹ Whenever^(U) they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities,^(V) don’t worry^(W) about how you should defend^(X) yourselves or what you should say. ¹² For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.”^(Y)

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³ Someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher,^(Z) tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴ “Friend,”^[c] he said to him, “who appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard^(AA) against all greed,^(AB) because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.”^(AC)

¹⁶ Then he told them a parable:^(AD) “A rich^(AE) man’s land was very productive. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? ¹⁸ I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. ¹⁹ Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy;^(AF) eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’^(AG)

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool!^(AH) This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’^(AI)

²¹ “That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure^(AJ) for himself and is not rich toward God.”^(AK)