Judges 17
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Micah and the Levite
17 There was a man in the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. 2 He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse and even spoke it in my hearing—that silver is in my possession; I took it, but now I will return it to you.”[a] And his mother said, “May my son be blessed by the Lord!” 3 Then he returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I consecrate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make an idol of cast metal.”(A) 4 So when he returned the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into an idol of cast metal, and it was in the house of Micah. 5 This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and teraphim and installed one of his sons, who became his priest.(B) 6 In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.(C)
7 Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the clan of Judah. He was a Levite residing there.(D) 8 This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to live wherever he could find a place. He came to the house of Micah in the hill country of Ephraim to carry on his work.[b] 9 Micah said to him, “From where do you come?” He replied, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to live wherever I can find a place.” 10 Then Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a set of clothes, and your living.”[c](E) 11 The Levite agreed to stay with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12 So Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and was in the house of Micah.(F) 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me because the Levite has become my priest.”
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Judges 17
International Standard Version
Micah’s Descent into Idolatry
17 A man named Micah lived in the mountainous region[a] of the territory of[b] Ephraim. 2 He told his mother, “Do you remember[c] those 1,100 silver coins that were stolen from you and about which you uttered a curse when I could hear it? Well, I have the silver. I took it.”
So she replied, “May my son be blessed by the Lord.”
3 Her son gave back the 1,100 silver coins to his mother, and she said, “I’m totally giving this silver—from my hand to the Lord—so my son can make a carved image and a cast image. So I’m returning it to you.”
4 When he had returned the silver to his mother, his mother took 200 of the silver coins and handed them over to a silversmith. He crafted them into a carved image and into a cast image, and they were set up[d] in Micah’s house. 5 This man Micah had his own shrine,[e] had crafted his own ephod and some household idols,[f] and had installed one of his sons as a priest.
6 Back in those days, Israel didn’t yet have a king, so each person did whatever seemed right in his own opinion.
7 A young male descendant of Levi happened to be visiting there from Bethlehem in the territory of[g] Judah. 8 The man had left his city Bethlehem in Judah to live wherever he could. As he traveled along, he eventually arrived at Micah’s house in the mountainous region[h] of Ephraim, looking for work.
9 Micah asked him, “Where did you come from?”
He replied, “I’m a descendant of Levi from Bethlehem in Judah, and I’m going to stay temporarily wherever I can find a place.”[i]
10 So Micah replied, “Come live with me! You can be a spiritual father[j] to me, as well as a priest. I’ll pay you ten silver coins a year, plus a priestly uniform[k] and an income.” So the descendant of Levi moved in. 11 The descendant of Levi agreed to live with the man, and the young man became like one of the family.[l] 12 Micah set up the descendant of Levi in ministry, and the young man became his priest while he lived in Micah’s house. 13 As for Micah, he kept saying, “Now I know the Lord will make me rich, because I have a descendant of Levi for a priest!”
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- Judges 17:1 Or the hill country
- Judges 17:1 The Heb. lacks the territory of
- Judges 17:2 The Heb. lacks Do you remember
- Judges 17:4 The Heb. lacks set up
- Judges 17:5 Lit. own house of God
- Judges 17:5 Lit. and teraphim; i.e. images of pagan gods used in divination; and so throughout the book
- Judges 17:7 The Heb. lacks the territory of
- Judges 17:8 Or the hill country
- Judges 17:9 The Heb. lacks a place
- Judges 17:10 The Heb. lacks spiritual; cf. Judg 18:19
- Judges 17:10 Or a suit of clothes
- Judges 17:11 Lit. of his sons
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