1 There was a man of 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
also spoke it in my ears—behold, the silver
is with me. I took it.”
His mother said, “May the LORD bless
my son!”
3 He restored the eleven hundred pieces
of silver to his mother, then his mother
said, “I most certainly dedicate the silver
to the LORD from my hand for my son, to
make a carved image and a molten image.
Now therefore I will restore it to you.”
4 When he restored the money to his
mother, his mother took two hundred
pieces of silver, and gave them to a silversmith,
who made a carved image and a
molten image out of it. It was in the house
of Micah.
5 The man Micah had a house of gods,
and he made an ephod, and teraphim,† and
consecrated one of his sons, who became
his priest.
6 In those days there was no king in Israel.
Everyone did that which was right in
his own eyes.
7 There was a young man out of Bethlehem
Judah, of the family of Judah, who was
a Levite; and he lived there.
8 The man departed out of the city, out
of Bethlehem Judah, to live where he could
find a place, and he came to the hill country
of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he
travelled.
9 Micah said to him, “Where did you
come from?”
He said to him, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem
Judah, and I am looking for a place to
live.”
10 Micah said to him, “Dwell with me,
and be to me a father and a priest, and I will
give you ten pieces of silver per year, a suit
of clothing, and your food.” So the Levite
went in.
11 The Levite was content to dwell with
the man; and the young man was to him as
one of his sons.
12 Micah consecrated the Levite, and the
young man became his priest, and was in
the house of Micah.
13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the
LORD will do good to me, since I have a
Levite as my priest.”
