Cross Reference Bible World English Bible < Chapter 16 | Judges index | Chapter 18 >

Judges 17

Of the money that Micah first stole, then restored, his mother makes images;

17:1 There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

17:2 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,

“Blessed be my son of Yahweh.”

17:3 He restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said,

“I most certainly dedicate the silver to Yahweh from my hand for my son, to make an engraved image and a molten image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.”

17:4 When he restored the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made of it an engraved image and a molten image: and it was in the house of Micah.

and the ornaments for them.

17:5 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.

17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

He hires a Levite to be his priest.

17:7 There was a young man out of Bethlehem Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he sojourned there.

17:8 The man departed out of the city, out of Bethlehem Judah, to sojourn where he could find a place, and he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he traveled.

17:9 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.”

17:10 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.

17:11 The Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons.

17:12 Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

17:13 Then said Micah,

“Now know I that Yahweh will do good to me, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.”

< Chapter 16 | Judges index | Chapter 18 >