| Chapter 17 |
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 did utter a curse, and did also speak it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. His mother said, Blessed be my son of Yahweh.
|
3 |
He restored the eleven hundred [pieces] of silver to his mother; and his mother said, I most assuredly 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.
|
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.
|
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: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
|
7 |
There was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he sojourned there.
|
8 |
The man departed out of the city, out of Beth-lehem-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 journeyed.
|
9 |
Micah said to him, Whence come you? He said to him, I am a Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find [a place].
|
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 by the year, and a suit of clothing, and your victuals. 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 said Micah, Now know I that Yahweh will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.
|