Judges 17

1And there was a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

1There was a man named Micah who lived in the hill country of Ephraim.

2And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou didst utter a curse, and didst also speak it in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be my son of Jehovah.

2He said to his mother, "You know those 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you? I heard you say a curse about them. Well, I have the money; I took it." His mother said, "May the LORD bless you, my son!"

3And he restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said, I verily dedicate the silver unto Jehovah from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.

3When he returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, she said, "I completely dedicate this silver to the LORD for my son’s benefit, to make a carved image and a metal idol. So now, I will give it back to you."

4And when he restored the money unto his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and it was in the house of Micah.

4After he returned the money to his mother, she took 200 pieces of silver and gave them to a silversmith. He made them into a carved image and a metal idol, and they were kept in Micah’s house.

5And 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.

5This man Micah had a shrine. He made a priestly vest and some household idols, and he ordained one of his sons to serve as his priest.

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

6In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did whatever they thought was right.

7And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he sojourned there.

7Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, from the clan of Judah, who was a Levite living there.

8And 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.

8The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to look for another place to live. As he traveled, he came to the house of Micah in the hill country of Ephraim.

9And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.

9Micah asked him, "Where do you come from?" He answered, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I’m looking for a place to stay."

10And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten pieces of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.

10Micah said to him, "Stay with me and be a father and a priest to me. I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a set of clothes, and your food." So the Levite went in.

11And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.

11The Levite agreed to stay with the man, and the young man became like one of Micah's own sons to him.

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

12Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house.

13Then said Micah, Now know I that Jehovah will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.

13Then Micah said, "Now I know the LORD will be good to me, because I have a Levite serving as my priest."