Judges 17

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

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 YHWH.’

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

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.

5And the man Micah had a house of God, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

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

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

8And the man departed out of the city, out of Beth-lehem in 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.

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

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.

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

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

13Then said Micah: ‘Now know I that YHWH will do me good, seeing I have a Levite as my priest.’