Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. 2 He said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver which were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse and spoke of it ¹in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; it was I who took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by Yahweh.” 3 And he then returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I wholly set apart the silver from my hand as holy to Yahweh for my son ^ato make a graven image and a molten image; so now I will return ¹them to you.” 4 So he returned the silver to his mother, and his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith. And he made ¹them into a graven image and a molten image, and ²they were in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah had a ^1ashrine, and he made an ^bephod and ^2chousehold idols and ³ordained one of his sons, ^dand he became his priest. 6 In those days ^athere was no king in Israel; ^bevery man did what was right in his own eyes.

7 And there was a young man from ^aBethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he was sojourning there. 8 Then the man went from the city, from Bethlehem in Judah, to sojourn wherever he might find a place; and as he made his journey, he came to the ^ahill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. 9 And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn wherever I may find a place.” 10 Micah then said to him, “Remain with me and be ^aa father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in. 11 And the Levite was willing to remain with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12 So Micah ¹ordained the Levite, and the young man ^abecame his priest and ²lived in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that Yahweh will prosper me because I have a Levite as priest.”

There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver which were taken from you, about which you cursed the thief and also spoke about in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son before the LORD.” 3 He returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and she said, “I had truly dedicated the silver from my hand to the LORD for my son (in his name) ^ato make an image carved from wood and plated with silver and a cast image of solid silver; so now, I will return it to you.” 4 So when he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith who made of it an image of silver-plated wood and a cast image of solid silver; and they were in the house of Micah. 5 Now the man Micah had a ^ahouse of gods (shrine) , and he made an ^bephod and ^cteraphim and dedicated and installed one of his sons, ^dwho became his personal priest. 6 In those days ^athere was no king in Israel; ^bevery man did what was right in his own eyes.

7 Now there was a young man from ^aBethlehem in Judah, from the family of the tribe of Judah, who was a ¹Levite; and he was staying there temporarily. 8 Then the man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah, to stay wherever he could find a place; and as he journeyed, he came to the ^ahill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah. 9 Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to stay wherever I can find a place.” 10 And Micah said to him, “Live here with me and be ^aa father and a personal priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver each year, a supply of clothing, and your sustenance (room and board) .” So the Levite went in. 11 The Levite agreed to live with the man, and the young man became to Micah like one of his sons. 12 So Micah dedicated (installed) the Levite, and the young man ^abecame his priest and lived in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will favor me and make me prosper because I have a Levite as my priest.”