1 ¶ And there was a man of Mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah.

2 A nd he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were stolen from thee, about which thou didst curse in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son.

He said to his mother, “There were 1, 100 pieces of silver taken from you. And I heard you pray that the robber would be cursed. See, the silver is with me. I took it.” His mother said, “May the Lord bring good to you, my son.”

3 A nd when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had completely dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for thee, my son, to make thee a graven image and a molten image; now therefore, I will restore it unto thee.

He returned the 1, 100 pieces of silver to his mother. And she said, “I set apart all the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son. It is to be used in making an object to look like a god. So I will return the silver to you.”

4 A fter the money was restored unto her, his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image, which was set up in the house of Micah.

When he returned the silver to his mother, she gave 200 pieces to the man who works with silver. He made them into an object to look like a god for Micah’s house.

5 A nd the man Micah had a brothel of idolatry, and made an ephod and teraphim and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

The man Micah had a special building where gods were worshiped. He made a holy vest and gods for the house. And he set apart one of his sons to be his religious leader.

6 I n those days there was no king in Israel; each one did that which was right in his own eyes.

There was no king in Israel in those days. Each man did what he thought was right.

7 ¶ And there was a young man out of Bethlehem of Judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.

Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah. He was a Levite, of the family of Judah, and he was staying there.

8 A nd the man had departed out of the city from Bethlehem of Judah to sojourn where he could find a place, and he came to Mount Ephraim to the house of Micah as he journeyed.

He left the city of Bethlehem in Judah to find a place to live. As he traveled he came to the house of Micah in the hill country of Ephraim.

9 A nd Micah said unto him, From where hast thou come? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem of Judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.

Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” He answered, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am going to stay where I may find a place.”

10 T hen Micah said unto him, Dwell with me and be a father and a priest unto me, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year and the ordinary apparel and thy food. So the Levite went in.

Then Micah said to him, “Live with me. Be a father and a religious leader to me. I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, new clothes, and your living.” So the Levite went in.

11 A nd the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.

The Levite agreed to live with the man. And the young man was like a son to Micah.

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

So Micah set apart the Levite. The young man became his religious leader and lived in Micah’s house.

13 T hen Micah said, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite as my priest.

Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will bring good to me because I have a Levite as my religious leader.”