1 N ow there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah.

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

2 H e said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver which were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the Lord.”

And 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.

3 H e then returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I wholly dedicate the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son to make a graven image and a molten image; now therefore, I will return them to you.”

And 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.

4 S o when he returned the silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith who made them into a graven image and a molten image, and they were in the house of Micah.

After 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.

5 A nd the man Micah had a shrine and he made an ephod and household idols and consecrated one of his sons, that he might become his priest.

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

6 I n those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.

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

7 N ow there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he was staying there.

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

8 T hen the man departed from the city, from Bethlehem in Judah, to stay wherever he might find a place; and as he made his journey, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah.

And 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.

9 M icah 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 may find a place.”

And 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.

10 M icah then said to him, “Dwell with me and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a suit of clothes, and your maintenance.” So the Levite went in.

Then 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.

11 T he Levite agreed to live with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons.

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

12 S o Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in the house of Micah.

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

13 T hen Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, seeing I have a Levite as priest.”

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