1 H avia um homem chamado Mica, dos montes de Efraim,

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

2 q ue disse certa vez à sua mãe: “Os treze quilos de prata que lhe foram roubados e pelos quais eu a ouvi pronunciar uma maldição, na verdade a prata está comigo; eu a peguei”. Disse-lhe sua mãe: “O Senhor o abençoe, meu filho!”

He 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.”

3 Q uando ele devolveu os treze quilos de prata à mãe, ela disse: “Consagro solenemente a minha prata ao Senhor para que o meu filho faça uma imagem esculpida e um ídolo de metal. Eu a devolvo a você”.

He 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.”

4 M as ele devolveu a prata à sua mãe, e ela separou dois quilos e quatrocentos gramas, e os deu a um ourives, que deles fez a imagem e o ídolo. E estes foram postos na casa de Mica.

So 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.

5 O ra, esse homem, Mica, possuía um santuário, fez um manto sacerdotal e alguns ídolos da família e pôs um dos seus filhos como seu sacerdote.

And 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.

6 N aquela época não havia rei em Israel; cada um fazia o que lhe parecia certo.

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

7 U m jovem levita de Belém de Judá, procedente do clã de Judá,

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

8 s aiu daquela cidade em busca de outro lugar para morar. Em sua viagem, chegou à casa de Mica, nos montes de Efraim.

Then 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.

9 M ica lhe perguntou: “De onde você vem?” “Sou levita, de Belém de Judá”, respondeu ele. “Estou procurando um lugar para morar.”

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 may find a place.”

10 “ Fique comigo”, disse-lhe Mica. “Seja meu pai e sacerdote, e eu lhe darei cento e vinte gramas de prata por ano, roupas e comida.”

Micah 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.

11 O jovem levita concordou em ficar com Mica, e tornou-se como um dos seus filhos.

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

12 M ica acolheu o levita, e o jovem se tornou seu sacerdote, e ficou morando em sua casa.

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

13 E Mica disse: “Agora sei que o Senhor me tratará com bondade, pois esse levita se tornou meu sacerdote”.

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