Judges 17

1There was a certain man from Mount Ephraim whose name was Micah.

2He said to his mother, "The eleven hundred pieces of silver taken from you, which you cursed and also mentioned in my hearing—look, the silver is with me; I took it." His mother said, "Blessed are you, my son, by Yahweh."

3He restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, "Consecrate it—I have consecrated the silver to Yahweh from my hand for my son to make a carved image and a molten image; now I will restore it to you."

4Yet he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred silver and gave it to the founder, who made it a carved image and a molten image; and they were in the house of Micaiah.

5This man Micah had a house of gods for himself, made an ephod and teraphim, filled the hand of one of his sons, and he became his priest.

6In those days there was no king in Israel; each man did what was right in his eyes.

7There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, from Judah's clan, a Levite who dwelt there.

8The man left the city, Bethlehem in Judah, to stay wherever he might find a place, and he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to Micah's house, as he made his way.

9Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" He said to him, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I go to stay wherever I find a place."

10Micah said to him, "Stay with me and be a father and priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver yearly, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance." So the Levite went in.

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

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

13Micah said, "Now I know that Yahweh will do good to me, because the Levite has become my priest."