Micah’s Priest

1There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Micah. 2He said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver taken from you, and that I heard you place a curse on — here’s the silver. I took it.”

Then his mother said, “My son, may you be blessed by the Lord! ”a

3He returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I personally consecratea the silver to the Lord for my son’s benefit to make a carved image and a silver idol.A I will give it back to you.” 4So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took five pounds of silver and gave it to a silversmith. He made it into a carved image and a silver idol, and it was in Micah’s house.

5This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household idols,a and installed one of his sons to be his priest. 6In those days there was no king in Israel;a everyone did whatever seemed right to him.

7There was a young man, a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who was staying within the clan of Judah.a 8The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. On his way he came to Micah’s home in the hill country of Ephraim.

9“Where do you come from? ” Micah asked him.

He answered him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I’m going to stay wherever I can find a place.”

10Micah replied,A “Stay with me and be my fathera and priest, and I will give you four ounces of silver a year, along with your clothing and provisions.” So the Levite went in 11and agreed to stay with the man, and the young man became like one of his sons. 12Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priesta and lived in Micah’s house. 13Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”