Micah’s Idolatry

1Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. 2He said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver which were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse and spoke of it [†]in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; it was I who took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by Yahweh.” 3And he then returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I wholly set apart the silver from my hand as holy to Yahweh for my son to make a graven image and a molten image; so now I will return [†]them to you.” 4So he returned the silver to his mother, and his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith. And he made [†]them into a graven image and a molten image, and [†]they were in the house of Micah. 5And the man Micah had a [†]shrine, and he made an ephod and [†]household idols and [†]ordained one of his sons, and he became his priest. 6In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.

7And there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he was sojourning there. 8Then the man went from the city, from Bethlehem in Judah, to sojourn 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. 9And 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 sojourn wherever I may find a place.” 10Micah then said to him, “Remain 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 sustenance.” So the Levite went in. 11And the Levite was willing to remain with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12So Micah [†]ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest and [†]lived in the house of Micah. 13Then Micah said, “Now I know that Yahweh will prosper me because I have a Levite as priest.”