| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. | 1There was a man named Micah from the Ephraimite hill country. |
| 2And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you put a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my son!” | 2He said to his mother, "You know the eleven hundred pieces of silver which were stolen from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole it, but now I am giving it back to you." His mother said, "May the LORD reward you, my son!" |
| 3So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the LORD for my son, to make a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you.” | 3When he gave back to his mother the eleven hundred pieces of silver, his mother said, "I solemnly dedicate this silver to the LORD. It will be for my son's benefit. We will use it to make a carved image and a metal image." |
| 4Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a molded image; and they were in the house of Micah. | 4When he gave the silver back to his mother, she took two hundred pieces of silver to a silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a metal image. She then put them in Micah's house. |
| 5The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. | 5Now this man Micah owned a shrine. He made an ephod and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest. |
| 6In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. | 6In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right. |
| 7Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and was staying there. | 7There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah. He was a Levite who had been temporarily residing among the tribe of Judah. |
| 8The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. | 8This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah's house. |
| 9And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” So he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay.” | 9Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" He replied, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a new place to live." |
| 10Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in. | 10Micah said to him, "Stay with me. Become my adviser and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food." |
| 11Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him. | 11So the Levite agreed to stay with the man; the young man was like a son to Micah. |
| 12So Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and lived in the house of Micah. | 12Micah paid the Levite; the young man became his priest and lived in Micah's house. |
| 13Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since I have a Levite as priest!” | 13Micah said, "Now I know God will make me rich, because I have this Levite as my priest." |
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