[1] There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. [2] He said to his mother, "The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, on which you put a curse, even speaking the curse in my ears-here is the silver with me. I took it." Then his mother said, "May the LORD bless my son!" [3] Then he returned the eleven hundred silver coins to his mother. His mother said, "I certainly consecrated the silver to the LORD, for my son to make a carved idol and a metal idol, so now I return it to you." [4] When he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith to make a carved idol and a metal idol. And they were put in the house of Micah. [5] This man Micah owned a shrine. He made an ephod and household idols, and he hired one of his sons to be a priest for him. [6] In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his eyes. [7] There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah. He was a Levite from Judah, and he stayed as a resident foreigner there. [8] The man went from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. He came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, to do his work. [9] Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" He said to him, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to stay wherever I can find a place." [10] Micah said to him, "Live with me, and be a father and a priest for me. I will give you ten silver coins a year, a set of clothes, and food." So the Levite went in. [11] The Levite decided to live with the man, and the young man became like one of his sons. [12] Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in the house of Micah. [13] Then Micah said, "Now I know that the LORD will do good for me, for I have a Levite to be my priest."
