Judges 17

There was a man named Micah who lived in the hill country where the tribe of Ephraim lived.

One day he said to his mother, "I heard you curse whoever stole eleven hundred pieces of silver from your house. I am the one who took the silver, and I still have it." His mother replied, "My son, I pray that God will bless you."

Micah gave all the silver back to his mother. Then she said to herself, "I will give this silver to God. I will have someone make a carved figure and a cast figure from this silver."

After he gave the silver to his mother, she took two hundred pieces and gave them to a metal worker. With the silver, that man made a carved figure and a cast metal figure and gave them to Micah. Micah put them in his house.

He had a house in which he worshiped his idols. He made a vest that was worn by priests and some household idols, and Micah gave one of his sons the task of being the priest for all his idols.

At that time the Israelites did not have a king, and everyone did what was right as they saw it.

There was a young man who had been living in Bethlehem in the area where the tribe of Judah lives. He wanted to work as a priest because he was a member of the tribe of Levi.

So he left Bethlehem to find another place to live and work. He came to Micah's house in the hill country where the tribe of Ephraim lived.

Micah asked him, "Where are you from?" He replied, "I come from Bethlehem. I am from the tribe of Levi, and I am looking for a place to live and work as a priest."

Micah said to him, "Stay with me, and you can advise me and be my priest. Each year I will give to you ten pieces of silver and some new clothes, and I will provide food for you."

So the young man agreed to live with Micah. He became like one of Micah's own sons.

Micah appointed him to be a priest, and he lived in Micah's house.

Then Micah said, "Now I know that God will do good things for me because I have a man from the tribe of Levi to be my priest."