Micah’s False Gods

17 A man named Micah lived in the hill country of Ephraim. ² He said to his mother, “Someone took 28 pounds of silver from you. I heard you curse the one who took it. I have the silver with me. I’m the one who took it.”

Then his mother said, “My son, may the Lord bless you!”

³ He gave the 28 pounds of silver back to his mother. She said to him, “I’m making a promise to set apart my silver to the Lord. My son, I want you to use it to cover a statue of a god made out of wood or stone. That’s why I’ll give the silver back to you.”

⁴ Micah gave the silver back to his mother. Then she gave five pounds of it to a skilled worker who made things out of silver. He used the silver for the statue. The statue was put in Micah’s house.

⁵ That same Micah had a small temple. He made a sacred linen apron and some statues of his family gods. He appointed one of his sons to serve as his priest. ⁶ In those days Israel didn’t have a king. The people did anything they thought was right.

⁷ A young Levite had been living in land that belonged to the tribe of Judah. He was from Bethlehem in Judah. ⁸ He left that town to look for some other place to stay. On his way he came to Micah’s house. It was in the hill country of Ephraim.

⁹ Micah asked him, “Where are you from?”

“I’m a Levite,” he said. “I’m from Bethlehem in Judah. I’m looking for a place to stay.”

¹⁰ Then Micah said to him, “Live with me. Be my father and priest. I’ll give you four ounces of silver a year. I’ll also give you clothes and food.” ¹¹ So the Levite agreed to live with him. The young man became just like one of Micah’s sons to him. ¹² Then Micah appointed the Levite to serve as his priest. He lived in Micah’s house. ¹³ Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me. This Levite has become my priest.”