Richter 17 · Michas Götzendienst

1There was a man in the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah.

2He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, so that you uttered an imprecation that you repeated in my hearing—I have that silver; I took it.” “Blessed of GOD be my son,” said his mother.

3He returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother; but his mother said, “I herewith consecrate the silver to GOD, transferring it to my son to make a sculptured image and a molten image. I now return it to you.”

4So when he gave the silver back to his mother, his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave it to a smith. He made of it a sculptured image and a molten image, which were kept in the house of Micah.

5Now this man Micah had a house of God; he had made an ephod and oracle idols and he had inducted one of his sons to be his priest.

6In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did as they pleased.

7There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the clan seat of Judah; he was a Levite and had resided there as a sojourner.

8This man had left the town of Bethlehem of Judah to take up residence wherever he could find a place. On his way, he came to the house of Micah in the hill country of Ephraim.

9“Where do you come from?” Micah asked him. He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem of Judah, and I am traveling to take up residence wherever I can find a place.”

10“Stay with me,” Micah said to him, “and be a father and a priest to me, and I will pay you ten shekels of silver a year, an allowance of clothing, and your food.” The Levite went.

11The Levite agreed to stay with the man, and the youth became like one of his own sons.

12Micah inducted the Levite, and the young man became his priest and remained in Micah’s shrine.

13“Now I know,” Micah told himself, “that GOD will make me prosper, since the Levite has become my priest.”