[17:1] There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
[17:2] And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the Lord.”
[17:3] And he restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, “I dedicate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.”
[17:4] So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Micah.
[17:5] And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest.
[17:6] In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
[17:7] Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
[17:8] And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah.
[17:9] And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place.”
[17:10] And Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living.” And the Levite went in.
[17:11] And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons.
[17:12] And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
[17:13] Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.”