| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. | 1There was a man named Micah from the Ephraimite hill country. |
| 2And 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.” | 2He said to his mother, "You know the eleven hundred pieces of silver which were stolen from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole it, but now I am giving it back to you." His mother said, "May the LORD reward you, my son!" |
| 3And 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.” | 3When he gave back to his mother the eleven hundred pieces of silver, his mother said, "I solemnly dedicate this silver to the LORD. It will be for my son's benefit. We will use it to make a carved image and a metal image." |
| 4So 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. | 4When he gave the silver back to his mother, she took two hundred pieces of silver to a silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a metal image. She then put them in Micah's house. |
| 5And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest. | 5Now this man Micah owned a shrine. He made an ephod and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest. |
| 6In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. | 6In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right. |
| 7Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. | 7There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah. He was a Levite who had been temporarily residing among the tribe of Judah. |
| 8And 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. | 8This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah's house. |
| 9And 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.” | 9Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" He replied, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a new place to live." |
| 10And 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. | 10Micah said to him, "Stay with me. Become my adviser and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food." |
| 11And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. | 11So the Levite agreed to stay with the man; the young man was like a son to Micah. |
| 12And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. | 12Micah paid the Levite; the young man became his priest and lived in Micah's house. |
| 13Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.” | 13Micah said, "Now I know God will make me rich, because I have this Levite as my priest." |
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