| New Living Translation | English Standard Version |
| 1There was a man named Micah, who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. | 1There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. |
| 2One day he said to his mother, “I heard you place a curse on the person who stole 1,100 pieces of silver from you. Well, I have the money. I was the one who took it.” “The LORD bless you for admitting it,” his mother replied. | 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.” |
| 3He returned the money to her, and she said, “I now dedicate these silver coins to the LORD. In honor of my son, I will have an image carved and an idol cast.” | 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.” |
| 4So when he returned the money to his mother, she took 200 silver coins and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into an image and an idol. And these were placed in Micah’s house. | 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. |
| 5Micah set up a shrine for the idol, and he made a sacred ephod and some household idols. Then he installed one of his sons as his personal priest. | 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. |
| 6In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. | 6In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. |
| 7One day a young Levite, who had been living in Bethlehem in Judah, arrived in that area. | 7Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. |
| 8He had left Bethlehem in search of another place to live, and as he traveled, he came to the hill country of Ephraim. He happened to stop at Micah’s house as he was traveling through. | 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. |
| 9“Where are you from?” Micah asked him. He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am looking for a place to live.” | 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.” |
| 10“Stay here with me,” Micah said, “and you can be a father and priest to me. I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, plus a change of clothes and your food.” | 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. |
| 11The Levite agreed to this, and the young man became like one of Micah’s sons. | 11And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. |
| 12So Micah installed the Levite as his personal priest, and he lived in Micah’s house. | 12And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. |
| 13“I know the LORD will bless me now,” Micah said, “because I have a Levite serving as my priest.” | 13Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.” |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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