| New Living Translation | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1There was a man named Micah, who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. | 1There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim named 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. | 2He said to his mother, "The 1,100 pieces of silver taken from you, and that I heard you utter a curse about--here, I have the silver with me. I took it. So now I return it to you." Then his mother said, "My son, you are blessed 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.” | 3He returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, "I personally consecrate the silver to the LORD for my son's benefit to make a carved image overlaid with silver." |
| 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 he returned the silver to his mother, and she took five pounds of silver and gave it to a silversmith. He made it into a carved image overlaid with silver, and it was in Micah's house. |
| 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. | 5This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household idols, and installed one of his sons to be 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 whatever he wanted. |
| 7One day a young Levite, who had been living in Bethlehem in Judah, arrived in that area. | 7There was a young man, a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who resided within the clan of Judah. |
| 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. | 8The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to settle wherever he could find a place. On his way he came to Micah's home in the hill country of Ephraim." |
| 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.” | 9Where do you come from?" Micah asked him. He answered him, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I'm going to settle wherever I can 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.” | 10Micah replied, "Stay with me and be my father and priest, and I will give you four ounces of silver a year, along with your clothing and provisions." So the Levite went in |
| 11The Levite agreed to this, and the young man became like one of Micah’s sons. | 11and agreed to stay with the man, and the young man became like one of his sons. |
| 12So Micah installed the Levite as his personal priest, and he lived in Micah’s house. | 12Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in Micah's house. |
| 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 be good to me, because a Levite has become my 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. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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