(KJV) Judges 17¹

⥃Micah’s Idolatry

[1] And there was² a man of mount³ Ephraim, whose name [was] Micah.⁴ [2] And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred [shekels] of silver that were taken from thee, about⁵ which thou cursedst⁶, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver [is] with me; I took it⁷. And his mother said, Blessed⁸ [be thou] of the Lord, my son. [3] And when he had restored the eleven hundred [shekels] of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly⁹ dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a graven image¹⁰ and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee. [4] Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred¹¹ [shekels] of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah. [5] And the man Micah had an house of gods¹², and made an ephod¹³, and teraphim¹⁴, and consecrated¹⁵ one of his sons¹⁶, who became his priest. [6] In those days [there was] no king¹⁷ in Israel, [but] every man did [that which was] right¹⁸ in his own eyes.

[7] And there was a young man out of Beth–lehem–judah of the family¹⁹ of Judah, who [was] a Levite, and he sojourned there.²⁰ [8] And the man departed²¹ out of the city from Beth–lehem–judah to sojourn where he could find [a place]: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed²². [9] And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I [am] a Levite of Beth–lehem–judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find [a place]. [10] And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father²³ and a priest, and I will give²⁴ thee ten [shekels] of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel²⁵, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in. [11] And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons. [12] And Micah consecrated²⁶ the Levite; and the young man became his priest²⁷, and was in the house of Micah. [13] Then said Micah, Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to [my] priest. ²⁸