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17:1  There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah.
17:2  He said to his mother, “You know that eleven hundred shekels of silver which were taken from you, about which you spoke a curse that I heard—Look! I have the silver. I took it.” His mother said, “May my son be blessed by the Lord.”
17:3  Micah returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother. Then his mother said, “The silver that I received from my son I solemnly dedicate to the Lord to make a cast and engraved idol for my son’s benefit. So now I will return it to you.”
17:4  He returned the silver to his mother, and his mother gave two hundred shekels of silver to the silversmith, who made them into a cast and engraved idol, which was placed in the house of Micah.
17:5  This man Micah had a “house of God,” where he placed a special priestly vest and a household god and where he ordained one of his sons as his own priest.
17:6  In those days there was no king in Israel, and every man did whatever was right in his own eyes.
17:7  Meanwhile, there was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, a city which belonged to a clan of Judah. He was a Levite, but he resided in Bethlehem even though he was not a Judean.
17:8  This man left the city—Bethlehem of Judah—to take up residence wherever he could find a place to stay. As he went on his way, he came to the house of Micah in the hill country of Ephraim.
17:9  Micah said to him, “Where did you come from?” He answered, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am going to take up residence wherever I can find a place to stay.”
17:10  Micah said to him, “Stay with me! Be a father and a priest to me. I will give you ten shekels of silver a year, an allowance for your clothing, and your food.” So the Levite went with him.
17:11  The Levite was willing to stay with the man, and he became like one of his sons.
17:12  Micah ordained the Levite, so the young man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house.
17:13  Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will treat me well, because I have this Levite as my priest.”