JPS - Judges - 17

17:1  Now there was a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

17:2  And he said unto his mother: 'The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou didst utter a curse, and didst also speak it in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.' And his mother said: 'Blessed be my son of HaShem.'

17:3  And he restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said: 'I verily dedicate the silver unto HaShem from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image; now therefore I will restore it unto thee.'

17:4  And when he restored the money unto his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image; and it was in the house of Micah.

17:5  And the man Micah had a house of G-d, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

17:6  In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

17:7  And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem in Judah--in the family of Judah--who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.

17:8  And the man departed out of the city, out of Beth-lehem in Judah, to sojourn where he could find a place; and he came to the hill-country of Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.

17:9  And Micah said unto him: 'Whence comest thou?' And he said unto him: 'I am a Levite of Beth-lehem in Judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.'

17:10  And Micah said unto him: 'Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten pieces of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals.' So the Levite went in.

17:11  And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.

17:12  And Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

17:13  Then said Micah: 'Now know I that HaShem will do me good, seeing I have a Levite as my priest.'