¹ There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

² He said to his mother, "The eleven hundred [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." His mother said, "Blessed be my son of Yahweh."

³ He restored the eleven hundred [pieces] of silver to his mother; and his mother said, "I most certainly dedicate the silver to Yahweh from my hand for my son, to make an engraved image and a molten image. Now therefore I will restore it to you."

⁴ When he restored the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred [pieces] of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made of it an engraved image and a molten image: and it was in the house of Micah.

⁵ The man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

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

⁷ There was a young man out of Bethlehem Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he lived there.

⁸ The man departed out of the city, out of Bethlehem Judah, to live where he could find [a place], and he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he traveled.

⁹ Micah said to him, "Where did you come from?" He said to him, "I am a Levite of Bethlehem Judah, and I am looking for a place to live."

¹⁰ Micah said to him, "Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten [pieces] of silver per year, a suit of clothing, and your food." So the Levite went in.

¹¹ The Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons.

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

¹³ Then Micah said, "Now know I that Yahweh will do good to me, since I have a Levite to my priest."

¹ The men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they said to Jephthah, "Why did you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didn't call us to go with you? We will burn your house around you with fire!"

² Jephthah said to them, "I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, you didn't save me out of their hand.

³ When I saw that you didn't save me, I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and Yahweh delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?"

⁴ Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, [and] in the midst of Manasseh."

⁵ The Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. It was so, that when [any of] the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No;"

⁶ then they said to him, "Now say 'Shibboleth;'" and he said "Sibboleth;" for he couldn't manage to pronounce it right: then they laid hold of him, and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time, forty-two thousand of Ephraim fell.

⁷ Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in [one of] the cities of Gilead.

⁸ After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

⁹ He had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty daughters he brought in from abroad for his sons. He judged Israel seven years.

¹⁰ Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.

¹¹ After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.

¹² Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

¹³ After him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.

¹⁴ He had forty sons and thirty sons' sons, who rode on seventy donkey colts: and he judged Israel eight years.

¹⁵ Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.