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."