Micah and the Levite

Judges 17

1 There was a man of t the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, "The 1,100 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." And his mother said, u "Blessed be my son by the Lord." 3 And he restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, "I dedicate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make v a carved image and w a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you." 4 So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother x took 200 pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made y an ephod and z household gods, and a ordained 1 one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 b In those days there was no king in Israel. c Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

7 Now there was a young man of d Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8 And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to e the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. 9 And Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" And he said to him, "I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place." 10 And Micah said to him, "Stay with me, and be to me f a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living." And the Levite went in. 11 And the Levite g was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12 And Micah h ordained the Levite, and the young man i became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, "Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest."

  1. Cross References
    Judges 17:8
    And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah.
    Judges 18:2
    So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, "Go and explore the land." And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.
    Joshua 24:33
    And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of Phinehas his son, which had been given him in the hill country of Ephraim.
  2. Cross References
    Ruth 3:10
    And he said, "May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.
    1 Samuel 15:13
    And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.
  3. Cross References
    Exodus 20:4
    You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
  4. Cross References
    Leviticus 19:4
    Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.
  5. Cross References
    Isaiah 46:6
    Those who lavish gold from the purse, and weigh out silver in the scales, hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; then they fall down and worship!
  6. Cross References
    Judges 8:27
    And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.
    Judges 18:14
    Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, "Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do.
    Judges 18:17
    And the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war.
    Exodus 28:6 - 35
    And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked.
  7. Cross References
    Genesis 31:19
    Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father's household gods.
    Hosea 3:4
    For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods.
  8. Cross References
    Judges 17:12
    And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
    1 Kings 13:33
    After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places.
  9. Cross References
    Judges 18:1
    In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them.
    Judges 19:1
    In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
    Judges 21:25
    In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
  10. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 12:8
    You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes.
  11. Cross References
    Judges 19:1
    In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
    Ruth 1:1 - 2
    In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
    Micah 5:2
    But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
    Matthew 2:1
    Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem.
    Matthew 2:5 - 6
    They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
  12. Cross References
    Joshua 24:33
    And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of Phinehas his son, which had been given him in the hill country of Ephraim.
  13. Cross References
    Judges 18:19
    And they said to him, "Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?
  14. Cross References
    Exodus 2:21
    And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah.
  15. Cross References
    Judges 17:5
    And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest.
  16. Cross References
    Judges 18:30
    And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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