Judges 17:5–13

⁵This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household idols, ^yand installed one of his sons to be his priest. ⁶In those days there was no king in Israel; ^zeveryone did whatever he wanted. ^a

⁷There was a young man, a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who resided within the clan of Judah. ^b8The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to settle wherever he could find a place. On his way he came to Micah’s home in the hill country of Ephraim.

⁹“Where do you come from?” Micah asked him.

He answered him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I’m going to settle wherever I can find a place.”

¹⁰Micah replied, ^c“Stay with me and be my father ^dand priest, and I will give you four ounces of silver a year, along with your clothing and provisions.” So the Levite went in ¹¹and agreed to stay with the man, and the young man became like one of his sons. ¹²Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest ^eand lived in Micah’s house. ¹³Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”