Common English Bible CEB
English Standard Version ESV
1 Once there was a man named Micah who lived in the Ephraim highlands.
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 led you to declare a curse and even to repeat it when I could hear. I have that silver. I'm the one who took it, and now I'll give it back to you." His mother replied, "May the LORD bless you, my son!"
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, “Blessed be my son by the Lord. ”
3 When he gave the eleven hundred pieces of silver back to his mother, she said, "I wholeheartedly devote this silver to the LORD, to be made into a sculpted image and a molded image for my son."
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 a carved image and a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you. ”
4 So he gave the silver back to his mother, and she took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who used it for a sculpted image and a molded image. And they were placed in Micah's house.
4
So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother 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 This man Micah had his own sanctuary. He made a priestly vest and divine images and appointed one of his sons to be his personal priest.
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.
6 In those days there was no king in Israel; each person did what they thought to be right.
6
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
7 Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, from the area of the Judahite clan. He was a Levite residing there as an immigrant.
7
Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
8 The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to settle as an immigrant wherever he could find a place. He came to Micah's house in the Ephraim highlands while he was making his way.
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.
9 "Where are you from?" Micah asked him. He replied, "I'm a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I'm looking to settle as an immigrant anywhere I can find a place."
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 So Micah said to him, "Stay with me and be a father and a priest to me, and I'll give you ten pieces of silver a year, a set of clothes, and your basic needs."
10
And Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me 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 The Levite agreed to stay with him; and the young man became like one of his own sons.
11
And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons.
12 Micah appointed the Levite so that the young man became his personal priest and lived in Micah's sanctuary.
12
And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
13 And Micah said to himself, Now I know that the LORD will give me good things, because a Levite has become my priest.
13
Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest. ”
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025