New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 There was a man in the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah.
1
Now there was a man of the hill-country of Ephraim named 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 even spoke it in my hearing,—that silver is in my possession; I took it; but now I will return it to you." And his mother said, "May my son be blessed by the Lord!"
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And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver which were taken from you, about which you took an oath and said in my hearing, I have given this silver to the Lord from my hand for myself, to make a pictured image and a metal image: see, I have the silver, for I took it: so now I will give it back to you. And his mother said, May the blessing of the Lord be on my son.
3 Then he returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said, "I consecrate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make an idol of cast metal."
3
And he gave back the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, and his mother said, I have made the silver holy to the Lord from me for my son, to make a pictured image and a metal image.
4 So when he returned the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into an idol of cast metal; and it was in the house of Micah.
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So he gave the silver back to his mother. Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a metal-worker who made a pictured image and a metal image from them: and it was in the house of Micah.
5 This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and teraphim, and installed one of his sons, who became his priest.
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And the man Micah had a house of gods; and he made an ephod and family gods and put one of his sons in the position of priest.
6 In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.
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In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did as seemed right to him.
7 Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the clan of Judah. He was a Levite residing there.
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Now there was a young man living in Beth-lehem-judah, of the family of Judah and a Levite, who was not a townsman of the place.
8 This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah, to live wherever he could find a place. He came to the house of Micah in the hill country of Ephraim to carry on his work.
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And he went away from the town of Beth-lehem-judah, looking for somewhere to make his living-place; and on his journey he came to the hill-country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah.
9 Micah said to him, "From where do you come?" He replied, "I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to live wherever I can find a place."
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And Micah said to him, Where do you come from? And he said to him, I am a Levite from Beth-lehem-judah, and I am looking for a living-place.
10 Then 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, a set of clothes, and your living."
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Then Micah said to him, Make your living-place with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver a year and your clothing and food.
11 The Levite agreed to stay with the man; and the young man became to him like one of his sons.
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And the Levite said he would make his living-place with the man, and he became to him as one of his sons.
12 So Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
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And Micah gave the position to the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
13 Then Micah said, "Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because the Levite has become my priest."
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Then Micah said, Now I am certain that the Lord will do me good, seeing that the Levite has become my priest.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.