Judges 17

vayehi-ish mehar-efrayim ushemo mikhayehu

There was a man in the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah.

vayyomer le'immo elef ume'ah hakkesef asher luqqakh-lakh (vty) [ve'at] alit vegam amart be'oznay hinneh-hakkesef itti ani leqakhtiv vattomer immo barukh beni la-Adonai

He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, so that you uttered an imprecation that you repeated in my hearing—I have that silver; I took it.” “Blessed of GOD be my son,” said his mother.

vayyashev et-elef-ume'ah hakkesef le'immo vattomer immo haqdesh hiqdashti et-hakkesef la-Adonai miyyadi livni la'asot pesel umassekhah ve'attah ashivennu lakh

He returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother; but his mother said, “I herewith consecrate the silver to GOD, transferring it to my son to make a sculptured image and a molten image. I now return it to you.”

vayyashev et-hakkesef le'immo vattiqqakh immo matayim kesef vattittenehu latsoref vayya'asehu pesel umassekhah vayehi bevet mikhayehu

So when he gave the silver back to his mother, his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave it to a smith. He made of it a sculptured image and a molten image, which were kept in the house of Micah.

veha'ish mikhah lo bet elohim vayya'as efod uterafim vayemalle et-yad akhad mibbanayw vayehi-lo lekhohen

Now this man Micah had a house of God; he had made an ephod and oracle idols and he had inducted one of his sons to be his priest.

bayyamim hahem en melekh beyisra'el ish hayyashar be'enayw ya'aseh

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did as they pleased.

vayehi-na'ar mibbet lekhem yehudah mimmishpakhat yehudah vehu levi vehu gar-sham

There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the clan seat of Judah; he was a Levite and had resided there as a sojourner.

vayyelekh ha'ish meha'ir mibbet lekhem yehudah lagur ba'asher yimtsa vayyavo har-efrayim ad-bet mikhah la'asot darko

This man had left the town of Bethlehem of Judah to take up residence wherever he could find a place. On his way, he came to the house of Micah in the hill country of Ephraim.

vayyomer-lo mikhah me'ayin tavo vayyomer elayw levi anokhi mibbet lekhem yehudah ve'anokhi holekh lagur ba'asher emtsa

“Where do you come from?” Micah asked him. He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem of Judah, and I am traveling to take up residence wherever I can find a place.”

vayyomer lo mikhah shevah immadi vehyeh-li le'av ulekhohen ve'anokhi etten-lekha aseret kesef layyamim ve'erekh begadim umikhyatekha vayyelekh hallevi

“Stay with me,” Micah said to him, “and be a father and a priest to me, and I will pay you ten shekels of silver a year, an allowance of clothing, and your food.” The Levite went.

vayyo'el hallevi lashevet et-ha'ish vayehi hanna'ar lo ke'akhad mibbanayw

The Levite agreed to stay with the man, and the youth became like one of his own sons.

vayemalle mikhah et-yad hallevi vayehi-lo hanna'ar lekhohen vayehi bevet mikhah

Micah inducted the Levite, and the young man became his priest and remained in Micah’s shrine.

vayyomer mikhah attah yadati ki-yetiv Adonai li ki hayah-li hallevi lekhohen

“Now I know,” Micah told himself, “that GOD will make me prosper, since the Levite has become my priest.”