1 Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

2 And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and about which you had sworn an oath, even saying it in my ears; behold the silver is with me, I have taken it. And his mother said, Blessed of Jehovah are you, my son!

3 So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly consecrated the silver from my hand unto Jehovah for my son, to make a graven image, and a molten image; now therefore, I will return it to you.

4 Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a graven image, and a molten image; and they were in the house of Micah.

5 And the man Micah had a house of gods, and made an ephod and household idols; and he confirmed the hand of one of his sons, who became his priest.

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, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and sojourned there.

8 And the man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn wherever he could find a place. And he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he made his way.

9 And Micah said to him, Where do you come from? And he said to him, I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn wherever I may find.

10 And Micah said to him, Dwell with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance. So the Levite went in.

11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him.

12 And Micah confirmed the hand of the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

13 Then Micah said, Now I know that Jehovah will be good to me, since I have a Levite as priest!

1 Havia um homem chamado Mica, dos montes de Efraim,

2 que disse certa vez à sua mãe: "Os treze quilos de prata que lhe foram roubados e pelos quais eu a ouvi pronunciar uma maldição. Na verdade a prata está comigo; eu a peguei". Disse-lhe sua mãe: "O Senhor o abençoe, meu filho! "

3 Quando ele devolveu os treze quilos de prata à mãe, ela disse: "Consagro solenemente a minha prata ao Senhor para que o meu filho faça uma imagem esculpida e um ídolo de metal. Eu a devolvo a você".

4 Mas ele devolveu a prata à sua mãe, e ela separou dois quilos e quatrocentos gramas, e os deu a um ourives, que deles fez a imagem e o ídolo. E estes foram postos na casa de Mica.

5 Ora, esse homem, Mica, possuía um santuário, e fez um manto sacerdotal e alguns ídolos da família e pôs um dos seus filhos como seu sacerdote.

6 Naquela época não havia rei em Israel; cada um fazia o que lhe parecia certo.

7 Um jovem levita de Belém de Judá, procedente do clã de Judá,

8 saiu daquela cidade em busca de outro lugar para morar. Em sua viagem, chegou à casa de Mica, nos montes de Efraim.

9 Mica lhe perguntou: "De onde você vem? " "Sou levita, de Belém de Judá", respondeu ele. "Estou procurando um lugar para morar. "

10 "Fique comigo", disse-lhe Mica. "Seja meu pai e sacerdote, e eu lhe darei cento e vinte gramas de prata por ano, roupas e comida. "

11 O jovem levita concordou em ficar com Mica, e tornou-se como um dos seus filhos.

12 Mica acolheu o levita, e o jovem se tornou seu sacerdote, e ficou morando em sua casa.

13 E Mica disse: "Agora sei que o Senhor me tratará com bondade, pois esse levita se tornou meu sacerdote".