A reading from the book of judges.

There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah, and he said to his mother,

the eleven hundred 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.

And he restored the eleven hundred 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.

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.

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.

In those days, there was no king in Israel.

Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Now there was a young man of Bethlehem and Judah,

of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem and

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. And Micah said to him, where do you come from? And he said to him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem and Judah, and I'm going to sojourn where I may find a place.

And Mika 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.

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