⁵ This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household idols,^(A) and installed one of his sons to be his priest. ⁶ In those days there was no king in Israel;^(B) everyone did whatever he wanted.^[a]

⁷ There was a young man, a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who resided within the clan of Judah.^{(C) 8} The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to settle wherever he could find a place. On his way he came to Micah’s home in the hill country of Ephraim.

⁹ “Where do you come from?” Micah asked him.

He answered him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I’m going to settle wherever I can find a place.”

¹⁰ Micah replied,^[b] “Stay with me and be my father^(D) and priest, and I will give you four ounces of silver a year, along with your clothing and provisions.” So the Levite went in ¹¹ and agreed to stay with the man, and the young man became like one of his sons. ¹² Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest^(E) and lived in Micah’s house. ¹³ Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”

³¹ Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places^(A) and set up priests from every class of people who were not Levites.^(B)

³³ After all this^(A) Jeroboam did not repent^(B) of his evil way but again set up priests for the high places from every class of people.^(C) He ordained whoever so desired it, and they became priests of the high places.^(D)