Scriptures

New Living Translation (NLT)

Judges 17
⁷ One day a young Levite, who had been living in Bethlehem in Judah, arrived in that area.
⁸ He had left Bethlehem in search of another place to live, and as he traveled, he came to the hill country of Ephraim. He happened to stop at Micah’s house as he was traveling through.
⁹ “Where are you from?” Micah asked him. He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am looking for a place to live.”
¹⁰ “Stay here with me,” Micah said, “and you can be a father and priest to me. I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, plus a change of clothes and your food.”
¹¹ The Levite agreed to this, and the young man became like one of Micah’s sons.
¹² So Micah installed the Levite as his personal priest, and he lived in Micah’s house.
¹³ “I know the LORD will bless me now,” Micah said, “because I have a Levite serving as my priest.”
Judges 18
¹ Now in those days Israel had no king. And the tribe of Dan was trying to find a place where they could settle, for they had not yet moved into the land assigned to them when the land was divided among the tribes of Israel.
² So the men of Dan chose from their clans five capable warriors from the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol to scout out a land for them to settle in. When these warriors arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, they came to Micah’s house and spent the night there.
³ While at Micah’s house, they recognized the young Levite’s accent, so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here, and what are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”
⁴ He told them about his agreement with Micah and that he had been hired as Micah’s personal priest.