The Levite agreed to live with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons.
Parallel translations
- WEB The Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons.
- KJV And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.
- BSB and agreed to stay with him, and the young man became like a son to Micah.
- NKJV Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him.
- NLT The Levite agreed to this, and the young man became like one of Micah’s sons.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Levite gladly settles in with Micah and becomes like one of his sons. He is fully drawn into the household's false worship.
Overview
The Levite's contentment shows how readily he accepts an illegitimate post for the comforts it brings. Becoming "as one of his sons" signals his complete absorption into Micah's private religion. The verse highlights the moral compromise of a man who should have upheld God's law but instead lends it legitimacy to idolatry.
Cross-references & the web
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 17:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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