He said to them, “Micah has done this and that for me, and he has hired me and I have become his priest.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “Thus and thus has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I am become his priest.”
- KJV And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest.
- BSB “Micah has done this and that for me,” he replied, “and he has hired me to be his priest.”
- NKJV He said to them, “Thus and so Micah did for me. He has hired me, and I have become his priest.”
- NLT He told them about his agreement with Micah and that he had been hired as Micah’s personal priest.
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 explains that Micah has hired him to serve as his priest. He openly admits his paid, unlawful role.
Overview
The Levite's matter-of-fact account reveals no shame over his bought priesthood. His words confirm that worship in Micah's house is a commercial arrangement rather than obedience to God. The Danites, hearing this, will see the priest and idols as assets to acquire, advancing the chapter's exposure of idolatry's spread.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Judg 17:12Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
- John 10:12–13He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep, and scatters them.
- Judg 17:10Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, a suit of clothing, and your food.” So the Levite went in.
- Ezek 13:19You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to kill the souls who should not die, and to save the souls alive who should not live, by your lying to my people who listen to lies.’
- 1 Tim 3:3not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;
- Titus 1:11whose mouths must be stopped; men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for dishonest gain’s sake.
- Acts 8:18–21Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,
- 2 Pet 2:14–15having eyes full of adultery, and who can’t cease from sin; enticing unsettled souls; having a heart trained in greed; children of cursing;
- 2 Pet 2:3In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber.
- Mal 1:10“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you,” says Yahweh of Armies, “neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
- Acts 20:33I coveted no one’s silver, or gold, or clothing.
- Isa 56:11Yes, the dogs are greedy. They can never have enough. They are shepherds who can’t understand. They have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter.
- Hos 4:8–9They feed on the sin of my people, and set their heart on their iniquity.
- Prov 28:21To show partiality is not good; yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 18:4 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.