EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Judges 17:3
3When Micah gave the 1,100 pieces of silver back to his mother, she said, ‘I will now give this silver to the Lord. We will use it to make an image and a metal idol. In that way, I will give it back to you, my son.’
Judges 17:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.
- New International Version (NIV)When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I solemnly consecrate my silver to the Lord for my son to make an image overlaid with silver. I will give it back to you.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he restored the 1,100 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."
- New King James Version (NKJV)So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son, to make a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you.”
Context of Judges 17:3
1There was a man who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Micah. 2He said to his mother, ‘I know about the 1,100 pieces of silver that somebody took from you. You cursed the person who had robbed you and I heard you. Look! Here are the pieces of silver. I took them myself. But now I am giving them back to you.’ His mother said, ‘Thank you, my son. I pray that the Lord will bless you.’ When Micah gave the 1,100 pieces of silver back to his mother, she said, ‘I will now give this silver to the Lord. We will use it to make an image and a metal idol. In that way, I will give it back to you, my son.’ 4So Micah's mother took 200 pieces of silver. She gave them to a man who used silver to make things. He made an image and an idol for her. She put them in Micah's house. 5Micah had a special room to worship his gods. He made an ephod and some more idols for it. He chose one of his sons to be a priest to serve his gods.
Read all of Judges 17Judges 17:3 word by word
וַיָּ֛שֶׁב אֶת־אֶֽלֶף־וּמֵאָ֥ה הַכֶּ֖סֶף לְאִמּ֑וֹ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אִמּ֡וֹ הַקְדֵּ֣שׁ הִקְדַּ֣שְׁתִּי אֶת־הַכֶּסֶף֩ לַיהוָ֨ה מִיָּדִ֜י לִבְנִ֗י לַֽעֲשׂוֹת֙ פֶּ֣סֶל וּמַסֵּכָ֔ה וְעַתָּ֖ה אֲשִׁיבֶ֥נּוּ לָֽךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And when he had restoredשׁוּבshûb · to return: rescueH7725
- the eleven hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- the eleven hundredאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
- of silverכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
- to his motherאֵם'êm · motherH517
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- I had whollyקָדַשׁqâdash · to consecrate: dedicateH6942
- unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- from my handיָדyâd · handH3027
- for my sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- to makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- a graven imageפֶּ֫סֶלpesel · idolH6459
- and a molten imageמַסֵּכָהmassêkâh · molten metalH4541
Cross-references for Judges 17:3
- Judges 17:13Then Micah said, ‘Now I know that the Lord will bless me, because I have this Levite as my own priest.’
- Judges 18:5So they said to him, ‘Please ask God if our journey will have a good result.’
- Isaiah 66:3You may kill a bull as a sacrifice to me, but you might also kill a man. You may offer a lamb to me as a sacrifice, but you might also break a dog's neck to offer to your idols. You may give me a grain offering, but you also offer pigs' blood. You may burn incense to worship me but you also worship false gods. Yes, these people have chosen how they want to live. They love to do these disgusting things.
- Exodus 20:4You must not make any idol for yourself. Do not make a false god in the shape of anything that is in the sky above. Do not make one in the shape of anything on the earth or in the sea.
- Leviticus 19:4You must not worship idols. You must not use metal to make gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.
- Deuteronomy 12:3You must break into pieces their altars and stone pillars. Burn their Asherah poles. Knock down the images of their gods. Destroy those places so that nobody remembers the false gods.
- Psalms 115:4Those people's idols are made from silver and gold. Yes, human hands make them!
- Isaiah 40:18You cannot find anyone else who is like God. There is no image that you can make to be like him.
- Isaiah 44:9All the people who make idols are fools. The images which make them so happy are useless. Those who worship idols cannot see the truth. They do not understand what they are doing, and they will be ashamed.
- Jeremiah 10:3The customs of those people are useless. They cut down a tree in the forest. A worker uses his tools to make it into an idol.
- Habakkuk 2:18What value does an idol have? What help can it give? Somebody has made it as the image of a false god. It can only tell false messages. Why should its maker trust it for help? He has used wood or metal to make it and it cannot speak!
- John 16:2People will send you away from their meeting places. There will be a time when people will want to kill you. When they do this, they will even think that they are doing what God wants.
Commentaries on Judges 17:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3I had wholly dedicated - From this it appears that Micah's mother, though she made a superstitious use of the money, had no idolatrous design, for she expressly says she had dedicated it ליהוה layhovah, to Jehovah; and this appears to have been the reason why she poured imprecations on him who had taken it.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Such a superstitious and unlawful mode of worshipping Yahweh is quite of a piece with Judges 8:27; Judges 11:31; 1 Kings 12:28, etc. It argues but slight acquaintance with the Ten Commandments, which, from the ignorance of reading and writing, were probably not familiar to the Israelites in those unsettled times. The mother intimates that the consecration of the silver was for the benefit of her son and his house, not for her own selfish advantage: and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3Micah’s mother was indulgent and worshipped idols, yet she used the Lord’s name in both cursing and blessing. I heard you place a curse: People believed words in curses and blessings had power, especially if the speaker had authority (compare Genesis 27; Isaiah 55:11). eleven hundred shekels: This large amount was also given to Delilah (Judges 16:5). It was likely Micah’s mother’s life savings or dowry. Blessed be my son by the LORD!: Micah’s mother hoped…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. a graven image and a molten image--The one carved from a block of wood or stone, to be plated over with silver; the other, a figure formed of the solid metal cast into a mould. It is observable, however, that only two hundred shekels were given to the founder. Probably the expense of making two such figures of silver, with their appurtenances (pedestals, bases, &c.), might easily cost, in those days, two hundred shekels, which (at 2 shillings, 4 pence…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 17:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Judges 17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
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