English Standard Version
Judges 17:5
5And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest.
Judges 17:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
- New International Version (NIV)Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household gods and installed one of his sons as his priest.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Micah set up a shrine for the idol, and he made a sacred ephod and some household idols. Then he installed one of his sons as his personal priest.
Context of Judges 17:5
3And 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." 4So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Micah. And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest. 6In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. 7Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
Read all of Judges 17Judges 17:5 word by word
וְהָאִ֣ישׁ מִיכָ֔ה ל֖וֹ בֵּ֣ית אֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיַּ֤עַשׂ אֵפוֹד֙ וּתְרָפִ֔ים וַיְמַלֵּ֗א אֶת־יַ֤ד אַחַד֙ מִבָּנָ֔יו וַיְהִי־ל֖וֹ לְכֹהֵֽן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- Micahמִיכָהmîykâh · MicahH4318
- had an houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
- of godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- and madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- an ephodאֵפוֹד'êphôd 'êphôd · ephodH646
- and teraphimתְּרָפִיםterâphîym · teraphimH8655
- and consecratedיָדyâd · hand: donateH3027
- and consecratedמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
- oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- of his sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- who became his priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
Cross-references for Judges 17:5
- Judges 18:24And he said, "You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, 'What is the matter with you?'"
- Genesis 31:30And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father's house, but why did you steal my gods?"
- Ezra 1:7Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods.
- Hosea 8:14For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; so I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour her strongholds.
- Judges 8:27And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.
- Judges 18:14Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, "Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do."
- Exodus 28:4These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests.
- 1 Samuel 23:6When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech had fled to David to Keilah, he had come down with an ephod in his hand.
- Genesis 31:19Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father's household gods.
- Hosea 3:4For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods.
- Exodus 29:9and you shall gird Aaron and his sons with sashes and bind caps on them. And the priesthood shall be theirs by a statute forever. Thus you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.
- 1 Kings 12:31He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites.
- 1 Kings 13:33After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places.
- Hebrews 5:4And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
- Exodus 24:5And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord.
Commentaries on Judges 17:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5The man Micah had a house of gods - אלהים בית beith Elohim should, I think, be translated house or temple of God; for it is very likely that both the mother and the son intended no more than a private or domestic chapel, in which they proposed to set up the worship of the true God. Made an ephod - Perhaps the whole of this case may be stated thus: Micah built a house of God - a chapel in imitation of the sanctuary; he made a graven image representing the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5ephod: See study note on Judges 8:27. household idols: Compare Genesis 31:19–32; 2 Kings 23:24; Zechariah 10:2. The Bible criticizes the powerlessness of these personal gods. Micah making his son his personal priest was very unusual: The father was supposed to lead the family's religious activities (Deuteronomy 6:7; Job 1:5), only Aaron's descendants could be priests (Exodus 28:1–29:37; 30:30–33; 40:12–15), and priests served all of Israel, not just one…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. the man Micah had an house of gods--Hebrew, "a house of God"--a domestic chapel, a private religious establishment of his own. an ephod--(see on Ex 28:6). teraphim--tutelary gods of the household (see Ge 31:19 and see on Ge 31:26). consecrated one of his sons who became his priest--The assumption of the priestly office by any one out of the family of Aaron was a direct violation of the divine law (Nu 3:10; 16:17; De 21:5; He 5:4).Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 17:5
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries