New English Translation
Judges 17:5
5Now this man Micah owned a shrine. He made an ephod and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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.
Context of Judges 17:5
3When he gave back to his mother the eleven hundred pieces of silver, his mother said, “I solemnly dedicate this silver to the Lord. It will be for my son’s benefit. We will use it to make a carved image and a metal image.” 4When he gave the silver back to his mother, she took two hundred pieces of silver to a silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a metal image. She then put them in Micah’s house. Now this man Micah owned a shrine. He made an ephod and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest. 6In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right. 7There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah. He was a Levite who had been temporarily residing among the tribe of Judah.
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 18:24He said, “You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, ‘What do you want?’”
- Genesis 31:30Now I understand that you have gone away because you longed desperately for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?”
- Ezra 1:7Then King Cyrus brought out the vessels of the Lord’s temple which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem and had displayed in the temple of his gods.
- Hosea 8:14Israel has forgotten his Maker and built royal palaces, and Judah has built many fortified cities. But I will send fire on their cities; it will consume their royal citadels.
- Judges 8:27Gideon used all this to make an ephod, which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.
- Judges 18:14The five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their kinsmen, “Do you realize that inside these houses are an ephod, some personal idols, a carved image, and a metal image? Decide now what you want to do.”
- Exodus 28:4Now these are the garments that they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a fitted tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make holy garments for your brother Aaron and for his sons, that they may minister as my priests.
- 1 Samuel 23:6Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech had fled to David at Keilah, he had brought with him an ephod.
- Genesis 31:19While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole the household idols that belonged to her father.
- Hosea 3:4For the Israelites must live many days without a king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred fertility pillar, without ephod or idols.
- Exodus 29:9and wrap the sashes around Aaron and his sons and put headbands on them, and so the ministry of priesthood will belong to them by a perpetual ordinance. Thus you are to consecrate Aaron and his sons.
- 1 Kings 12:31He built temples on the high places and appointed as priests people who were not Levites.
- 1 Kings 13:33After this happened, Jeroboam still did not change his evil ways; he continued to appoint common people as priests at the high places. Anyone who wanted the job he consecrated as a priest.
- Hebrews 5:4And no one assumes this honor on his own initiative, but only when called to it by God, as in fact Aaron was.
- Exodus 24:5He sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls for peace offerings 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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries