Micah and the Levite

1 There was a man of ^tthe hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, ^u“Blessed be my son by the Lord.” 3 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 ^va carved image and ^wa metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.” 4 So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother ^xtook 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. 5 And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made ^yan ephod and ^zhousehold gods, and ^aordained¹ one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 ^bIn those days there was no king in Israel. ^cEveryone did what was right in his own eyes.

7 Now there was a young man of ^dBethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8 And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to ^ethe hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. 9 And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place.” 10 And Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me ^fa father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living.” And the Levite went in. 11 And the Levite ^gwas content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12 And Micah ^hordained the Levite, and the young man ⁱbecame his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.”

Danites Take the Levite and the Idol

1 ^jIn those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days ^kthe tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. 2 So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, ^lfrom Zorah and from Eshtaol, ^mto spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go and explore the land.” And they came ⁿto the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” 4 And he said to them, “This is how Micah dealt with me: ^ohe has hired me, and I have become his priest.” 5 And they said to him, ^p“Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” 6 And the priest said to them, ^q“Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.”

7 Then the five men departed and came to ^rLaish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, ^squiet and unsuspecting, lacking² nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth, and how ^tthey were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 8 And when they came to their brothers at ^uZorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” 9 They said, ^v“Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. ^wAnd will you do nothing? ^xDo not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land. 10 As soon as you go, you will come to an ^yunsuspecting people. The land is spacious, for God has given it into your hands, ^za place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

11 So 600 men of the tribe of Dan, ^aarmed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol, 12 and went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this account that place is called ^bMahaneh-dan³ to this day; behold, it is west of ^cKiriath-jearim. 13 And they passed on from there to ^dthe hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

14 Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that ^ein these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do.” 15 And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and ^fasked him about his welfare. 16 Now the 600 men of the Danites, ^garmed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17 And ^hthe five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took ⁱthe carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. 18 And when these went into Micah’s house and took ⁱthe carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 And they said to him, “Keep quiet; ^jput your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us ^ka father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” 20 And the priest’s heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people.

21 So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the livestock and ^lthe goods in front of them. 22 When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan. 23 And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?” 24 And he said, ^m“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?’” 25 And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.” 26 Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.

27 But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people ⁿquiet and unsuspecting, and ^ostruck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no deliverer because it was ^pfar from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to ^qBeth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29 And they named the city ^rDan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but ^sthe name of the city was Laish at the first. 30 And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, ^tson of Moses,^{4 u}and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day ^vof the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up Micah’s carved image that he made, ^was long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

Tremble at the Presence of the Lord

Lawsuits Against Believers

1 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous ^rinstead of the saints? 2 Or do you not know that ^sthe saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 4 So if you have such cases, ^twhy do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? 5 ^uI say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. ^vWhy not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even ^wyour own brothers!¹

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous² will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: ^xneither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,³ 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And ^ysuch were some of you. But ^zyou were washed, ^ayou were sanctified, ^byou were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Flee Sexual Immorality

12 ^c“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 ^d“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one ^eand the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but ^ffor the Lord, and ^gthe Lord for the body. 14 And ^hGod raised the Lord and ⁱwill also raise us up ^jby his power. 15 Do you not know that ^kyour bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined⁴ to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ^l“The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord ^mbecomes one spirit with him. 18 ⁿFlee from sexual immorality. Every other sin⁵ a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person ^osins against his own body. 19 Or ^pdo you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? ^qYou are not your own, 20 ^rfor you were bought with a price. ^sSo glorify God in your body.

Principles for Marriage

1 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: ^t“It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 ^uThe husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 ^vDo not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, ^wso that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

6 Now as a concession, ^xnot a command, I say this.⁶ 7 ^yI wish that all were ^zas I myself am. But ^aeach has his own gift from God, ^bone of one kind and one of another.

8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that ^cit is good for them to remain single, ^das I am. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, ^ethey should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

10 To the married ^fI give this charge (not I, but the Lord): ^gthe wife should not separate from her husband 11 (but if she does, ^hshe should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and ^gthe husband should not divorce his wife.

12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. ⁱOtherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you^{7 j}to peace. 16 For how do you know, wife, ^kwhether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

Live as You Are Called

17 Only let each person lead the life^{8 l}that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. ^mThis is my rule in ⁿall the churches. 18 Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? ^oLet him not seek circumcision. 19 ^pFor neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but ^qkeeping the commandments of God. 20 ^rEach one should remain in the condition in which he was called. 21 Were you a bondservant⁹ when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) 22 For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is ^sa freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is ^ta bondservant of Christ. 23 ^uYou were bought with a price; ^vdo not become bondservants of men. 24 So, brothers,^{10 w}in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.

The Unmarried and the Widowed

25 Now concerning¹¹ the betrothed,^{12 x}I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as ^yone who by the Lord’s mercy is ^ztrustworthy. 26 I think that in view of the present¹³ distress ^ait is good for a person to remain as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman¹⁴ marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. 29 This is what I mean, brothers: ^bthe appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy ^cas though they had no goods, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For ^dthe present form of this world is passing away.

32 I want you to be ^efree from anxieties. ^fThe unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, ^gnot to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.

36 If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed,¹⁵ if his¹⁶ passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. 37 But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. 38 So then he who marries his betrothed ^hdoes well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better.

39 ⁱA wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only ^jin the Lord. 40 Yet ^kin my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think ^lthat I too have the Spirit of God.