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.

Micah said to him, "Stay with me. Become my adviser and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food."

Micah paid the Levite; the young man became his priest and lived in Micah's house.

Micah said, "Now I know God will make me rich, because I have this Levite as my priest."

He told them what Micah had done for him, saying, "He hired me and I became his priest."

The priest said to them, "Go with confidence. The Lord will be with you on your mission."

The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred fully armed men.

When these men broke into Micah's house and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?"

They said to him, "Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us! You can be our adviser and priest. Wouldn't it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man's family?"

The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group.

He 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?'"

Now the Danites took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, and came to Laish, where the people were undisturbed and unsuspecting. They struck them down with the sword and burned the city.