Judges 17:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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, "Blessed be my son by the Lord."

NIV: said to his mother, "The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have that silver with me; I took it." Then his mother said, "The Lord bless you, my son!"

NASB: 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 hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.' And his mother said, 'Blessed be my son by the Lord.'

CSB: He said to his mother, "The 1,100 pieces of silver taken from you, and that I heard you place a curse on—here’s the silver. I took it." Then his mother said, "My son, may you be blessed by the Lord!"

NLT: One day he said to his mother, 'I heard you place a curse on the person who stole 1,100 pieces of silver from you. Well, I have the money. I was the one who took it.' 'The Lord bless you for admitting it,' his mother replied.

KJV: And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my son.

NKJV: And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you put a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “ May you be blessed by the Lord, my son!”

The book of Judges has moved on from telling stories of deliverers sent from the Lord to save Israel (Judges 2:16–19). It concludes by telling heartbreaking stories of the lives of everyday Israelites. These people had moved closer to the ways of Canaan and further from the ways of Israel's God.

Micah—first described by his extended name, Mikāyehu—lives with his family in Ephraim (Judges 17:1). His story begins with a confession. An enormous amount of money was stolen from Micah's mother. He overhears her speaking a curse against the thief. Fearing that curse, he confesses that he stole the silver. Whatever his mother said in the curse went beyond speaking harshly. She likely made a request of some deity to harm whoever had taken so much from her.

This confession serves two purposes. First, Micah may want to make things right with his mother. Second, he believes her curse could really bring harm upon him. He wants her to reverse it, or cancel it somehow, by blessing him. Micah's mother shows mercy and forgiveness despite the nature of his theft. She immediately declares a blessing upon her son. She blesses Micah "by the Lord." In other circumstances, this might indicate deep commitment to the God of Israel. Unfortunately, it's just part of the family's pattern of misunderstanding—or rejecting—what the Lord really wants from His people.

In Exodus 20:1–17, God establishes his core ten rules for the people of Israel, known as the Ten Commandments. In just the first few verses of this chapter, this family accomplishes the tragically impressive feat of breaking most of these commandments. So far, Micah has already failed to honor his mother (Exodus 20:12) and stolen (Exodus 20:15) out of what was likely greed or covetousness (Exodus 20:17).

Judges 17:1–6 begins a new focus in the book of Judges, showing lack of commitment to God in the lives of everyday Israelites. A man named Micah confesses to his mother that he stole from her. She blesses him and has the stolen sliver made into an idol. Micah has a house shrine with household gods and totems and ordains one of his own sons as his priest. In just a few verses, the family manages to violate almost all of God's primary Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–7). This summarizes Israel's profound lack of leadership and spiritual maturity during that era.

A man named Micah overhears his mother speaking a curse on whoever stole a hefty sum of money from her. He confesses that it was him so she attempts to replace her curse with a blessing from God. She has a carved religious object made from the silver for Micah, which he puts in his household shrine full of other idols and relics. A young Levite man comes to Micah's house, and Micah hires him as the personal family priest, convinced God will prosper him because of it. This demonstrates Israel's lack of spiritual commitment during the era of the judges.

Judges 17 marks a new direction for the book. Having completed the stories of the judges themselves, the focus shifts to everyday Israelites. A man confesses to stealing from his mother, and she donates the silver to make an idol. The man puts this in a shrine in his house along with other religious objects. He hires a Levite to be the family priest, which he assumes will guarantee blessings from God. The same priest will willingly leave with a group of raiders from the tribe of Dan (Judges 18). This leads to one the Bible's most disturbing stories, involving an abused woman whose fate sparks a civil war within Israel (Judges 19—20).

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).