¹⁷ The five men who had gone to spy on the land came and took the engraved idol, the priestly vest, the household god, and the cast idol while the priest was standing at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men equipped for war.

¹⁸ When these five men came into the house of Micah and took the engraved idol, the priestly vest, the household god, and the cast idol, the priest asked them, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹ They told him, “Be quiet. Put your hand over your mouth. Come with us and be our father and priest! Is it better for you to be priest for the household of one man or to be priest for an entire tribe and clan in Israel?”