Judges 17:2

Verse

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 the silver here with me; I took it.” Then his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD!”

American Standard Version (1901)

And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou didst utter a curse, and didst also speak it in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be my son of Jehovah.

Bible in Basic English

And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver which were taken from you, about which you took an oath and said in my hearing, I have given this silver to the Lord from my hand for myself, to make a pictured image and a metal image: see, I have the silver, for I took it: so now I will give it back to you. And his mother said, May the blessing of the Lord be on my son.

Free Bible Version

told his mother, “Those eleven hundred shekels of silver that were stolen from you and that I heard you curse—I've got the silver. I was the one who took it.” Then his mother said, “My son, the Lord bless you!”

Geneva Bible 1599

And he saide vnto his mother, The eleuen hundreth shekels of siluer that were taken from thee, for the which thou cursedst, and spakedst it, euen in mine hearing, beholde, the siluer is with me, I tooke it. Then his mother saide, Blessed be my sonne of the Lord.

King James (Authorized) Version

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.

Translation for Translators

One day he said to his mother, “I heard you curse whoever stole ◄1,100 pieces/28 pounds/13 kg.► of silver from your house. I am the one who took the silver, and I still have it.” His mother replied, “My son, I pray that Yahweh will bless you for admitting that you took it.”

Unlocked Literal Bible

He said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you spoke a curse, and which I heard—look here! I have the silver with me. I stole it.” His mother said, “May Yahweh bless you, my son!”

Noah Webster Bible

And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou didst curse, and speak of also in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son.

World English Bible

He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred 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.” His mother said, “May Yahweh bless my son!”

Young's Literal Translation

and he saith to his mother, 'The eleven hundred silverlings which have been taken of thine, and [of which] thou hast sworn, and also spoken in mine ears; lo, the silver [is] with me, I have taken it;' and his mother saith, 'Blessed [is] my son of Jehovah.'

Context

Micah’s Idolatry

¹Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim ²said 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 the silver here with me; I took it.” Then his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD!”

Sermons

What Happened?

K.P. Yohannan

Summary

In Judges 17:2, a man named Micah confesses to his mother that he took a large amount of silver from her. This act reveals a lack of integrity and respect for his mother, as well as a disregard for the commandment to honor one's parents. The verse sets the stage for the narrative of Micah's further transgressions and the idolatry that ensues in his household, illustrating the consequences of dishonesty and disobedience to God's laws.

Commentary

John Gill

John Gill Bible Commentary

And he said unto his mother,.... Who seems to have been a widow, and an ancient woman since Micah had sons, and one of them at age to become a priest: the eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee: which were taken away by stealth from her, though it may be rendered "taken to thee" (i); which she had taken to herself out of the rest of her substance, and had separated and devoted it to religious uses; but Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it as we do, and which seems to be the best sense; of the value of this sum; see Gill on Jdg 16:5 and because the like sum is there offered, and was given to Delilah, hence some have thought, as Jarchi relates, that this woman was Delilah; but, as he observes, it is a mistake; for this woman lived long before the times of Samson and Delilah: about which thou cursedst; which when she perceived was stolen from her, she fell into a passion, and cursed and swore, cursed the thief that took it, whether of her own family or another; or adjured her son, that if he knew anything of it, that he would declare it, suspecting him of the robbery; some think this refers to the oath she had made, that she would devote the silver to a religious use: and spakest of also in mine ears; of the sum how much it was, and of the use she had designed it for; or rather the curse was delivered in his hearing, and cut him to the heart, and wrought that conviction in him, that he could not retain the money any longer, not being able to bear his mother's curse; though Abarbinel connects this with the following clause, "behold, the silver is with me"; as if the sense was, that she spake in his ears, and charged him with the theft to his face; saying, verily the silver is with thee, thou hast certainly taken it; upon which he confessed it, "I took it"; but the former sense seems best, that not being willing to lie under his mother's curse, he owned that the money was in his hands, and he had taken it from her: and his mother said, blessed be thou of the Lord, my son; she reversed the curse, and pronounced a blessing on him, or wished one to him, and that without reproving him for his sin, rejoicing to hear of her money again. (i) "captum est tibi", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius.