And Micah said to him: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And is omitted in several versions (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). Many languages may prefer to begin this verse with a linking clause, such as “When he arrived.” The general verb said may be rendered “asked” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), since Micah asks the Levite a question.

From where do you come? renders the Hebrew question quite literally. The question is probably asking about who the Levite is, rather than from where he was coming. Many languages have a similar kind of question to find out more about a person. For example, English may say “Where are you from?”

And he said to him: The pronoun he refers to the Levite, and the pronoun him to Micah, which will probably be clear in most languages. In this context the general verb said may be rendered “replied” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible) or “answered” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version).

I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah: The young man responds, first telling Micah that he is a Levite, and later adding where he is from. I am a Levite renders an emphatic expression in Hebrew, literally “A Levite I [am],” so obviously this man sees his role as a priest as crucial. Of Bethlehem in Judah repeats once again the place name, which is crucial to this story (see verse 17.7). We might say “I’m a Levite and I come from Bethlehem in Judah.”

And I am going to sojourn where I may find a place: This clause repeats the words of verse 17.8 (see comments there). The Levites had no territory of their own, so they moved around and served the people throughout the land, whatever their tribe. The pronoun for I is emphatic in Hebrew, which shows the Levite’s determination. New Jerusalem Bible gives a good rendering for this clause, saying “I am travelling, and am going to settle wherever I can find a home.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh is similar: “and I am traveling to take up residence wherever I can find a place.” Another possible model is “Wherever I find a place, I’ll stay there [to work].”

Translation models for this verse are:

• Micah asked him, “Where are you from?”
And the man replied, “I am a Levite. I’ve come from Bethlehem in Judah and I’m looking for a new place to live and work.”

• Micah asked the man where he had come from, and the man replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, but I will stay wherever I find a place [to work].”

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .