Judges 19
1 At that time the Israeli people had no king. There was a man from the tribe of Levi who lived in a remote place in the hilly area where the tribe of Ephraim lives. He had previously taken as a wife a woman who was a slave. She was from Bethlehem, in the area where the tribe of Judah lives.
There was a certain man, a Levite, living beside mount Ephraim, who took a wife from Bethlehem of Judah.
2 But she started to sleep with other men also. Then she left him and returned to her father’s house in Bethlehem. She stayed there for four months.
She left him, and she returned to the house of her father in Bethlehem. And she stayed with him for four months.
3 Then her husband took his servant and two donkeys and went to Bethlehem. He went to ask her to come back to live with him again. When he arrived at her father’s house, she invited him to come in. Her father was happy to see him.
And her husband followed her, wishing to be reconciled with her, and to speak kindly to her, and to lead her back with him. And he had with him a servant and two donkeys. And she received him, and brought him into the house of her father. And when his father-in-law had heard about this, and had seen him, he met him with joy.
4 The woman’s father asked him to stay. So he stayed there for three days. During that time he ate and drank and slept there.
And he embraced the man. And the son-in-law stayed in the house of his father-in-law for three days, eating and drinking with him in a friendly manner.
5 On the fourth day, they all got up early in the morning. The man from the tribe of Levi was preparing to leave, but the woman’s father said to him, “Eat something before you go.”
But on the fourth day, arising in the night, he intended to set out. But his father-in-law took hold of him, and he said to him, “First taste a little bread, and strengthen your stomach, and then you shall set out.”
6 So the two men sat down to eat and drink together. Then the woman’s father said to him, “Please stay another night. Relax/Rest and have a joyful time.”
And they sat down together, and they ate and drank. And the father of the young woman said to his son-in-law, “I ask you to remain here today, so that we may rejoice together.”
7 The man from the tribe of Levi wanted to leave, but the woman’s father requested him to stay one more night. So he stayed again that night.
But getting up, he intended to begin to set out. But nevertheless, his father-in-law pressed him resolutely, and made him remain with him.
8 On the fifth day, the man got up early and prepared to leave. But the woman’s father said to him again, “Have something to eat. Wait until this afternoon, [and then leave].” So the two men ate together.
But when morning came, the Levite was preparing for his journey. And his father-in-law said to him again, “I beg you to take a little food, and to be strengthened, until the daylight increases, and after that, you shall set out.” Therefore, they ate together.
9 In the afternoon, when the man from the tribe of Levi and his slave wife and his servant got up to leave, the woman’s father said, “It will soon be dark. The day is almost over. Stay here tonight and have a good/joyful time. Tomorrow morning you can get up early and leave for your home.”
And the young man got up, so that he might travel with his wife and servant. And his father-in-law spoke to him again: “Consider that the daylight is declining, and it approaches toward evening. Remain with me also today, and spend the day in gladness. And tomorrow you shall set out, so that you may go to your own house.”
10 But the man from the tribe of Levi did not want to stay for another night. He put saddles on his two donkeys, and started to go with his slave wife [and his servant] toward Jebus [city], which is [now named] Jerusalem.
His son-in-law was not willing to agree to his words. Instead, he immediately continued on, and he arrived opposite Jebus, which by another name is called Jerusalem, leading with him two donkeys carrying burdens, and his mate.
11 Late in the afternoon, they came near to Jebus. The servant said to his master, “We should stop in this city where the Jebus people-group live, and stay here tonight.”
And now they were near Jebus, but day was turning into night. And the servant said to his lord, “Come, I beg you, let us turn aside to the city of the Jebusites, so that we may find lodging in it.”
12 But his master said, “No, it would not be good for us to stay here where foreign people live. There are no Israeli people here. We will go on to Gibeah [city].”
His lord responded to him: “I will not enter into the town of a foreign people, who are not of the sons of Israel. Instead, I will cross over as far as Gibeah.
13 He said to his servant, “Let’s go. It is not far to Gibeah. We can go there, or we can go a bit further to Ramah. We can stay in one of those two cities tonight.”
And when I will have arrived there, we will lodge in that place, or at least in the city of Ramah.”
14 So they continued walking. When they came near Gibeah, where people from the tribe of Benjamin live, the sun was setting.
Therefore, they passed by Jebus, and continuing on, they undertook the journey. But the sun went down on them when they were near Gibeah, which is of the tribe of Benjamin.
15 They stopped to stay there that night. They went to the public square of that city and sat down. But no one [who passed by] invited them to stay in their house for that night.
And so they diverted to it, so that they might lodge there. And when they had entered, they were sitting in the street of the city. For no one was willing to give them hospitality.
16 Finally, in the evening, an old man came by. He had been working in the fields. He was from the hilly area of the tribe of Ephraim, but at that time he was living in Gibeah.
And behold, they saw an old man, returning from the field and from his work in the evening, and he was also from mount Ephraim, and he was living as a stranger in Gibeah. For the men of that region were of the sons of Benjamin.
17 He realized that the man from the tribe of Levi was only traveling and did not have a home in that city. So he asked the man, “Where have you come from? And where are you going?”
And the old man, lifting up his eyes, saw the man sitting with his bundles in the street of the city. And he said to him: “Where have you come from? And where are you going?”
18 He replied, “We are traveling from Bethlehem to my home in the hilly area where people of the tribe of Ephraim live. I went from there to Bethlehem, but now we are going to [Shiloh] where Yahweh’s Sacred tent (OR, my house) is. No one here has invited us to stay in their house tonight.
He answered him: “We set out from Bethlehem of Judah, and we are traveling to our own place, which is beside mount Ephraim. From there we went to Bethlehem, and now we go to the house of God. But no one is willing to receive us under his roof.
19 We have straw and food for our donkeys, and bread and wine for me and the young woman and my servant. We do not need anything else.”
We have straw and hay as fodder for the donkeys, and we have bread and wine for the use of myself, and for your handmaid and the servant who is with me. We lack nothing except lodging.”
20 The old man said, “I wish that things will go well for you, but I would like to provide what you need. Do not stay here in the square tonight.”
And the old man responded to him: “Peace be with you. I will provide all that is necessary. Only, I beg you, do not stay in the street.”
21 Then the old man took them to his house. He gave food to the donkeys. He [gave water to the man and the woman and the servant to] wash their feet. And he gave them something to eat and drink.
And he led him into his house, and he gave fodder to his donkeys. And after they had washed their feet, he received them with a banquet.
22 While they were having a good/joyful time together, some wicked men from that city surrounded the house and started to bang on the door. They shouted to the old man, “Bring out to us the man who has come to your house. We want to have sex with him.”
And while they were feasting, and were refreshing their bodies with food and drink after the labor of the journey, the men of that city, sons of Belial (that is, without yoke), came and surrounded the old man’s house. And they began to knock at the door, calling out to the lord of the house, and saying, “Bring out the man who entered your house, so that we may abuse him.”
23 The old man went outside and said to them, “Friends, I will not do that. That would be a very evil thing. This man is a guest in my house. You should not do such a terrible/disgraceful/shameful thing!
And the old man went out to them, and he said: “Do not choose, brothers, do not choose to do this evil. For this man has entered to my hospitality. And you must cease from this senselessness.
24 Look, my daughter is here. She is [still] a virgin. And this man’s slave wife is here. I will bring them out to you now. You may do to them whatever you wish, but do not do such a terrible/disgraceful/shameful thing to this young man!”
I have a virgin daughter, and this man has a mate. I will lead them out to you, so that you may debase them and may satisfy your lust. Only, I beg you, do not commit this crime against nature on the man.”
25 But the men did not pay attention to what he said. So the man from the tribe of Levi took his slave wife and sent her to them, outside the house. They raped [EUP] her and abused her all night. Then at dawn, they allowed her to go.
But they were not willing to agree to his words. So the man, discerning this, led out his mate to them, and he delivered her to their sexual abuse. And when they had abused her for the entire night, they released her in the morning.
26 She returned to the old man’s house, where her husband was staying, but she fell down at the doorway and lay there all night.
But the woman, as darkness was receding, came to the door of the house, where her lord was staying, and there she fell down.
27 In the morning, when the man from the tribe of Levi got up, he went outside of the house to continue his journey. He saw his slave wife lying there at the doorway of the house. Her hands were on the doorsill.
When morning came, the man arose, and he opened the door, so that he might complete the journey that he had begun. And behold, his mate was lying before the door, with her hands reaching out to the threshold.
28 He said to her, “Get up! Let’s go!” But she did not answer, [because she had died]. He put her body on the donkey and traveled to his home.
And he, thinking that she was resting, said to her, “Get up, and let us walk.” But since she gave no response, realizing that she had died, he took her up, and he laid her on his donkey, and he returned to his house.
29 When he arrived home, he took a knife and cut the body of the slave woman into twelve pieces. Then he sent one piece to each area of Israel, [along with a message telling what had happened].
And when he had arrived, he took up a sword, and he cut into pieces the dead body of his wife, with her bones, into twelve parts. And he sent the pieces into all the parts of Israel.
30 Everyone who saw a piece of the body and the message said, “Nothing like this has ever happened before. Not since our ancestors left Egypt [have we heard of such a terrible thing]. We need to think carefully about it. Someone should decide what we should do.”
And when each one had seen this, they were crying out together, “Never has such a thing been done in Israel, from the day that our fathers ascended from Egypt, even to the present time. Let a sentence be brought and let us decide in common what ought to be done.”
