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.
And there was a Levite sojourning in the sides of mount Ephraim, and he took to himself a concubine from Bethleem Juda.
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.
And his concubine departed from him, and went away from him to the house of her father to Bethleem Juda, and she was there 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 rose up, and went after her to speak kindly to her, to recover her to himself; and he had his young man with him, and a pair of asses; and she brought him into the house of her father; and the father of the damsel saw him, and was well pleased to meet him.
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 his father-in-law, the father of the damsel, constrained him, and he stayed with him for three days; and they ate and drank, and lodged there.
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.”
And it came to pass on the fourth day that they rose early, and he stood up to depart; and the father of the damsel said to his son-in-law, Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterwards you shall go.
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.”
So they two sat down together and ate and drank: and the father of the damsel said to her husband, Tarry now the night, and let your heart be merry.
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.
And the man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law constrained him, and he stayed and lodged there.
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.
And he rose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the father of the damsel said, Strengthen now your heart, and quit yourself as a soldier till the day decline; and the two ate.
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 man rose up to depart, he and his concubine, and his young man; but his father-in-law the father of the damsel said to him, Behold now, the day has declined toward evening; lodge here, an let your heart rejoice; and you shall rise early to-morrow for your journey, and you shall go to your habitation.
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.
But the man would not lodge there, but he arose and departed, and came to the part opposite Jebus, (this is Jerusalem, ) and [there was] with him a pair of asses saddled, and his concubine [was] with him.
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 they came as far as Jebus: and the day had far advanced, and the young man said to his master, Come, I pray you, and let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites, and let us lodge 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].”
And his master said to him, We will not turn aside to a strange city, where there is not one of the children of Israel, but we will pass on as far as Gabaa.
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 he said to his young man, Come, and let us draw near to one of the places, and we will lodge in Gabaa or in Rama.
14 So they continued walking. When they came near Gibeah, where people from the tribe of Benjamin live, the sun was setting.
And they passed by and went on, and the sun went down upon them near to Gabaa, which is in 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 they turned aside thence to go in to lodge in Gabaa; and they went in, and sat down in the street of the city, and there was no one who conducted them into a house to lodge.
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, an old man came out of the field from his work in the evening; and the man was of mount Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gabaa, and the men of the place [were] 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 he lifted up his eyes, and saw a traveller in the street of the city; and the old man said to him, Whither go you, and whence come you?
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.
And he said to him, We are passing by from Bethleem Juda to the sides of mount Ephraim: I am from thence, and I went as far as Bethleem Juda, and I am going home, and there is no man to take me into his house.
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.”
Yet is there straw and food for our asses, and bread and wine for me and my handmaid and the young man with your servants; there is no lack of anything.
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 said, Peace [be] to you; only be every lack of your upon me, only do you by no means lodge 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 brought him into his house, and made room for his asses; and they washed their feet, and ate and drank.
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 they [were] comforting their heart, when, behold, the men of the city, sons of transgressors, compassed the house, knocking at the door: and they spoke to the old man the owner of the house, saying, Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know 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 master of the house came out to them, and said, Nay, brethren, do not you wrong, I pray you, after this man has come into my house; do not you this folly.
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!”
Behold my daughter a virgin, and the man's concubine: I will bring them out, and humble you them, and do to them that which is good in your eyes; but to this man do not this folly.
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 the men would not consent to listen to him; so the man laid hold of his concubine, and brought her out to them; and they knew her, and abused her all night till the morning, and let her go when the morning dawned.
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.
And the woman came toward morning, and fell down at the door of the house where her husband was, until it was light.
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.
And her husband rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went forth to go on his journey; and, behold, the woman his concubine had fallen down by the doors of the house, and her hands were on 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 said to her, Rise, and let us go; and she answered not, for she was dead: and he took her upon his ass, and went to his place.
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 he took his sword, and laid hold of his concubine, and divided her into twelve parts, and sent them to every coast 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 it was so, that every one who saw it said, [Such a day] as this has not happened nor has been seen from the day of the going up of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt until this day: take you counsel concerning it, and speak.
