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.
Le ɣe ma ɣi me la, fia aɖeke menɔ Israel o. Ŋutsu aɖe tso Levi ƒe viwo dome nɔ Efraim ƒe tonyigba dzi ƒe kɔƒe aɖe me. Etsɔ ahiãvi tso Betlehem le Yuda.
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.
Ke nyɔnuvi la do dɔmedzoe ɖe eŋu eye wòsi yi fofoa gbɔ le Betlehem, henɔ afi ma ɣleti ene.
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.
Ŋutsu sia kplɔ subɔla ɖeka kple tedzi eve yi be yewoable ahiãvi la nu akplɔe agbɔe. Esi woɖo Betlehem la, nyɔnuvi la xɔ wo nyuie eye wòɖe wo fia fofoa, ame si hã xɔ wo nyuie
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.
eye wòbia tso wo si be woanɔ yewo gbɔ vie. Ale wonɔ wo gbɔ ŋkeke etɔ̃ le dzidzɔ kple dzidzeme me. Woɖu nu, no nu eye wotsi afi ma dɔ ŋkeke etɔ̃.
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.”
Le ŋkeke enelia gbe la, wofɔ kaba hedzra ɖo na dzodzo, ke nyɔnuvi la fofo zi wo dzi be woaɖu ŋdinu gbã.
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.”
Ale wo kple eve la wonɔ anyi, eye woɖu nu, no nu ɖekae. Emegbe la nyɔnuvi la fofo gblɔ be, “Meɖe kuku tsi mía gbɔ egbe sia hã eye nàdo dzidzɔ na ɖokuiwò.”
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.
Ŋutsu la melɔ̃ ɖe edzi gbã o gake aƒea tɔ ƒoe ɖe enu va se ɖe esime wòlɔ̃.
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.
Esi ŋu ke la, wogafɔ kaba hena dzodzo gake nyɔnuvi la fofo gagblɔ nɛ be, “Miganɔ anyi egbea ko eye miadzo egbe fiẽ.” Ale woganɔ anyi, ɖu nu, no nu ŋkeke ɖeka kpee.
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.”
Gbe ma gbe ɣetrɔ esi Levitɔ la kple eƒe ahiãvi la kple subɔla la nɔ dzadzram ɖo na dzodzo la, nyɔnuvi la fofo gagblɔ na wo be, “Zã do xoxo, miganɔ mía gbɔ zã sia hã; míagaɖu nu, miano nu, ekema miate ŋu adze mɔ ŋdi kanya.”
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.
Ke ŋutsu la melɔ̃ be yeagatsi anyi zã ma me o, ale wodze mɔ heɖo ta Yebus si woyɔna hã be Yerusalem kple eƒe tedzi eve siwo wodo agba na kple eƒe ahiãvi la.
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.”
Esi woɖo afi ma la, subɔla la gblɔ nɛ be, “Zã do akpa na mɔzɔzɔ eya ta na míatsi afi sia adɔ.”
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].”
Ŋutsu la ɖo eŋu be, “Ao, míayi amedzrowo ƒe du me, du si me tɔwo menye Israelviwo o. Míayi Gibea.”
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.”
Eyi edzi be, “Mina míadze agbagba be míaɖo Gibea alo Rama eye míatsi teƒe mawo dometɔ ɖeka adɔ.”
14 So they continued walking. When they came near Gibeah, where people from the tribe of Benjamin live, the sun was setting.
Ale woyi mɔzɔzɔ la dzi. Ɣe nɔ to ɖom esime wova ɖo Gibea, si nye Benyamin ƒe du sue aɖe me.
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.
Woɖo be yewoatsi afi ma adɔ, ke esi ame aɖeke mekpe wo be woava dze ye gbɔ o ta la, wodro ɖe dua ƒe ablɔme.
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.
Sẽe ko la, ŋutsu tsitsi aɖe tso agble gbɔ va yina aƒe me. Etso Efraim ƒe tonyigba dzi, ke fifia la ele Gibea, togbɔ be Gibea nɔ Benyamin ƒe anyigba dzi hã.
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?”
Esi wòkpɔ be amedzroawo dro ɖe ablɔme la, ebia afi si wotso kple afi si woyina la wo.
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.
Levitɔ la ɖo eŋu be, “Míetso Betlehem le Yuda eye míeyina Efraim ƒe tonyigba dzi ƒe mlɔea nu te ɖe Silo ŋu. Ame aɖeke mekpe mí be míava dze ye gbɔ o,
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.”
togbɔ be nuɖuɖu le mía si na míaƒe tedziwo eye nuɖuɖu kple wain hã sɔ gbɔ na nye ŋutɔ kple nye ahiãvi kple subɔla la hã hafi.”
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.”
Ŋutsu tsitsi la gblɔ be, “Miva dze gbɔnye, menyo be miatsi ablɔme le afi sia o elabena mianɔ dedie o.”
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.
Ŋutsu tsitsi la kplɔ wo yi aƒe mee, ena nuɖuɖu woƒe tedziwo. Esi woklɔ woƒe afɔwo vɔ la, woɖu nu eye wono nu.
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.”
Esi wonɔ dzidzɔ dom na wo ɖokui la, ŋutsu vlo aɖewo tso dua me va ƒo xlã aƒe la eye wonɔ ʋɔa ƒom sesĩe nɔ ɣli dom bobobo gblɔ na ŋutsu tsitsi la be, “Kplɔ ŋutsu si va dze aƒewò me la do goe ne míadɔ kplii.”
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!
Aƒea tɔ do ɖe wo ŋuti eye wògblɔ na wo be, “Ao, xɔ̃nyewo, migawɔ nu vɔ̃ɖi sia o. Esi ŋutsu sia nye nye amedzro ta la, migawɔ ŋukpenanu sia ɖe eŋuti o.
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!”
Mina maɖe asi le vinye ɖetugbi si menya ŋutsu haɖe o kple ŋutsu la ƒe ahiãvi ŋuti na mi. Makplɔ wo do goe eye miate ŋu awɔ nu sia nu kpli wo, gake migawɔ nu vɔ̃ɖi, nyɔŋu sia tɔgbi ɖe ŋutsu sia ŋu o.”
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.
Ame vloawo meɖo toe o. Tete Levitɔ la he ahiãvi la do goe tso xɔ la me na wo. Ameawo wɔ fui, dɔ kplii ɖekaɖeka to zã blibo la me. Esi woɖe asi le eŋu mlɔeba le fɔŋli la,
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.
eyi eƒe aƒetɔ ƒe aƒe me, edze anyi ɖe aƒea ƒe mɔnu eye wòtsi afi ma va se ɖe esime ŋu ke nyuie.
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.
Esi Levitɔ la ʋu ʋɔa hena mɔdzedze la, ekpɔ eƒe ahiãvi la wòmlɔ anyigba le ʋɔtrua ŋgɔ, eye eƒe asiwo nɔ kpui dzi.
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.
Egblɔ nɛ be, “Tso mídzo,” gake meɖo nya la ŋu nɛ o. Tete ŋutsu la kɔe da ɖe eƒe tedzi dzi eye wolé aƒemɔ tsɔ.
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].
Esi wòɖo aƒe la, etsɔ hɛ fli eƒe ahiãvi la ɖe eƒe ƒunuɖeƒewo ɖe akpa wuieve me eye wòɖo akpa ɖeka ɖe Israel ƒe to ɖe sia ɖe.
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.”
Ame sia ame si kpɔ nu sia la gblɔ be, “Womekpɔ nu sia tɔgbi kpɔ alo wòdzɔ kpɔ tso esime Israelviwo do go tso Egipte la o. Mibu eŋuti! Mide ŋugble le eŋuti! Migblɔ nu si míawɔ la na mí!”
