Judges 19
1 In those days, when there was no king in Israel, there was a certain Levite living on the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim, who took for himself a concubine out of Bethlehem Judah.
At that time Israel didn't have a king. A Levite who was living in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim married a concubine-wife from Bethlehem in Judah.
2 His concubine played the prostitute against him, and went away from him to her father’s house to Bethlehem Judah, and was there for four months.
But she was unfaithful to him and left him to return to her father's house in Bethlehem. She was there for four months.
3 Her husband arose and went after her to speak kindly to her, to bring her again, having his servant with him and a couple of donkeys. She brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young lady saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.
Then her husband went after her, to talk kindly with her and bring her back home. With him went his servant and two donkeys. She took him to her father's house and when her father met him, he gladly welcomed him.
4 His father-in-law, the young lady’s father, kept him there; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank, and stayed there.
Her father pressed him to stay with them, so he remained for three days, eating, drinking, and sleeping there.
5 On the fourth day, they got up early in the morning, and he rose up to depart. The young lady’s father said to his son-in-law, “Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward you shall go your way.”
On the fourth day he and his concubine got up early in the morning and prepared to leave, but her father said to his son-in-law, “You'll feel better if you have something to eat before you go.”
6 So they sat down, ate, and drank, both of them together. Then the young lady’s father said to the man, “Please be pleased to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.”
So the two men sat down to eat and drink together. The father said to his son-in law, “Please agree to spend another night here, and you can enjoy yourself!”
7 The man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law urged him, and he stayed there again.
The man got up to leave, but his father-in-law pressed him to stay, so in the end he spent the night there.
8 He arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the young lady’s father said, “Please strengthen your heart and stay until the day declines;” and they both ate.
On the fifth day he got up early in the morning to leave. But his father-in-law said, “Eat before you go, then leave later this afternoon.” So they had a meal together.
9 When the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the young lady’s father, said to him, “Behold, now the day draws toward evening, please stay all night. Behold, the day is ending. Stay here, that your heart may be merry; and tomorrow go on your way early, that you may go home.”
When he got up to leave with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law told him, “Look it's late—it's already evening. Spend the night here. The day's almost over. Stay here the night and enjoy yourself, then tomorrow you can get up early and be on your way home.”
10 But the man wouldn’t stay that night, but he rose up and went near Jebus (also called Jerusalem). With him were a couple of saddled donkeys. His concubine also was with him.
But the man didn't want to spend another night, so he got up and left. He headed towards the town of Jebus (now called Jerusalem) with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.
11 When they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Please come and let’s enter into this city of the Jebusites, and stay in it.”
As they approached Jebus the day was over, the servant said to his master, “Sir, why don't we stop here at this Jebusite town for the night?”
12 His master said to him, “We won’t enter into the city of a foreigner that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to Gibeah.”
But his master replied, “No, we're not going to stop in this town where only foreigners live and no Israelites. We'll continue on to Gibeah.”
13 He said to his servant, “Come and let’s draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.”
Then he told his servant, “Come on, let's try and get to Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night somewhere there.”
14 So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.
So they carried on and reached Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin just as the sun was setting.
15 They went over there, to go in to stay in Gibeah. He went in, and sat down in the street of the city; for there was no one who took them into his house to stay.
They stopped in Gibeah to spend the night, and sat down in the town's main square, but no one invited them to come and stay.
16 Behold, an old man came from his work out of the field at evening. Now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he lived in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites.
But later that evening an old man came by, returning from working in the fields. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, but was now living in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin.
17 He lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?”
He looked over and noticed the traveler in the square and asked, “Where are you going and where have you come from?”
18 He said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem Judah to the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem Judah. I am going to the LORD’s house; and there is no one who has taken me into his house.
“We've come from Bethlehem in Judah and we're going to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim,” the man replied. “I'm from there and I went to Bethlehem, and now I'm going to the Lord's Temple. No one here has invited me to stay.
19 Yet there is both straw and feed for our donkeys; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your servant, and for the young man who is with your servants. There is no lack of anything.”
There's straw and food for our donkeys, and we your servants have bread and wine—enough for me, the woman, and my servant. We have all we need.”
20 The old man said, “Peace be to you! Just let me supply all your needs, but don’t sleep in the street.”
“You are welcome to stay with me,” the man replied. “I can let you have everything you need. Just don't spend the night here in the square.”
21 So he brought him into his house, and gave the donkeys fodder. Then they washed their feet, and ate and drank.
He took him home and fed the donkeys. The travelers washed their feet and then started to eat and drink.
22 As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain wicked fellows, surrounded the house, beating at the door; and they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we can have sex with him!”
While they were enjoying themselves, some depraved men from the town came and surrounded the house, and banged on the door, shouting to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to stay in your house so we can have sex with him.”
23 The man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, “No, my brothers, please don’t act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, don’t do this folly.
The man who owned the house went outside and told them, “My brothers, don't act in such an evil way! This man is a guest in my house. Don't do something so disgusting!
24 Behold, here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. I will bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them what seems good to you; but to this man don’t do any such folly.”
Look, here's my virgin daughter and the man's concubine. Let me bring them out and you can rape them and do whatever you want to them. But don't do something so disgusting to this man.”
25 But the men wouldn’t listen to him; so the man grabbed his concubine, and brought her out to them; and they had sex with her, and abused her all night until the morning. When the day began to dawn, they let her go.
But the men refused to listen, so the man grabbed his concubine and threw her outside to them. They raped her and abused her all night until the morning, and only discarded her at dawn.
26 Then the woman came in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, until it was light.
As night turned into day she returned to the house where her master was staying and collapsed in front of the door as it got light.
27 Her lord rose up in the morning and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and behold, the woman his concubine had fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold.
Her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house. He went out to continue his journey and there was his concubine, stretched out in the doorway of the house, with her hands holding onto the doorstep.
28 He said to her, “Get up, and let’s get going!” but no one answered. Then he took her up on the donkey; and the man rose up, and went to his place.
“Get up, let's go,” he told her, but there was no answer. Then the man lifted her onto his donkey and went home.
29 When he had come into his house, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Israel.
When he got home he took a knife, and holding onto his concubine, cut her up, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent these pieces of her to every part of Israel.
30 It was so, that all who saw it said, “Such a deed has not been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day! Consider it, take counsel, and speak.”
Everyone who saw her said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen before, from the time the Israelites left Egypt up until now. You should think about what happened to her! Decide what to do! Speak up!”
