Judges 19
1 And it cometh to pass, in those days, when there is no king in Israel, that there is a man a Levite, a sojourner in the sides of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he taketh to him a wife, a concubine, out of Beth-Lehem-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 and commit whoredom against him doth his concubine, and she goeth from him unto the house of her father, unto Beth-Lehem-Judah, and is there days — 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 And her husband riseth and goeth after her, to speak unto her heart, to bring her back, and his young man [is] with him, and a couple of asses; and she bringeth him into the house of her father, and the father of the young woman seeth him, and rejoiceth 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 And keep hold on him doth his father-in-law, father of the young woman, and he abideth with him three days, and they eat and drink, and lodge there.
Her father pressed him to stay with them, so he remained for three days, eating, drinking, and sleeping there.
5 And it cometh to pass, on the fourth day, that they rise early in the morning, and he riseth to go, and the father of the young woman saith unto his son-in-law, 'Support thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward ye go on.'
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 And they sit and eat both of them together, and drink, and the father of the young woman saith unto the man, 'Be willing, I pray thee, and lodge all night, and let thy heart be glad.'
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 And the man riseth to go, and his father-in-law presseth on him, and he turneth back and lodgeth there.
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 And he riseth early in the morning, on the fifth day, to go, and the father of the young woman saith, 'Support, I pray thee, thy heart;' and they have tarried till the turning of the day, and they eat, both of them.
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 And the man riseth to go, he and his concubine, and his young man, and his father-in-law, father of the young woman, saith to him, 'Lo, I pray thee, the day hath fallen toward evening, lodge all night, I pray thee; lo, the declining of the day! lodge here, and let thine heart be glad — and ye have risen early to-morrow for your journey, and thou hast gone to thy tent.'
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 And the man hath not been willing to lodge all night, and he riseth, and goeth, and cometh in till over-against Jebus (It [is] Jerusalem), and with him [are] a couple of asses saddled; and his concubine [is] 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 They [are] near Jebus, and the day hath gone greatly down, and the young man saith unto his lord, 'Come, I pray thee, and we turn aside unto this city of the Jebusite, and lodge 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 And his lord saith unto him, 'Let us not turn aside unto the city of a stranger, that is not of the sons of Israel, thither, but we have passed over unto 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 And he saith to his young man, 'Come, and we draw near to one of the places, and have lodged 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 And they pass over, and go on, and the sun goeth in upon them near Gibeah, which is to Benjamin;
So they carried on and reached Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin just as the sun was setting.
15 and they turn aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah, and he goeth in and sitteth in a broad place of the city, and there is no man gathering them into the house to lodge.
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 And lo, a man, an aged one, hath come from his work from the field in the evening, and the man [is] of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he [is] a sojourner in Gibeah, and the men of the place [are] 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 And he lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the man, the traveller, in a broad place of the city, and the aged man saith, 'Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?'
He looked over and noticed the traveler in the square and asked, “Where are you going and where have you come from?”
18 And he saith unto him, 'We are passing over from Beth-Lehem-Judah unto the sides of the hill-country of Ephraim — thence I [am], and I go unto Beth-Lehem-Judah; and to the house of Jehovah I am going, and there is no man gathering me into the 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 and both straw and provender are for our asses, and also bread and wine there are for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man with thy 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 And the old man saith, 'Peace to thee; only, all thy lack [is] on me, only in the broad place lodge not.'
“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 And he bringeth him in to his house, and mixeth [food] for the asses, and they wash their feet, and eat and drink.
He took him home and fed the donkeys. The travelers washed their feet and then started to eat and drink.
22 They are making their heart glad, and lo, men of the city, men — sons of worthlessness — have gone round about the house, beating on the door, and they speak unto the old man, the master of the house, saying, 'Bring out the man who hath come unto thine house, and we know 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 And the man, the master of the house, goeth out unto them, and saith unto them, 'Nay, my brethren, do not evil, I pray you, after that this man hath come in unto my house, do not 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 lo, my daughter, the virgin, and his concubine, let me bring them out, I pray you, and humble ye them, and do to them that which is good in your eyes, and to this man do not this foolish thing.'
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 And the men have not been willing to hearken to him, and the man taketh hold on his concubine, and bringeth [her] out unto them without, and they know her, and roll themselves upon her all the night, till the morning, and send her away in the ascending of the dawn;
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 and the woman cometh in at the turning of the morning, and falleth at the opening of the man's house, where her lord [is], till the 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 And her lord riseth in the morning, and openeth the doors of the house, and goeth out to go on his way, and lo, the woman, his concubine, is fallen at the opening of the house, and her hands [are] 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 and he saith unto her, 'Rise, and we go;' and there is none answering, and he taketh her on the ass, and the man riseth and goeth 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 and cometh in unto his house, and taketh the knife, and layeth hold on his concubine, and cutteth her in pieces to her bones — into twelve pieces, and sendeth her into all the border 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 And it hath come to pass, every one who seeth hath said, 'There hath not been — yea, there hath not been seen like this, from the day of the coming up of the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt till this day; set your [heart] upon 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!”
