Judges 19

19 ¹ In those days Israel had no king. A Levite in Ephraim's remote hill country took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. ² His concubine was unfaithful to him, left him for her father's house in Bethlehem, Judah, and stayed four months. ³ Her husband set out after her, to speak to her heart and bring her back, with his servant and two donkeys. She brought him to her father's house, and the girl's father was glad to meet him. ⁴ His father-in-law, the girl's father, urged him to stay three days, and they ate, drank, and slept there.

⁵ On the fourth day they rose early, and he got up to leave. But the girl's father told his son-in-law, "Have a bit of bread, then go." ⁶ The two sat, ate, drank together. The girl's father said to the man, "Please, stay tonight and let your heart be glad." ⁷ The man rose to leave, but his father-in-law urged him, so he stayed the night there again. ⁸ On the fifth day he rose early to leave; the girl's father said, 'Please restore yourself, and wait until afternoon.' So the two of them ate. ⁹ As the man rose to go, with his concubine and servant, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said, "Look, day is nearly gone; stay the night. See, it's ending; lodge here and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow rise early, travel on, and go home." ¹⁰ But the man refused to stay the night; he set out opposite Jebus (Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine. ¹¹ Near Jebus, with daylight nearly gone, the servant said to his master, "Come, please, let's turn into this Jebusite city and spend the night."

¹² His master replied, "We won't turn into a foreign city, not Israelite; we'll press on to Gibeah." ¹³ He told his servant, "Come, let's reach one of these places and lodge in Gibeah or Ramah." ¹⁴ So they went on their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah in Benjamin. ¹⁵ They turned aside to lodge at Gibeah. He went in and sat in the city square, but no one took them into his house to lodge.

¹⁶ An old man came from field work at evening. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, living in Gibeah as a foreigner; the local men were Benjamites. ¹⁷ The old man looked up, saw the traveler in the city square, and asked, "Where are you going? Where have you come from?"

¹⁸ He said to him, "We're traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the far hill country of Ephraim—that's my home. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I'm going to our Father's house, but no one takes me into his house." ¹⁹ We have both straw and feed for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, your maidservant, and the young man with your servants. We lack nothing.

²⁰ The old man said, "Peace to you. I'll supply all you need; just don't lodge in the square." ²¹ He brought him home, fed the donkeys, and the men washed their feet, ate, and drank.

²² While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly worthless men of the city surrounded the house, pounding on the door. They shouted to the old man who owned the house, "Bring out the man who entered your house, so we can have relations with him!"

²³ The house's owner went out to them and said, "No, my brothers, please don't do evil since this man came into my house; don't do this disgraceful thing." ²⁴ Here are my virgin daughter and his concubine — let me bring them out. Violate them, do to them whatever seems good to you, but don't do this disgraceful thing to this man.

²⁵ But the men wouldn't listen. So the man grabbed his concubine and pushed her out to them; they raped and abused her all night until dawn, then let her go. ²⁶ At daybreak the woman came and fell at the man's house door, where her master was, until daylight. ²⁷ At dawn her master rose, opened the house doors, went out on his way—there lay his concubine, fallen at the house entrance, hands on the threshold. ²⁸ He said to her, "Get up, let's go." No answer. So he put her on the donkey and headed home.

²⁹ At home he took a knife, seized his concubine, cut her limb by limb into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all Israel's territory. ³⁰ All who saw it said, 'No such thing has happened or been seen since Israel came up out of Egypt until today. Consider it, discuss it, and speak.'