‏ Judges 19

CHAPTER 19

A Levite and His Concubine

1And there was a man, a Levite, sojourning on the sides of mount Ephraim. And he took to himself a woman concubine from Beth-lehem Judah. 2And [²provoked him to anger   ¹his concubine], and she went forth from him unto the house   of her father in Beth-lehem Judah, and she was there the days of four months. 3And [²rose up   ¹her husband] and went after her,   to speak unto   her heart,   to reconcile her; and   his servant was with him, and a pair of beasts of burden. And he went unto the house of her father. And [⁵beheld ⁶him ¹the ²father ³of the ⁴young woman], and was at hand for meeting him. 4And [²brought him in   ¹his father-in-law], the father of the young woman, and he stayed with him three days. And they ate and drank and slept there. 5And it came to pass on the [²day   ¹fourth], that they rose early in the morning, and he rose up   to depart. And [⁵said ¹the ²father ³of the ⁴young woman] to   his son-in-law, Support   your heart with a piece of bread, and after this go! 6And he sat down, and [²ate ¹both] together, and drank. And [⁵said ¹the ²father ³of the ⁴young woman] to the man, For a beginning, lodge and do good to  your heart! 7And [³rose up ¹the ²man] to depart. And [²forced ³him   ¹his father-in-law], and he stayed and lodged there. 8And he rose early in the morning on the [²day   ¹fifth]   to depart. And [⁵said ¹the ²father ³of the ⁴young woman], Support indeed   your heart with bread, and soldier until [³should decline ¹the ²day]! And [²ate ³and ⁴drank ¹both]. 9And [³rose up ¹the ²man]   to go, he and   his concubine, and   his servant. And [²said ³to him   ¹his father-in-law], the father of the young woman, Behold, indeed [²is declined   ¹the day] into evening, lodge here and do good to  your heart, and rise early tomorrow unto   your way, and you shall depart unto   your tent! 10And [³did not want ¹the ²man] to lodge. And he rose up and went forth and came unto before Jebus, this is Jerusalem, and with him were a pair of beasts of burden being saddled, and   his concubine with him. 11And they were near Jebus, and the day declined exceedingly. And [³said ¹the ²servant] to   his master, Come please, even we should turn aside into   [²city ³of the ⁴Jebusites ¹this], and lodge in it. 12And [²said ³to ⁴him   ¹his master], In no way shall we turn aside into [²city ¹an alien], in which there is no one  from the sons of Israel; even we shall go by unto Gibeah. 13And he said to  his servant, Come, for we should approach one of the places, and we should lodge in Gibeah or in Ramah. 14And they went by, and [³went down ⁴on them ¹the ²sun] being next   to Gibeah, which is   of Benjamin.

The Evil in Gibeah

15And they turned aside there   to enter to rest up in Gibeah. And he entered and sat in the square of the city, and there is no man   bringing them into the house   to rest up. 16And behold, [²man ¹an old] entered from   his works from out of the field at evening, and the man was from mount Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gibeah; and the men of the place were sons of Benjamin. 17And he looked up   with his eyes, and he saw the man, the one journeying in the square of the city. And [⁴said   ³man ¹the ²old], Where are you going, and from what place come you? 18And he said to him, We are passing over from Beth-lehem of Judah unto the side of mount Ephraim. [⁴from there ¹And ²I ³am], and I went unto Beth-lehem of Judah, and [³to   ⁴my house ¹I ²run]; but there is no man bringing me into   a house. 19And indeed straw and fodder exists for our donkeys, and indeed bread and wine exists to me, and to the maidservant, and to the servant; and to  your servants there is no deficiency of any thing. 20And [⁴said ¹the ³man   ²old], Peace to you; only let  any   deficiency of yours be upon me, only [³in ⁴the ⁵square ¹you should not ²rest up]. 21And he brought him into   his house, and camped   his beasts of burden. And they washed   their feet, and they ate and drank. 22And they were doing [²good   ¹their heart]; and behold, the men of the city, sons of lawbreakers, encircled the house, and knocked upon the door; and they said to the man, the master of the house, the old man, saying, Lead out the man   entering into   your house, that we should know him. 23And [³came forth ⁴to ⁵them ¹the ²man], the master of the house, and he said to them, By no means, my brethren, you should not do evil indeed with   [²entering   ¹this man] into   my house; you should not do   this folly. 24Behold, my daughter the virgin, and   his concubine; and I will bring them, and you humble them, and do to them the good thing  in your eyes, but   to this man you should not do the thing   of this folly. 25And [³did not ⁴want ¹the ²men] to hear him. And [³took hold ¹the ²man]   of his concubine, and led her to them outside. And they knew her, and sported with her the entire   night until the morning. And they sent her at the same time the [²ascended   ¹dawn].

The Levite's Concubine Perishes

26And [³came ¹the ²woman] in the morning, and fell by the door of the vestibule of the house of the man of whom [²was   ¹her master] there, until of which time  light shown through. 27And [²rose up   ¹her master] in the morning, and he opened the doors of the house, and he came forth   to depart into   his way. And behold, the woman,   his concubine, was fallen by the door of the house, and   her hands were upon the threshold. 28And he said to her, Rise up, for we should go forth! And she did not answer to him for she had died. And he lifted her upon the beast of burden, and [³rose up ¹the ²man] and went forth to   his place. 29And he entered into   his house, and he took the knife, and took hold of   his concubine, and dismembered her according to   her bones into twelve portions, and he sent them unto all the tribes of Israel. 30And it came to pass all the ones seeing said, Neither happened, nor was thus seen from the days of the ascending of the sons of Israel from out of the land of Egypt until   this day. Appoint indeed to yourselves [²concerning ³her ¹counsel] and speak!