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20 The old man said, “You are welcome to spend the night in my home and to be my guest, but don't stay out here!”

21 The old man brought them into his house and fed their donkeys. Then he and his guests washed their feet[a] and began eating and drinking. 22 (A) They were having a good time, when some worthless men of that town surrounded the house and started banging on the door and shouting, “A man came to your house tonight. Send him out, so we can have sex with him!”

23 The old man went outside and said, “My friends, please don't commit such a horrible crime against a man who is a guest in my house. 24 Let me send out my daughter instead. She's a virgin. And I'll even send out the man's wife.[b] You can rape them or do whatever else you want, but please don't do such a horrible thing to this man.”

25 The men refused to listen, so the Levite grabbed his wife and shoved her outside. The men raped her and abused her all night long. Finally, they let her go just before sunrise, 26 and it was almost daybreak when she went back to the house where her husband[c] was staying. She collapsed at the door and lay there until sunrise.

27 About that time, her husband woke up and got ready to leave. He opened the door and went outside, where he found his wife lying at the door with her hands on the doorstep. 28 “Get up!” he said. “It's time to leave.”

But his wife didn't move.[d]

He lifted her body onto his donkey and left. 29 (B) When he got home, he took a butcher knife and cut her body into twelve pieces. Then he told some messengers, “Take one piece to each tribe of Israel

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Footnotes

  1. 19.21 washed their feet: This was a custom, since people wore open sandals and their feet would be dirty after walking on the dirt roads or working in the fields.
  2. 19.24 wife: See the note at 8.31.
  3. 19.26 husband: Or “owner”; the Hebrew word may mean that she was his slave and had no legal rights.
  4. 19.28 move: Hebrew; one ancient translation “move. She was dead.”

20 “You are welcome at my house,” the old man said. “Let me supply whatever you need. Only don’t spend the night in the square.” 21 So he took him into his house and fed his donkeys. After they had washed their feet, they had something to eat and drink.(A)

22 While they were enjoying themselves,(B) some of the wicked men(C) 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 came to your house so we can have sex with him.(D)

23 The owner of the house went outside(E) and said to them, “No, my friends, don’t be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don’t do this outrageous thing.(F) 24 Look, here is my virgin daughter,(G) and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But as for this man, don’t do such an outrageous thing.”

25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her(H) and abused her(I) throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. 26 At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight.

27 When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, “Get up; let’s go.” But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.

29 When he reached home, he took a knife(J) and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel.(K)

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