¹⁶ Then at evening there was an old man coming from his work in the field. The man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was residing in Gibeah. (The people of the place were Benjaminites.)^{(A) 17} When the old man looked up and saw the wayfarer in the open square of the city, he said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?” ¹⁸ He answered him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, from which I come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to my home.^[a] Nobody has offered to take me in.^{(B) 19} We have straw and fodder for our donkeys, with bread and wine for me and the woman and the young man along with us. Your servants need nothing more.” ²⁰ The old man said, “Peace be to you. I will care for all your wants; only do not spend the night in the square.” ²¹ So he brought him into his house and fed the donkeys; they washed their feet and ate and drank.^(C)

Gibeah’s Crime

²² While they were enjoying themselves, the men of the city, a perverse lot, surrounded the house and started pounding on the door. They said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, so that we may have intercourse with him.”^{(D) 23} And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Since this man is my guest, do not do this vile thing.^{(E) 24} Here are my virgin daughter and his concubine; let me bring them out now. Ravish them and do whatever you want to them, but against this man do not do such a vile thing.”^{(F) 25} But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and put her out to them. They wantonly raped her and abused her all through the night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go. ²⁶ As morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, until it was light.

²⁷ In the morning her master got up, opened the doors of the house, and when he went out to go on his way, there was the woman, his concubine, lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. ²⁸ “Get up,” he said to her, “we are going.” But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey, and the man set out for his home.^{(G) 29} When he had entered his house, he took a knife, and grasping his concubine he cut her into twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.^{(H) 30} Then he commanded the men whom he sent, saying, “Thus shall you say to all the Israelites: Has such a thing ever happened^[b] since the day that the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt until this day? Consider it, take counsel, and speak out.”^(I)

The Other Tribes Attack Benjamin

20 Then all the Israelites came out, from Dan to Beer-sheba, including the land of Gilead, and the congregation assembled in one body before the Lord at Mizpah.^{(J) 2} The chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers bearing arms. ³ (Now the Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) And the Israelites said, “Tell us, how did this criminal act come about?” ⁴ The Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered, “I came to Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night.^{(K) 5} The lords of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me, and they raped my concubine until she died.^{(L) 6} Then I took my concubine and cut her into pieces and sent her throughout the whole extent of Israel’s territory, for they have committed a vile outrage in Israel.^{(M) 7} So now, you Israelites, all of you, give your advice and counsel here.”^(N)

⁸ All the people got up as one, saying, “We will not any of us go to our tents, nor will any of us return to our houses. ⁹ But now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up^[c] against it by lot. ¹⁰ We will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions for the troops who will go to repay^[d] Gibeah of Benjamin for all the disgrace that they have done in Israel.” ¹¹ So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one.

¹² The tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What crime is this that has been committed among you?^{(O) 13} Now then, hand over those scoundrels in Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not listen to their kinsfolk, the Israelites.^{(P) 14} The Benjaminites came together out of the towns to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the Israelites. ¹⁵ On that day the Benjaminites mustered twenty-six thousand armed men from their towns, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered seven hundred picked men. ¹⁶ Of all this force, there were seven hundred picked men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. ¹⁷ And the Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand armed men, all of them warriors.

¹⁸ The Israelites proceeded to go up to Bethel, where they inquired of God, “Which of us shall go up first to battle against the Benjaminites?” And the Lord answered, “Judah shall go up first.”^(Q)

¹⁹ Then the Israelites got up in the morning and encamped against Gibeah. ²⁰ The Israelites went out to battle against Benjamin, and the Israelites drew up the battle line against them at Gibeah. ²¹ The Benjaminites came out of Gibeah and struck down on that day twenty-two thousand of the Israelites.^(R)

⁶ Turn back to him whom you^[a] have deeply betrayed, O people of Israel.^(A)