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Judges 17-21
New American Standard Bible

Micah’s Idolatry

17 Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse and also spoke it in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the Lord.” 3 He then returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I wholly consecrate the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son (A)to make a carved image and a cast metal image; so now I will return [a]them to you.” 4 So when he returned the silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith, who made [b]them into a carved image and a cast metal image, and [c]they were in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah had a [d](B)shrine and he made an (C)ephod and [e](D)household idols, and [f]consecrated one of his sons, (E)so that he might become his priest. 6 In those days (F)there was no king in Israel; (G)everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

7 Now there was a young man from (H)Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he was [g]staying there. 8 Then the man left the city, Bethlehem in Judah, to [h]stay wherever he would find a place; and as he made his journey, he came to the (I)hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah. 9 Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to [i]stay wherever I may find a place.” 10 Micah then said to him, “Stay with me and be (J)a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a supply of clothing, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in. 11 The Levite agreed to live with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12 So Micah [j]consecrated the Levite, and the young man (K)became his priest and [k]lived in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as a priest.”

Danites Seek Territory

18 (L)In those days there was no king of Israel; and (M)in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day [l]an inheritance had not [m]been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel. 2 So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, [n]valiant men from (N)Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it; and they said to them, “Go, explore the land.” And they came to (O)the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and stayed overnight there. 3 When they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?” 4 He said to them, “Micah has done this and that for me, and he has hired me and (P)I have become his priest.” 5 Then they said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be successful.” 6 And the priest said to them, “Go in peace; your way in which you are going [o]has the Lord’s approval.”

7 So the five men departed and came to (Q)Laish, and saw the people who were in it living in security, in the way of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting; for there was no [p]oppressive ruler humiliating them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 8 When they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you say?” 9 And they said, “Arise, and let’s go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you [q]sit still? Do not hesitate to go, to enter, to take possession of the land. 10 When you enter, you will come to an unsuspecting people with a spacious land; for God has handed it over to you, (R)a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”

11 Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war set out. 12 They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place [r](S)Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is [s]west of Kiriath-jearim. 13 And they passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.

Danites Take Micah’s Idols

14 Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish [t]said to their kinsmen, “Do you know that there are in these houses (T)an ephod and [u]household idols, and a carved image and a cast metal image? Now then, consider what you should do.” 15 So they turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked [v]him how he was doing. 16 Meanwhile, the six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, were positioned at the entrance of the gate. 17 Now the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there; they took (U)the carved image, the ephod, the [w]household idols, and the cast metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war. 18 When these men entered Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, [x]household idols, and the cast metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 And they said to him, “Be silent, (V)put your hand over your mouth, and go with us, and be to us (W)a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” 20 The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the [y]household idols, and the carved image, and went among the people.

21 Then they turned and left, and put the children, the livestock, and the valuables in front of them. 22 When they had distanced themselves from Micah’s house, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house assembled by command and overtook the sons of Dan. 23 Then they called out to the sons of Dan, who turned [z]around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you have assembled together?” 24 And he said, “You have taken my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away; what more do I have? So how can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” 25 Then the sons of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, or else [aa]fierce men will attack you, and you will [ab]lose your life and the lives of your household.” 26 So the sons of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

27 Then they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and came to (X)Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no one to save them, because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near (Y)Beth-rehob. So they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29 And (Z)they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born to Israel; however, the name of the city was previously Laish. 30 The sons of Dan set up for themselves (AA)the carved image; and Jonathan, the son of (AB)Gershom, the son of [ac]Manasseh, (AC)he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image which he had made, all the time that the (AD)house of God was in Shiloh.

A Levite’s Concubine Raped and Killed

19 Now it came about in those days, when (AE)there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite [ad]staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 But his concubine [ae]found him repugnant, and she left him and went to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah, and remained there for a period of four months. 3 Then her husband set out and went after her to (AF)speak [af]gently to her in order to bring her back, [ag]taking with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. And she brought him into her father’s house, and when the girl’s father saw him, he was glad to meet him. 4 His father-in-law, the girl’s father, prevailed upon him, and he remained with him for three days. So they ate and drank and stayed there. 5 Now on the fourth day they got up early in the morning, and he [ah]prepared to go; but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “(AG)Strengthen [ai]yourself with a piece of bread, and afterward you may go.” 6 So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl’s father said to the man, “Please [aj]be so kind as to spend the night, and (AH)let your heart be cheerful.” 7 However, the man got up to go; but his father-in-law urged him, and he spent the night there again. 8 Now on the fifth day he got up to go early in the morning, but the girl’s father said, “Please strengthen [ak]yourself, and wait until [al]late afternoon”; so both of them ate. 9 When the man got up to go, along with his concubine and servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Behold now, the day has drawn [am]to a close; please spend the night. Behold, the day is [an]coming to an end; spend the night here so that your heart may be cheerful. Then tomorrow you may arise early for your journey and go [ao]home.”

10 But the man was unwilling to spend the night, so he got up and left, and came to a place opposite (AI)Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). And with him was a pair of saddled donkeys; his concubine also was with him. 11 When they were near Jebus, the day was almost gone; and (AJ)the servant said to his master, “Please come, and let’s turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.” 12 However, his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into a city of foreigners who are not of the sons of Israel; instead, we will go on as far as Gibeah.” 13 And he said to his servant, “Come, and let’s approach one of these places; and we will spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.” 14 So they passed along and went their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. 15 They turned aside there to enter and spend the night in Gibeah. When [ap]they entered, [aq]they sat down in the public square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night.

16 Then behold, an old man was coming out of the field from his work at evening. Now the man was from (AK)the hill country of Ephraim, and he was [ar]staying in Gibeah, but the men of the place (AL)were Benjaminites. 17 And he raised his eyes and saw the traveler in the public square of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?” 18 And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, for I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem in Judah. But I am now going to [as]my house, and no one will take me into his house. 19 Yet there is both straw and feed for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, and [at]your female slave, and (AM)the young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of anything.” 20 Then the old man said, “(AN)Peace to you. Only let me take care of all your needs; however, do not spend the night in the public square.” 21 (AO)So he took him into his house and fed the donkeys, and they washed their feet and ate and drank.

22 While they were [au]celebrating, behold, (AP)the men of the city, certain [av](AQ)worthless men, surrounded the house, pushing one another at the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who entered your house that we may [aw]have relations with him.” 23 Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, please do not act so wickedly. Since this man has come into my house, (AR)do not commit this vile sin. 24 (AS)Here is my virgin daughter and [ax]the man’s concubine. Please let me bring them out, then rape them and do to them [ay]whatever you wish. But do not commit this act of vile sin against this man.” 25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and brought her outside to them; and they [az]raped her and abused her all night until morning, then let her go at the approach of dawn. 26 [ba]As the day began to dawn, the woman came and fell down at the doorway of the man’s house where her master was, until full daylight.

27 When her master got up in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, then behold, his concubine was lying at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold. 28 And he said to her, “Get up and let’s go,” (AT)but there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey; and the man set out and went to his [bb]home. 29 When he entered his house, he took a knife and seized his concubine, and (AU)cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb. Then he sent her throughout the territory of Israel. 30 All who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, [bc](AV)make a plan, and speak up!”

Resolve to Punish the Guilty

20 Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one person to the Lord at (AW)Mizpah. 2 And the [bd]leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot [be]soldiers (AX)who drew the sword. 3 (Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wickedness take place?” 4 So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. 5 But the [bf](AY)citizens of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night, [bg]threatening me. They intended to kill me; instead, they (AZ)raped my concubine so that she died. 6 And I (BA)took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance; for (BB)they have committed an outrageous sin and vile act in Israel. 7 Behold, all you sons of Israel, (BC)give your [bh]response and advice here.”

8 Then all the people rose up as one person, saying, “Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us go home. 9 But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up against it by lot. 10 And we will take ten men out of a hundred throughout the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand to [bi]supply provisions for the people, so that when they come to [bj]Gibeah of Benjamin, they may [bk]punish them for all the vile sin that they have committed in Israel.” 11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, [bl]united as one man.

12 Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire [bm]tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has taken place among you? 13 Now then, turn over the men, the [bn](BD)worthless men who are in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and (BE)remove this wickedness from Israel.” But the sons of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel. 14 Instead, the sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel. 15 From the cities on that day the (BF)sons of Benjamin were [bo]counted, twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were [bp]counted, seven hundred choice men. 16 Out of all these people seven hundred (BG)choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

17 Then the men of Israel besides Benjamin were [bq]counted, four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.

Civil War, Benjamin Defeated

18 Now the sons of Israel set out, went up to Bethel, and (BH)inquired of God and said, “Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?” Then the Lord said, “Judah shall go up first.”

19 So the sons of Israel got up in the morning and camped against Gibeah. 20 The men of Israel went to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel lined up for battle against them at Gibeah. 21 Then the sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and [br](BI)struck to the ground on that day twenty-two thousand men of Israel. 22 But the people, the men of Israel, showed themselves courageous and lined up for battle again in the place where they had lined themselves up on the first day. 23 And (BJ)the sons of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and (BK)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall we again advance for battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin?” And the Lord said, “Go up against him.”

24 So the sons of Israel [bs]came against the sons of Benjamin on the second day. 25 And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah the second day and struck to the ground again eighteen thousand men of the sons of Israel; all of these drew the sword. 26 Then (BL)all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel, and they wept and remained there before the Lord, and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 27 And the sons of Israel (BM)inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, 28 and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, Aaron’s son, stood before it to minister in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I stop?” And the Lord said, “Go up, (BN)for tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”

29 (BO)So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah. 30 And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and lined up against Gibeah as at other times. 31 (BP)When the sons of Benjamin went out against the people, they were lured away from the city, and they began to strike and kill some of the people as at other times, on the roads (one of which goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah), and in the field, about thirty men of Israel. 32 And the sons of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, like the first time.” But the sons of Israel said, “Let’s flee, so that we may draw them away from the city to the roads.” 33 Then all the men of Israel rose from their place and lined up at Baal-tamar; (BQ)and the men of Israel in ambush charged from their place, from Maareh-geba. 34 When ten thousand choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, the battle became [bt]fierce; (BR)but [bu]Benjamin did not know that disaster was [bv]close to them. 35 And the Lord struck Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that [bw]day, all who drew the sword.

36 So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were [bx]defeated. (BS)When the men of Israel gave [by]ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah, 37 (BT)the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. 38 Now the agreed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was (BU)that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city. 39 Then the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel, (BV)for they said, “Undoubtedly they are [bz]defeated before us, as in the first battle.” 40 But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, Benjamin looked (BW)behind them; and behold, the entire city was going up in smoke to heaven. 41 Then the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified; for they saw that (BX)disaster was [ca]close to them. 42 Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel to flee in the (BY)direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them while those who attacked from the cities were annihilating them in the midst of them. 43 (BZ)They surrounded Benjamin, pursued them without rest, and trampled them down opposite Gibeah toward the [cb]east. 44 So eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all of these were valiant men. 45 [cc]The rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of (CA)Rimmon, but they [cd]caught five thousand of them on the roads and overtook them [ce]at Gidom, and [cf]killed two thousand of them. 46 So all those of Benjamin who fell that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were valiant men. 47 But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon; and they remained at the rock of Rimmon for four months. 48 The men of Israel then turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found.

Mourning a Lost Tribe

21 Now the men of Israel (CB)had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin [cg]in marriage.” 2 (CC)So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and raised their voices and wept [ch]profusely. 3 And they said, “Why, Lord, God of Israel, has this happened in Israel, that one tribe is missing today from Israel?” 4 And it came about the next day that the people got up early and built (CD)an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

5 Then the sons of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not go up to the Lord in the assembly?” For [ci]they had taken a solemn oath concerning anyone (CE)who did not go up to the Lord at Mizpah, saying, “He shall certainly be put to death.” 6 And the sons of Israel were sorry for their brother Benjamin, and said, “Today one tribe is cut off from Israel! 7 What are we to do for wives for those who are left, since we have (CF)sworn by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters as wives?”

Provision for Their Survival

8 And they said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not go up to the Lord at Mizpah?” And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly. 9 For when the people were [cj]counted, behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there. 10 And the congregation sent twelve thousand [ck]of the valiant warriors there, and commanded them, saying, “Go and (CG)strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, along with the women and the children. 11 And this is the thing that you shall do: you (CH)shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has [cl]slept with a male.” 12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man by [cm]sleeping with him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

13 Then the whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were (CI)at the rock of Rimmon, and (CJ)proclaimed peace to them. 14 And the tribe of Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had allowed to live from the women of Jabesh-gilead; but they [cn]were not enough for them. 15 And the people were sorry for Benjamin, because the Lord had created a gap in the tribes of Israel.

16 Then the elders of the congregation said, “What are we to do for wives for those who are left, since the women have been eliminated from Benjamin?” 17 And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be wiped out from Israel. 18 But we cannot give them wives from our daughters.” For the sons of Israel (CK)had sworn, saying, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin!”

19 So they said, “Behold, there is a feast of the Lord from year to year in (CL)Shiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south side of Lebonah.” 20 And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, 21 and watch; and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to [co](CM)take part in the dances, then you shall come out of the vineyards, and each of you shall seize his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we shall say to them, ‘[cp]Give them to us voluntarily, because we did not take for each man of Benjamin [cq]a wife in battle, [cr](CN)nor did you give them to them, [cs]otherwise you would now be guilty.’” 23 The sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their number from those who danced, whom they seized. And they went and returned to their inheritance, and (CO)rebuilt the cities and lived in them. 24 And the sons of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one departed from there to his inheritance.

25 (CP)In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 17:3 Lit it
  2. Judges 17:4 Lit it
  3. Judges 17:4 Lit it was
  4. Judges 17:5 Lit house of gods
  5. Judges 17:5 Heb teraphim
  6. Judges 17:5 Lit filled the hand of
  7. Judges 17:7 Or sojourning
  8. Judges 17:8 Or sojourn
  9. Judges 17:9 Or sojourn
  10. Judges 17:12 Lit filled the hand of
  11. Judges 17:12 Lit was
  12. Judges 18:1 Lit it
  13. Judges 18:1 Lit fallen
  14. Judges 18:2 Lit men, sons of valor
  15. Judges 18:6 Lit is before the Lord
  16. Judges 18:7 Or oppressive conqueror; lit possessor of oppression
  17. Judges 18:9 Lit be
  18. Judges 18:12 I.e., the camp of Dan
  19. Judges 18:12 Lit behind
  20. Judges 18:14 Lit answered and said
  21. Judges 18:14 Heb teraphim
  22. Judges 18:15 Lit his well-being
  23. Judges 18:17 Heb teraphim
  24. Judges 18:18 Heb teraphim
  25. Judges 18:20 Heb teraphim
  26. Judges 18:23 Lit their faces
  27. Judges 18:25 Lit bitter of soul
  28. Judges 18:25 Lit take away
  29. Judges 18:30 Some ancient versions Moses
  30. Judges 19:1 Or sojourning
  31. Judges 19:2 Or was unfaithful to him (a Hebrew homonym); LXX became angry at him
  32. Judges 19:3 Lit to her heart
  33. Judges 19:3 Lit and
  34. Judges 19:5 Lit arose
  35. Judges 19:5 Lit your heart
  36. Judges 19:6 Lit be willing to
  37. Judges 19:8 Lit your heart
  38. Judges 19:8 Lit the day declines
  39. Judges 19:9 Lit toward evening
  40. Judges 19:9 Lit declining
  41. Judges 19:9 Lit to your tent
  42. Judges 19:15 As in LXX; MT he
  43. Judges 19:15 As in LXX; MT he
  44. Judges 19:16 Or sojourning
  45. Judges 19:18 MT; LXX the house of the Lord, cf. v 29
  46. Judges 19:19 I.e., the concubine
  47. Judges 19:22 Lit making their hearts glad
  48. Judges 19:22 Lit sons of Belial
  49. Judges 19:22 Lit know him
  50. Judges 19:24 Lit his
  51. Judges 19:24 Lit the good in your eyes
  52. Judges 19:25 Lit knew her (carnally)
  53. Judges 19:26 Lit At the turning of the morning
  54. Judges 19:28 Lit place
  55. Judges 19:30 Or take counsel
  56. Judges 20:2 Lit cornerstones
  57. Judges 20:2 Lit men
  58. Judges 20:5 Or landowners
  59. Judges 20:5 Lit against me
  60. Judges 20:7 Lit word
  61. Judges 20:10 Lit take
  62. Judges 20:10 Heb Geba
  63. Judges 20:10 Lit do
  64. Judges 20:11 Lit companions as
  65. Judges 20:12 Lit tribes
  66. Judges 20:13 Lit sons of Belial
  67. Judges 20:15 Or mustered
  68. Judges 20:15 Or mustered
  69. Judges 20:17 Or mustered
  70. Judges 20:21 Lit destroyed
  71. Judges 20:24 Lit approached
  72. Judges 20:34 Lit heavy
  73. Judges 20:34 Lit they
  74. Judges 20:34 Lit touching
  75. Judges 20:35 Lit day; all these drew
  76. Judges 20:36 Lit struck
  77. Judges 20:36 Lit place
  78. Judges 20:39 Lit struck
  79. Judges 20:41 Lit touching
  80. Judges 20:43 Lit sunrise
  81. Judges 20:45 As in LXX; Heb And they
  82. Judges 20:45 Lit gleaned
  83. Judges 20:45 Lit as far as
  84. Judges 20:45 Lit struck
  85. Judges 21:1 Lit as a wife
  86. Judges 21:2 Lit with great weeping
  87. Judges 21:5 Lit there was a great oath
  88. Judges 21:9 Or mustered
  89. Judges 21:10 Lit men from the sons of valor
  90. Judges 21:11 Lit known the bed of
  91. Judges 21:12 Lit the bed of a male
  92. Judges 21:14 Lit did not find it so
  93. Judges 21:21 Lit dance
  94. Judges 21:22 Lit Favor us with them
  95. Judges 21:22 Lit his
  96. Judges 21:22 Lit because you did not
  97. Judges 21:22 Lit as
Close TLB

Judges 17-21
Living Bible

17 In the hill country of Ephraim lived a man named Micah.

2 One day he said to his mother, “That thousand dollars you thought was stolen from you, and you were cursing about—well, I stole it!”

“God bless you for confessing it,” his mother replied. 3 So he returned the money to her.

“I am going to give it to the Lord as a credit for your account,” she declared. “I’ll have an idol carved for you and plate it with the silver.”

4-5 So his mother took a fifth of it to a silversmith, and the idol he made from it was placed in Micah’s shrine. Micah had many idols in his collection, also an ephod and some teraphim, and he installed one of his sons as the priest. 6 (For in those days Israel had no king, so everyone did whatever he wanted to—whatever seemed right in his own eyes.)

7-8 One day a young priest[a] from the town of Bethlehem, in Judah, arrived in that area of Ephraim, looking for a good place to live. He happened to stop at Micah’s house as he was traveling through.

9 “Where are you from?” Micah asked him.

And he replied, “I am a priest from Bethlehem, in Judah, and I am looking for a place to live.”

10-11 “Well, stay here with me,” Micah said, “and you can be my priest. I will give you one hundred dollars a year plus a new suit and your board and room.” The young man agreed to this and became as one of Micah’s sons. 12 So Micah consecrated him as his personal priest.

13 “I know the Lord will really bless me now,” Micah exclaimed, “because now I have a genuine priest working for me!”[b]

18 As has already been stated, there was no king in Israel at that time. The tribe of Dan was trying to find a place to settle, for they had not yet driven out the people living in the land assigned to them. 2 So the men of Dan chose five army heroes from the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol as scouts to go and spy out the land they were supposed to settle in. Arriving in the hill country of Ephraim, they stayed at Micah’s home. 3 Noticing the young Levite’s accent, they took him aside and asked him, “What are you doing here? Why did you come?” 4 He told them about his contract with Micah, and that he was his personal priest.

5 “Well, then,” they said, “ask God whether or not our trip will be successful.”

6 “Yes,” the priest replied, “all is well. The Lord is taking care of you.”

7 So the five men went on to the town of Laish and noticed how secure everyone felt. Their manner of life was Phoenician, and they were wealthy. They lived quietly and were unprepared for an attack, for there were no tribes in the area strong enough to try it. They lived a great distance from their relatives in Sidon, and had little or no contact with the nearby villages. 8 So the spies returned to their people in Zorah and Eshtaol.

“What about it?” they were asked. “What did you find?”

9-10 And the men replied, “Let’s attack! We have seen the land and it is ours for the taking—a broad, fertile, wonderful place—a real paradise. The people aren’t even prepared to defend themselves! Come on, let’s go! For God has given it to us!”

11 So six hundred armed troops of the tribe of Dan set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. 12 They camped first at a place west of Kiriath-jearim in Judah (which is still called “The Camp of Dan”), 13 then they went on up into the hill country of Ephraim.

As they passed the home of Micah, 14 the five spies told the others. “There is a shrine in there with an ephod, some teraphim, and many plated idols. It’s obvious what we ought to do!”

15-16 So the five men went over to the house and with all of the armed men standing just outside the gate, they talked to the young priest and asked him how he was getting along. 17 Then the five spies entered the shrine and took the idols, the ephod, and the teraphim.

18 “What are you doing?” the young priest demanded when he saw them carrying them out.

19 “Be quiet and come with us,” they said. “Be a priest to all of us. Isn’t it better for you to be a priest to a whole tribe in Israel instead of just to one man in his private home?”

20 The young priest was then quite happy to go with them, and he took along the ephod, the teraphim, and the idols. 21 They started on their way again, placing their children, cattle, and household goods at the front of the column. 22 When they were quite a distance from Micah’s home, Micah and some of his neighbors came chasing after them, 23 yelling at them to stop.

“What do you want, chasing after us like this?” the men of Dan demanded.

24 “What do you mean, ‘What do I want’!” Micah retorted. “You’ve taken away all my gods and my priest, and I have nothing left!”

25 “Be careful how you talk, mister,” the men of Dan replied. “Somebody’s apt to get angry and kill every one of you.”

26 So the men of Dan kept going. When Micah saw that there were too many of them for him to handle, he turned back home.

27 Then, with Micah’s idols and the priest, the men of Dan arrived at the city of Laish. There weren’t even any guards, so they went in and slaughtered all the people and burned the city to the ground. 28 There was no one to help the inhabitants, for they were too far away from Sidon, and they had no local allies, for they had no dealings with anyone. This happened in the valley next to Beth-rehob. Then the people of the tribe of Dan rebuilt the city and lived there. 29 The city was named “Dan” after their ancestor, Israel’s son, but it had originally been called Laish.

30 Then they set up the idols and appointed a man named Jonathan (son of Gershom and grandson of Moses!) and his sons as their priests. This family continued as priests until the city was finally conquered by its enemies. 31 So Micah’s idols were worshiped by the tribe of Dan as long as the Tabernacle remained at Shiloh.

19 At this time before Israel had a king, there was a man of the tribe of Levi living on the far side of the hill country of Ephraim, who brought home a girl from Bethlehem in Judah to be his concubine. 2 But she became angry with him and ran away, and returned to her father’s home in Bethlehem, and was there about four months. 3 Then her husband, taking along a servant and an extra donkey, went to see her to try to win her back again. When he arrived at her home, she let him in and introduced him to her father, who was delighted to meet him. 4 Her father urged him to stay awhile, so he stayed three days, and they all had a very pleasant time.

5 On the fourth day they were up early, ready to leave, but the girl’s father insisted on their having breakfast first. 6 Then he pleaded with him to stay one more day, as they were having such a good time. 7 At first the man refused, but his father-in-law kept urging him until finally he gave in. 8 The next morning they were up early again, and again the girl’s father pleaded, “Stay just today and leave sometime this evening.” So they had another day of feasting.

9 That afternoon as he and his wife and servant were preparing to leave, his father-in-law said, “Look, it’s getting late. Stay just tonight, and we will have a pleasant evening together and tomorrow you can get up early and be on your way.”

10 But this time the man was adamant, so they left, getting as far as Jerusalem (also called Jebus) before dark.

11 His servant said to him, “It’s getting too late to travel; let’s stay here tonight.”

12-13 “No,” his master said, “we can’t stay in this heathen city where there are no Israelites—we will go on to Gibeah, or possibly Ramah.”

14 So they went on. The sun was setting just as they came to Gibeah, a village of the tribe of Benjamin, 15 so they went there for the night. But as no one invited them in, they camped in the village square. 16 Just then an old man came by on his way home from his work in the fields. (He was originally from the hill country of Ephraim, but was living now in Gibeah, even though it was in the territory of Benjamin.) 17 When he saw the travelers camped in the square, he asked them where they were from and where they were going.

18 “We’re on the way home from Bethlehem, in Judah,” the man replied. “I live on the far edge of the Ephraim hill country, near Shiloh. But no one has taken us in for the night, 19 even though we have fodder for our donkeys and plenty of food and wine for ourselves.”

20 “Don’t worry,” the old man said, “be my guests; for you mustn’t stay here in the square. It’s too dangerous.”

21 So he took them home with him. He fed their donkeys while they rested, and afterward they had supper together. 22 Just as they were beginning to warm to the occasion, a gang of sex perverts gathered around the house and began beating at the door and yelling at the old man to bring out the man who was staying with him, so they could rape him. 23 The old man stepped outside to talk to them.

“No, my brothers, don’t do such a dastardly act,” he begged, “for he is my guest. 24 Here, take my virgin daughter and this man’s wife. I’ll bring them out and you can do whatever you like to them—but don’t do such a thing to this man.”

25 But they wouldn’t listen to him. Then the girl’s husband pushed her out to them, and they abused her all night, taking turns raping her until morning. Finally, just at dawn, they let her go. 26 She fell down at the door of the house and lay there until it was light. 27 When her husband opened the door to be on his way, he found her there, fallen down in front of the door with her hands digging into the threshold.

28 “Well, come on,” he said. “Let’s get going.”

But there was no answer, for she was dead; so he threw her across the donkey’s back and took her home. 29 When he got there he took a knife and cut her body into twelve parts and sent one piece to each tribe of Israel. 30 Then the entire nation was roused to action against the men of Benjamin because of this awful deed.

“There hasn’t been such a horrible crime since Israel left Egypt,” everyone said. “We’ve got to do something about it.”

20 1-2 Then the entire nation of Israel sent their leaders and 450,000 troops to assemble with one mind before the Lord at Mizpah. They came from as far away as Dan and Beersheba, and everywhere between, and from across the Jordan in the land of Gilead. 3 (Word of the mobilization of the Israeli forces at Mizpah soon reached the land of Benjamin.) The chiefs of Israel now called for the murdered woman’s husband and asked him just what had happened.

4 “We arrived one evening at Gibeah, a village in Benjamin,” he began. 5 “That night the men of Gibeah surrounded the house, planning to kill me, and they raped my wife until she was dead. 6 So I cut her body into twelve pieces and sent the pieces throughout the land of Israel, for these men have committed a terrible crime. 7 Now then, sons of Israel, express your mind and give me your counsel!”

8-10 And as one man they replied, “Not one of us will return home until we have punished the village of Gibeah. A tenth of the army will be selected by lot as a supply line to bring us food, and the rest of us will destroy Gibeah for this horrible deed.”

11 So the whole nation united in this task.

12 Then messengers were sent to the tribe of Benjamin, asking, “Did you know about the terrible thing that was done among you? 13 Give up these evil men from the city of Gibeah so that we can execute them and purge Israel of her evil.” But the people of Benjamin wouldn’t listen. 14-15 Instead, 26,000 of them arrived in Gibeah to join the 700 local men in their defense against the rest of Israel. 16 (Among all these there were 700 men who were left-handed sharpshooters. They could hit a target within a hair’s breadth, never missing!) 17 The army of Israel, not counting the men of Benjamin, numbered 400,000 men.

18 Before the battle the Israeli army went to Bethel first to ask counsel from God. “Which tribe shall lead us against the people of Benjamin?” they asked.

And the Lord replied, “Judah shall go first.”

19-20 So the entire army left early the next morning to go to Gibeah, to attack the men of Benjamin. 21 But the men defending the village stormed out and killed 22,000 Israelis that day. 22-24 Then the Israeli army wept before the Lord until evening and asked him, “Shall we fight further against our brother Benjamin?”

And the Lord said, “Yes.” So the men of Israel took courage and went out again the next day to fight at the same place. 25 And that day they lost another 18,000 men, all experienced swordsmen.

26 Then the entire army went up to Bethel and wept before the Lord and fasted until evening, offering burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. 27-28 (The Ark of God was in Bethel in those days. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, was the priest.)

The men of Israel asked the Lord, “Shall we go out again and fight against our brother Benjamin, or shall we stop?”

And the Lord said, “Go, for tomorrow I will see to it that you defeat the men of Benjamin.”

29 So the Israeli army set an ambush all around the village, 30 and went out again on the third day and set themselves in their usual battle formation. 31 When the army of Benjamin came out of the town to attack, the Israeli forces retreated and Benjamin was drawn away from the town as they chased after Israel. And as they had done previously, Benjamin began to kill the men of Israel along the roadway running between Bethel and Gibeah, so that about thirty of them died.

32 Then the army of Benjamin shouted, “We’re defeating them again!” But the armies of Israel had agreed in advance to run away so that the army of Benjamin would chase them and be drawn away from the town. 33 But when the main army of Israel reached Baal-tamar, it turned and attacked, and the 10,000 men in ambush west of Geba jumped up from where they were 34 and advanced against the rear of the army of Benjamin, who still didn’t realize the impending disaster. 35-39 So the Lord helped Israel defeat Benjamin, and the Israeli army killed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day, leaving but a tiny remnant of their forces.

Summary of the Battle: The army of Israel retreated from the men of Benjamin in order to give the ambush more room for maneuvering. When the men of Benjamin had killed about thirty of the Israelis, they were confident of a massive slaughter just as on the previous days. But then the men in ambush rushed into the village and slaughtered everyone in it, and set it on fire. The great cloud of smoke pouring into the sky was the signal for the Israeli army to turn around and attack the army of Benjamin, 40-41 who now looked behind them and were terrified to discover that their city was on fire, and that they were in serious trouble. 42 So they ran toward the wilderness, but the Israelis chased after them, and the men who had set the ambush came out and joined the slaughter from the rear. 43 They encircled the army of Benjamin east of Gibeah, and killed most of them there. 44 Eighteen thousand of the Benjamin troops died in that day’s battle. 45 The rest of the army fled into the wilderness toward the rock of Rimmon, but 5,000 were killed along the way, and 2,000 more near Gidom.

46-47 So the tribe of Benjamin lost 25,000 brave warriors that day, leaving only 600 men who escaped to the rock of Rimmon, where they lived for four months. 48 Then the Israeli army returned and slaughtered the entire population of the tribe of Benjamin—men, women, children, and cattle—and burned down every city and village in the entire land.

21 The leaders of Israel had vowed at Mizpah never to let their daughters marry a man from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 And now the Israeli leaders met at Bethel and sat before God until evening, weeping bitterly.

3 “O Lord God of Israel,” they cried out, “why has this happened, that now one of our tribes is missing?”

4 The next morning they were up early and built an altar, and offered sacrifices and peace offerings on it. 5 And they said among themselves, “Was any tribe of Israel not represented when we held our council before the Lord at Mizpah?” For at that time it was agreed by solemn oath that anyone who refused to come must die. 6 There was deep sadness throughout all Israel for the loss of their brother tribe, Benjamin.

“Gone,” they kept saying to themselves, “gone—an entire tribe of Israel has been cut off and is gone. 7 And how shall we get wives for the few who remain, since we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them our daughters?”

8-9 Then they thought again of their oath to kill anyone who refused to come to Mizpah and discovered that no one had attended from Jabesh-gilead. 10-12 So they sent 12,000 of their best soldiers to destroy the people of Jabesh-gilead. All the men, married women, and children were slain, but the young virgins of marriageable age were saved. There were 400 of these, and they were brought to the camp at Shiloh.

13 Then Israel sent a peace delegation to the little remnant of the men of Benjamin at Rimmon Rock. 14 The 400 girls were given to them as wives, and they returned to their homes; but there were not enough of these girls for all of them. 15 (What a sad time it was in Israel in those days because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.)

16 “What shall we do for wives for the others, since all the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead?” the leaders of Israel asked. 17 “There must be some way to get wives for them, so that an entire tribe of Israel will not be lost forever. 18 But we can’t give them our own daughters. We have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this shall be cursed of God.”

19 Suddenly someone thought of the annual religious festival held in the fields of Shiloh, between Lebonah and Bethel, along the east side of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem.

20 They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, “Go and hide in the vineyards, 21 and when the girls of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out and catch them and take them home with you to be your wives! 22 And when their fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we will tell them, ‘Please be understanding and let them have your daughters, for we didn’t find enough wives for them when we destroyed Jabesh-gilead, and you couldn’t have given your daughters to them without being guilty.’”

23 So the men of Benjamin did as they were told and kidnapped the girls who took part in the celebration, and carried them off to their own land. Then they rebuilt their cities and lived in them. 24 So the people of Israel returned to their homes.

25 (There was no king in Israel in those days, and every man did whatever he thought was right.)

Footnotes

  1. Judges 17:7 a young priest, literally, “a Levite.”
  2. Judges 17:13 a genuine priest, literally, “a Levite as a priest.”
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