Judges 19
King James Version
19 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.
2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.
3 And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.
4 And his father in law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.
5 And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the damsel's father said unto his son in law, Comfort thine heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.
6 And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the damsel's father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart be merry.
7 And when the man rose up to depart, his father in law urged him: therefore he lodged there again.
8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the damsel's father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat both of them.
9 And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel's father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and to morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.
10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him.
11 And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.
12 And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.
13 And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in Ramah.
14 And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.
15 And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging.
16 And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.
17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?
18 And he said unto him, We are passing from Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I went to Bethlehemjudah, but I am now going to the house of the Lord; and there is no man that receiveth me to house.
19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing.
20 And the old man said, Peace be with thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.
21 So he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto the asses: and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.
22 Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.
23 And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.
24 Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.
25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.
26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.
27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.
28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.
29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.
30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.
Judges 19
International Children’s Bible
A Levite and His Servant
19 At that time the people of Israel did not have a king.
There was a Levite who lived in the faraway part of the mountains of Ephraim. He had taken a slave woman. She was from the city of Bethlehem in the land of Judah. 2 But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her father’s house. It was in Bethlehem in Judah. She stayed there for four months. 3 Then her husband went to ask her to come back to him. He took with him his servant and two donkeys. The Levite came to her father’s house. And she invited the Levite to come in. Her father was happy to see him. 4 The father-in-law, the young woman’s father, asked him to stay. So he stayed for three days. He ate, drank and slept there.
5 On the fourth day they got up early in the morning. The Levite was getting ready to leave. But the woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh yourself by eating something. Then you may go.” 6 So the two men sat down to eat and drink together. After that, the father said to him, “Please stay tonight. Relax and enjoy yourself.” 7 When the man got up to go, his father-in-law asked him to stay. So he stayed again that night. 8 On the fifth day the man got up early in the morning to leave. The woman’s father said, “Refresh yourself. Wait until this afternoon.” So the two men ate together.
9 Then the Levite, his slave woman and his servant got up to leave. His father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said, “It’s almost night. The day is almost gone. So spend the night here and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow morning you may get up early and go on your way home.” 10 But the Levite did not want to stay another night. He took his two saddled donkeys and his slave woman. He traveled toward the city of Jebus. (Jebus is another name for Jerusalem.)
11 The day was almost over. They were near Jebus. So the servant said to his master, “Let’s stop at this city. It’s the city of the Jebusite people. Let’s spend the night here.”
12 But his master said, “No. We won’t go inside a strange city. Those people are not Israelites. We will go on to the city of Gibeah.” 13 Then he said, “Come on. Let’s try to make it to Gibeah or Ramah. We can spend the night in one of those cities.” 14 So they went on. And the sun went down as they came near Gibeah. Gibeah belongs to the tribe of Benjamin. 15 So they stopped there to spend the night. They came to the public square in the middle of the city and sat down. But no one invited them home to spend the night.
16 That evening an old man came into the city from his work in the fields. His home was in the mountains of Ephraim. But now he was living in Gibeah. (The men of Gibeah were from the tribe of Benjamin.) 17 He saw the traveler, the Levite, in the public square. He asked, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?”
18 The Levite answered, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah. We’re going to my home. I’m from a faraway part of the mountains of Ephraim. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah. Now I am going to the Holy Tent of the Lord. No one has invited me to stay in his house. 19 We already have straw and food for our donkeys. There is bread and wine for me, the young woman and my servant. We don’t need anything.”
20 The old man said, “You are welcome to stay at my house. Let me give you anything you need. But don’t spend the night in the public square.” 21 So the old man took the Levite into his house. He fed their donkeys, and they washed their feet. Then he gave them something to eat and drink.
22 While they were enjoying themselves, some wicked men of the city surrounded the house. They beat on the door. They shouted to the old man who owned the house. They said, “Bring out the man who came to your house. We want to force him to have physical relations with us.”
23 The owner of the house went outside. And he said to them, “No, my friends. Don’t be so evil. This man is a guest in my house. Don’t do this terrible thing! 24 Look, here is my daughter. She is a virgin. And here is the man’s slave woman. I will bring them out to you now. Do anything you want with them. But don’t do such a terrible thing to this man.”
25 But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took his slave woman and sent her outside to them. They raped her. They treated her very badly all night long. Then, at dawn, they let her go. 26 She came back to the house where her master was staying. She fell down at the door and lay there until daylight.
27 In the morning the Levite got up. He opened the door of the house. He went outside to go on his way. But there lay his slave woman. She had fallen down at the doorway of the house. Her hands were on the doorsill. 28 Then the Levite said to her, “Get up; let’s go.” But she did not answer. So he put her on his donkey and went home.
29 When the Levite got home, he took a knife and cut his slave woman into 12 parts. Then he sent a part to each of the areas where the people of Israel lived. 30 Everyone who saw this said, “Nothing like this has ever happened before. It has never happened since the people of Israel came out of Egypt. Think about it. Tell us what to do.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
