Judges 19
New American Standard Bible
A Levite’s Concubine Raped and Killed
19 Now it came about in those days, when (A)there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite [a]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 [b]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 (B)speak [c]gently to her in order to bring her back, [d]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 [e]prepared to go; but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “(C)Strengthen [f]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 [g]be so kind as to spend the night, and (D)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 [h]yourself, and wait until [i]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 [j]to a close; please spend the night. Behold, the day is [k]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 [l]home.”
10 But the man was unwilling to spend the night, so he got up and left, and came to a place opposite (E)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 (F)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 [m]they entered, [n]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 (G)the hill country of Ephraim, and he was [o]staying in Gibeah, but the men of the place (H)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 [p]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 [q]your female slave, and (I)the young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of anything.” 20 Then the old man said, “(J)Peace to you. Only let me take care of all your needs; however, do not spend the night in the public square.” 21 (K)So he took him into his house and fed the donkeys, and they washed their feet and ate and drank.
22 While they were [r]celebrating, behold, (L)the men of the city, certain [s](M)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 [t]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, (N)do not commit this vile sin. 24 (O)Here is my virgin daughter and [u]the man’s concubine. Please let me bring them out, then rape them and do to them [v]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 [w]raped her and abused her all night until morning, then let her go at the approach of dawn. 26 [x]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,” (P)but there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey; and the man set out and went to his [y]home. 29 When he entered his house, he took a knife and seized his concubine, and (Q)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, [z](R)make a plan, and speak up!”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 19:1 Or sojourning
- Judges 19:2 Or was unfaithful to him (a Hebrew homonym); LXX became angry at him
- Judges 19:3 Lit to her heart
- Judges 19:3 Lit and
- Judges 19:5 Lit arose
- Judges 19:5 Lit your heart
- Judges 19:6 Lit be willing to
- Judges 19:8 Lit your heart
- Judges 19:8 Lit the day declines
- Judges 19:9 Lit toward evening
- Judges 19:9 Lit declining
- Judges 19:9 Lit to your tent
- Judges 19:15 As in LXX; MT he
- Judges 19:15 As in LXX; MT he
- Judges 19:16 Or sojourning
- Judges 19:18 MT; LXX the house of the Lord, cf. v 29
- Judges 19:19 I.e., the concubine
- Judges 19:22 Lit making their hearts glad
- Judges 19:22 Lit sons of Belial
- Judges 19:22 Lit know him
- Judges 19:24 Lit his
- Judges 19:24 Lit the good in your eyes
- Judges 19:25 Lit knew her (carnally)
- Judges 19:26 Lit At the turning of the morning
- Judges 19:28 Lit place
- Judges 19:30 Or take counsel
Judges 19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Levite’s Concubine
19 In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite residing in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.(A) 2 But his concubine became angry with[a] him, and she went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah and was there some four months. 3 Then her husband set out after her, to speak tenderly to her and bring her back. He had with him his servant and a couple of donkeys. When he reached[b] her father’s house, the young woman’s father saw him and came with joy to meet him.(B) 4 His father-in-law, the young woman’s father, made him stay, and he remained with him three days; so they ate and drank, and he[c] stayed there. 5 On the fourth day they got up early in the morning, and he prepared to go, but the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Fortify yourself with a bit of food, and after that you may go.”(C) 6 So the two men sat and ate and drank together, and the young woman’s father said to the man, “Why not spend the night and enjoy yourself?”(D) 7 When the man got up to go, his father-in-law kept urging him until he spent the night there again. 8 On the fifth day he got up early in the morning to leave, and the young woman’s father said, “Fortify yourself and linger until the day declines.” So the two of them ate. 9 When the man with his concubine and his servant got up to leave, his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look, the day has worn on until it is almost evening. Spend the night. See, the day has drawn to a close. Spend the night here and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow you can get up early in the morning for your journey and go home.”
10 But the man would not spend the night; he got up and departed and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a couple of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was with him.(E) 11 When they were near Jebus, the day was far spent, and the servant said to his master, “Come now, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.”(F) 12 But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into a city of foreigners, who do not belong to the people of Israel, but we will continue on to Gibeah.”(G) 13 Then he said to his servant, “Come, let us try to reach one of these places and spend the night at Gibeah or at Ramah.” 14 So they passed on and went their way, and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin. 15 They turned aside there, to go in and spend the night at Gibeah. He went in and sat down in the open square of the city, but no one took them in to spend the night.(H)
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.)(I) 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.[d] Nobody has offered to take me in.(J) 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.(K)
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.”(L) 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.(M) 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.”(N) 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.(O) 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.(P) 30 Then he commanded the men whom he sent, saying, “Thus shall you say to all the Israelites: Has such a thing ever happened[e] since the day that the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt until this day? Consider it, take counsel, and speak out.”(Q)
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.