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Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited
19 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite[a] living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine[b] from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 However, she[c] got angry at him[d] and went home[e] to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months, 3 her husband came[f] after her, hoping he could convince her to return.[g] He brought with him his servant[h] and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father’s house and the girl’s father saw him, he greeted him warmly.[i] 4 His father-in-law, the girl’s father, persuaded him to stay with him for three days, and they ate and drank together, and spent the night there. 5 On the fourth day they woke up early and the Levite got ready to leave.[j] But the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Have a bite to eat for some energy,[k] then you can go.” 6 So the two of them sat down and had a meal together.[l] Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Why not stay another night and have a good time?”[m] 7 When the man got ready to leave,[n] his father-in-law convinced him to stay another night.[o] 8 He woke up early in the morning on the fifth day so he could leave, but the girl’s father said, “Get some energy![p] Wait until later in the day to leave.”[q] So they ate a meal together. 9 When the man got ready to leave[r] with his concubine and his servant,[s] his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look! The day is almost over.[t] Stay another night! Since the day is over,[u] stay another night here and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home.”[v] 10 But the man did not want to stay another night. He left[w] and traveled as far as[x] Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine.[y]
11 When they got near Jebus, it was getting quite late[z] and the servant[aa] said to his master, “Come on, let’s stop at[ab] this Jebusite city and spend the night in it.” 12 But his master said to him, “We should not stop at a foreign city where non-Israelites live.[ac] We will travel on to Gibeah.” 13 He said to his servant,[ad] “Come on, we will go into one of the other towns[ae] and spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.” 14 So they traveled on,[af] and the sun went down when they were near Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin.[ag] 15 They stopped there and decided to spend the night[ah] in Gibeah. They came into the city and sat down in the town square, but no one invited them to spend the night.[ai]
16 But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field.[aj] The man was from the Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah. (The residents of the town were Benjaminites.)[ak] 17 When he looked up and saw the traveler[al] in the town square, the old man said, “Where are you heading? Where do you come from?” 18 The Levite[am] said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. That’s where I’m from. I had business in Bethlehem in Judah, but now I’m heading home.[an] But no one has invited me into their home. 19 We have enough straw and grain for our donkeys, and there is enough food and wine for me, your female servant,[ao] and the young man who is with your servants.[ap] We lack nothing.” 20 The old man said, “Everything is just fine.[aq] I will take care of all your needs. But don’t spend the night in the town square.” 21 So he brought him to his house and fed the donkeys. They washed their feet and had a meal.[ar]
22 They were having a good time,[as] when suddenly[at] some men of the city, some good-for-nothings,[au] surrounded the house and kept beating[av] on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, “Send out the man who came to visit you so we can take carnal knowledge of him.”[aw] 23 The man who owned the house went outside and said to them, “No, my brothers! Don’t do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don’t do such a disgraceful thing! 24 Here are my virgin daughter and my guest’s[ax] concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like.[ay] But don’t do such a disgraceful thing to this man!” 25 The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite[az] grabbed his concubine and made her go outside.[ba] They raped[bb] her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn. 26 The woman arrived back at daybreak and was sprawled out on the doorstep of the house where her master[bc] was staying until it became light.[bd] 27 When her master[be] got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and went outside to start on his journey, there was the woman, his concubine, sprawled out on the doorstep of the house with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, “Get up, let’s leave.” But there was no response. He put her on the donkey and went home.[bf] 29 When he got home, he took a knife, grasped his concubine, and carved her up into twelve pieces.[bg] Then he sent the pieces throughout Israel.[bh] 30 Everyone who saw the sight[bi] said, “Nothing like this has happened or been witnessed during the entire time since[bj] the Israelites left the land of Egypt![bk] Take careful note of it! Discuss it and speak!”
Civil War Breaks Out
20 All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba[bl] and from the land of Gilead[bm] left their homes[bn] and assembled together[bo] before the Lord at Mizpah. 2 The leaders[bp] of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, which numbered[bq] 400,000 sword-wielding foot soldiers. 3 The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. Then the Israelites said, “Explain how this wicked thing happened!” 4 The Levite,[br] the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up, “I and my concubine stopped in[bs] Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin[bt] to spend the night. 5 The leaders of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying.[bu] They wanted to kill me; instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died. 6 I took hold of my concubine and carved her up and sent the pieces[bv] throughout the territory occupied by Israel,[bw] because they committed such an unthinkable atrocity[bx] in Israel. 7 All you Israelites,[by] make a decision here!”[bz]
8 All Israel rose up in unison[ca] and said, “Not one of us will go home![cb] Not one of us will return[cc] to his house! 9 Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will attack the city as the lot dictates.[cd] 10 We will take ten of every group of a hundred men from all the tribes of Israel (and a hundred of every group of a thousand, and a thousand of every group of ten thousand) to get supplies for the army.[ce] When they arrive in Gibeah of Benjamin, they will punish them for the atrocity that they committed in Israel.”[cf] 11 So all the men of Israel gathered together at the city as allies.[cg]
12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe[ch] of Benjamin, saying, “How could such a wicked thing take place?[ci] 13 Now, hand over the good-for-nothings[cj] in Gibeah so we can execute them and purge Israel of wickedness.”[ck] But the Benjaminites refused to listen to their Israelite brothers. 14 The Benjaminites came from their cities and assembled at Gibeah[cl] to make war against the Israelites. 15 That day the Benjaminites mustered from their cities 26,000 sword-wielding soldiers, besides 700 well-trained soldiers from Gibeah.[cm] 16 Among this army[cn] were 700 specially trained left-handed soldiers.[co] Each one could sling a stone and hit even the smallest target.[cp] 17 The men of Israel (not counting Benjamin) had mustered 400,000 sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior.[cq]
18 The Israelites went up to Bethel and asked God,[cr] “Who should lead the charge against the Benjaminites?”[cs] The Lord said, “Judah should lead.” 19 The Israelites got up the next morning and moved[ct] against Gibeah. 20 The men of Israel marched out to fight Benjamin; they[cu] arranged their battle lines against Gibeah. 21 The Benjaminites attacked from Gibeah and struck down 22,000 Israelites that day.[cv]
22 The Israelite army[cw] took heart[cx] and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before. 23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, “Should we[cy] again march out to fight[cz] the Benjaminites, our brothers?”[da] The Lord said, “Attack them.”[db] 24 So the Israelites marched toward[dc] the Benjaminites the next day. 25 The Benjaminites again attacked them from Gibeah and struck down 18,000 sword-wielding Israelite soldiers.[dd]
26 So all the Israelites, the whole army,[de] went up to[df] Bethel. They wept and sat there before the Lord; they did not eat anything[dg] that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace[dh] to the Lord. 27 The Israelites asked the Lord (for the ark of God’s covenant was there in those days; 28 Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving the Lord[di] in those days), “Should we[dj] once more march out to fight the Benjaminites our brothers,[dk] or should we[dl] quit?” The Lord said, “Attack, for tomorrow I will hand them[dm] over to you.”
29 So Israel hid men in ambush outside Gibeah. 30 The Israelites attacked the Benjaminites the next day;[dn] they took their positions against Gibeah just as they had done before. 31 The Benjaminites attacked[do] the army, leaving the city unguarded.[dp] They began to strike down their enemy[dq] just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel, the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down[dr] about thirty Israelites. 32 Then the Benjaminites said, “They are defeated just as before.” But the Israelites said, “Let’s retreat[ds] and lure them[dt] away from the city into the main roads.” 33 [du] All the men of Israel got up from their places and took their positions at Baal Tamar, while the Israelites hiding in ambush jumped out of their places west of Gibeah. 34 Then 10,000 men, well-trained soldiers from all Israel, made a frontal assault against Gibeah; the battle was fierce.[dv] But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was at their doorstep.[dw] 35 The Lord annihilated Benjamin before Israel; the Israelites struck down that day 25,100 sword-wielding Benjaminites.[dx] 36 Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated.
The Israelites retreated before[dy] Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hidden in ambush outside Gibeah. 37 The men hiding in ambush made a mad dash[dz] to Gibeah. They[ea] attacked[eb] and put the sword to the entire city. 38 The Israelites and the men hiding in ambush had arranged a signal. When the men hiding in ambush[ec] sent up a smoke signal from the city, 39 the Israelites counterattacked.[ed] Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites;[ee] they struck down[ef] about thirty men. They said, “There’s no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle.” 40 But when the signal, a pillar of smoke, began to rise up from the city, the Benjaminites turned around and saw the whole city going up in a cloud of smoke that rose high into the sky.[eg] 41 When the Israelites turned around, the Benjaminites panicked[eh] because they could see that disaster was on their doorstep.[ei] 42 They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook[ej] them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down.[ek] 43 They surrounded the Benjaminites, chased them from Nohah,[el] and annihilated[em] them all the way to a spot east of Geba.[en] 44 So 18,000 Benjaminites, all of them capable warriors, fell dead. 45 The rest[eo] turned and ran toward the wilderness, heading toward the cliff of Rimmon. But the Israelites[ep] caught[eq] 5,000 of them on the main roads. They stayed right on their heels[er] all the way to Gidom and struck down 2,000 more. 46 That day 25,000[es] sword-wielding Benjaminites fell in battle, all of them capable warriors.[et] 47 But 600 survivors turned and ran away to the wilderness, to the cliff of Rimmon. They stayed there four months. 48 The Israelites returned to the Benjaminite towns[eu] and put the sword to them. They wiped out the cities,[ev] the animals, and everything they could find. They set fire to every city in their path.[ew]
Further Testimony About Jesus by John the Baptist
22 After this,[a] Jesus and his disciples came into Judean territory, and there he spent time with them and was baptizing. 23 John[b] was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim,[c] because water was plentiful there, and people were coming[d] to him[e] and being baptized. 24 (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)[f]
25 Now a dispute came about between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew[g] concerning ceremonial washing.[h] 26 So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River,[i] about whom you testified—see, he is baptizing, and everyone is flocking to him!”
27 John replied,[j] “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’[k] but rather, ‘I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly[l] when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete.[m] 30 He must become more important while I become less important.”[n]
31 The one who comes from above is superior to all.[o] The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things.[p] The one who comes from heaven[q] is superior to all.[r] 32 He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 The one who has accepted his testimony has confirmed clearly that God is truthful.[s] 34 For the one whom God has sent[t] speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly.[u] 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things under his authority.[v] 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects[w] the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath[x] remains[y] on him.
Departure From Judea
4 Now when Jesus[z] knew that the Pharisees[aa] had heard that he[ab] was winning[ac] and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were),[ad] 3 he left Judea and set out once more for Galilee.[ae]
24 How many living things you have made, O Lord![a]
You have exhibited great skill in making all of them;[b]
the earth is full of the living things you have made.
25 Over here is the deep, wide sea,[c]
which teems with innumerable swimming creatures,[d]
living things both small and large.
26 The ships travel there,
and over here swims the whale[e] you made to play in it.
27 All your creatures[f] wait for you
to provide them with food on a regular basis.[g]
28 You give food to them and they receive it;
you open your hand and they are filled with food.[h]
29 When you ignore them, they panic.[i]
When you take away their life’s breath,
they die and return to dust.
30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,
and you replenish the surface of the ground.
31 May the splendor of the Lord endure.[j]
May the Lord find pleasure in the living things he has made.[k]
32 He looks down on the earth and it shakes;
he touches the mountains and they start to smolder.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I exist.[l]
34 May my thoughts[m] be pleasing to him.
I will rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners disappear[n] from the earth,
and the wicked vanish.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord.
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