Old/New Testament
The Levite’s Mistress
19 Now it happened in those days, before there was a king in Israel, that a certain male descendant of Levi, who lived in a remote part of the mountainous region[a] of Ephraim, took a mistress for himself from Bethlehem in the territory of Judah. 2 But his mistress was sexually unfaithful to him, and then she left him to live in her father’s home in Bethlehem in the territory of Judah. She had been living there for a period[b] of about four months 3 when her husband got up and went after her, intending to speak lovingly to her[c] in order to win her back. He took with him his young man servant and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father’s house to see him, her father was happy to have met him.
4 The young woman’s father (that is, his father-in-law) made him stay there for three days while they ate and drank during his visit there. 5 On the fourth day, they got up early that morning, and the descendant of Levi[d] got ready to leave. Then the young woman’s father-in-law told him, “Fortify yourself[e] by eating some food before you go.” 6 So both of them sat down for a bit, ate and drank together, and the young woman’s father invited the man, “Please, enjoy yourself and spend another night.” 7 The man got up, intending[f] to leave, but his father-in-law urged him to spend the night there again.
8 On the fifth day, he got up early in the morning, but the young woman’s father-in-law told him, “Please, fortify yourself,”[g] so they delayed until later that afternoon while both of them ate together. 9 When the man got up to leave with his mistress and servant, his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, told him, “Look now, evening is coming, so please spend another night. See how the daylight is fading, so spend the night here and enjoy yourself. Then tomorrow get up early and leave on your journey home.”
10 Because the man was unwilling to spend the night, he got up, left, and arrived opposite Jebus (now known as Jerusalem). He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys, along with his mistress. 11 As they approached Jebus, the daylight was almost gone, so the servant suggested to his master, “Come on, let’s spend the night in this Jebusite city.”
12 But his master replied, “We’re not going to turn aside into a city of foreigners who are not part of the Israelis. Instead, we’ll go on to Gibeah.” 13 He also told his servant, “Come on,[h] let’s go to one of these places and spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.” 14 So they continued on their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah, which is part of Benjamin’s territorial allotment.[i] 15 They turned aside there, intending to enter Gibeah and spend the night.
The Homosexual Descendants of Benjamin in Gibeah
After they entered the city, they had to sit down in the public square because no one would take them into their[j] home for the night. 16 Just then, an old man was coming out of the fields that evening from work. The man was from the mountainous region[k] of Ephraim and had been staying in Gibeah, even though the men of that place were descendants of Benjamin. 17 As the old man looked up and saw the traveling man in the public square of the city, he asked, “Now then, where are you headed? And where are you from?”
18 He replied, “We’re traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the mountainous region[l] of Ephraim, because I’m from there, and I’ve been visiting Bethlehem in Judah. I’m going home now, but no one will take me into his home. 19 Meanwhile, we also have straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for me, for this[m] young woman servant, and for the young man who is with your servants. We don’t need anything else.”
20 The old man replied, “Don’t be alarmed. I’ll take care of all your needs. Just don’t spend the night in the public square.” 21 So he took him into his home and fed the donkeys while they refreshed themselves and had dinner.[n]
22 While they were enjoying themselves, all of a sudden certain ungodly men[o] who lived in the city surrounded the house, pounded on the door, and ordered the old man who owned the home, “Bring out the man who came to visit your home so we can have sex with him.”
23 The man who owned the house went out to talk to them and pleaded with them, “No, my brothers, please don’t act so wickedly. This man is my guest! Don’t try to do this stupid thing. 24 Instead, here’s my virgin daughter and my visitor’s[p] mistress. Please let me bring them out to you. Occupy yourselves with them, and do to them whatever you would like. But don’t commit such a stupid thing against this man.”
The Men of Gibeah Rape and Murder the Mistress
25 But the men were unwilling to listen to him. So the descendant of Levi[q] grabbed his mistress, took her out to them, and they raped and tortured her all night until morning. Then they released her as the first daylight was beginning to appear. 26 As dawn was breaking, the woman approached the door of the man’s home where her master was and collapsed. Eventually, full daylight came. 27 When her master got up that morning and opened the doors of the house to leave on his way, there was his mistress, fallen dead at the door of the house with her hands grasping the threshold.
28 He spoke to her, “Get up, and let’s go.”
But there was no response. So he placed her on the donkey, mounted his own animal,[r] and went home. 29 When he arrived home, he grabbed a knife, took hold of his mistress, cut her apart limb by limb into twelve pieces, and sent her remains[s] throughout the land of Israel. 30 All the witnesses said, “Nothing has happened or has been seen like this from the day the Israelis came here from the land of Egypt to this day! Think about it, get some advice about it, and then speak up about it!”
The Israelis Attack the Tribe of Benjamin
20 Then the entire Israeli nation—from Dan to Beer-sheba, including the territory of Gilead—came out for war. The army assembled as one united force to God at Mizpah. 2 The officials of the entire nation, including every tribe of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God: 400,000 foot soldiers, all of them[t] expert swordsmen. 3 While the descendants of Benjamin were learning that the Israelis had gone up to Mizpah, the Israelis asked, “Somebody tell us how this evil could happen?”
4 So the descendant of Levi, the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up and replied, “I came to spend the night at Gibeah, which is part of Benjamin, along with my mistress. 5 But the officials of Gibeah attacked me and surrounded the house because of me. They intended to kill me, but instead they tortured my mistress to death. 6 So I grabbed my mistress, cut her in pieces, and sent her remains[u] throughout the territory of Israel’s inheritance, because they’ve committed a vile, stupid outrage in Israel. 7 So look, all you Israelis! Speak up and give us your advice!”
8 Then the entire army stood up as a single unit and declared, “Nobody’s going back to his tent, and nobody’s going home! 9 This is what we’ll do to Gibeah: we’re going to assemble an army by lottery. 10 We’ll take ten men out of 100 from all of the tribes of Israel. We’ll appoint 100 out of 1,000 and 1,000 out of 10,000 to supply provisions for the army. And when we reach Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin, we’ll punish them for all of the stupid things that they’ve done in Israel.” 11 That’s how the army of Israel came to be gathered together to attack the city, united as a single unit.
12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the entire tribe of Benjamin to ask them, “What is this evil thing that has occurred among you? 13 Now then, hand over the men—those ungodly men,[v] and we’ll execute them in order to remove this evil from Israel.”
But the descendants of Benjamin wouldn’t obey the request of their own relatives, the Israelis, 14 so the descendants of Benjamin assembled from the cities of Gibeah to fight the Israelis in battle. 15 The day of the battle,[w] the army from the descendants of Benjamin numbered 26,000 expert swordsmen from their cities, not including the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered 700 special forces soldiers. 16 Out of all these soldiers, 700 of them were left-handed—and each one could sling a stone at a hair and never miss. 17 But the Israeli army—not counting the tribe of Benjamin—numbered 400,000 expert swordsmen, all of them battle-hardened soldiers.[x]
Civil War Lays Waste to the Tribe of Benjamin
18 The Israelis mounted up, traveled to Bethel, and asked God what to do.[y] They said, “Who is to lead us in our opening attack against the descendants of Benjamin?”
The Lord replied, “Judah is to open the attack.”
19 So the Israelis got up in the morning, encamped near Gibeah, 20 and the army of Israel went out to fight the tribe of Benjamin, assembling in battle array against them at Gibeah. 21 The descendants of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and 22,000 soldiers of Israel fell in battle that day.
22 But the army—the men of Israel—encouraged themselves and arrayed for battle again the next day in the same place where they had gathered the day before. 23 From there[z] the Israelis went up and wept in the Lord’s presence until evening. Then they asked the Lord, “Should we attack the descendants of[aa] Benjamin again?”
The Lord replied, “Attack them.”[ab]
24 So the Israelis attacked the descendants of Benjamin for a second day, 25 and the tribe of Benjamin went to war against them from Gibeah during that second day, and 18,000 soldiers from the Israelis—all of them expert swordsmen—fell to the ground. 26 All the Israelis, including its army, went up from there to Bethel and wept, remaining there in the Lord’s presence, fasting throughout the day until dusk, when they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings in the Lord’s presence. 27 The Israelis inquired of the Lord, since the Ark of the Covenant was there[ac] at that time 28 while Eleazar’s son Phinehas, a descendant of Aaron, served before it in those days. They asked, “Should we go out to war again against the descendants of our relative Benjamin, or shall we cease?”
And the Lord answered, “Go out, and tomorrow I will deliver them into your control.”
29 So Israel set soldiers in ambush around Gibeah. 30 The Israelis went out against the descendants of Benjamin on the third day, arraying themselves against Gibeah as they had done previously. 31 They attacked the army and were drawn away from the city as they began to inflict casualties on the soldiers along the roads to Bethel and Gibeah, just as they had done the other times. About 30 soldiers from Israel fell in battle there[ad] and in the fields.
32 Then the descendants of Benjamin told themselves,[ae] “They’re falling right in front of us, just like before!”
But the army of Israel told themselves, “Let’s draw them away by escaping to the highways from the city.” 33 So the entire army of Israel moved from their location and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamer while that part of their army moved from their ambush positions from Maareh-geba. 34 As 10,000 of Israel’s best soldiers came to fight Gibeah, the battle became fierce, but the army of Benjamin didn’t know that disaster was close at hand. 35 The Lord struck Benjamin in the full view of Israel. As a result, the Israelis destroyed 25,100 soldiers of Benjamin that day, all expert swordsmen.
36 Then the descendants of Benjamin realized that they had been defeated. The army of Israel pretended to retreat from the army of Benjamin, knowing that they had set some soldiers in ambush near Gibeah. 37 The soldiers in ambush rushed out to attack Gibeah, deploying in force[af] and executing the entire city with swords. 38 Meanwhile, the army of Israel had arranged to signal their soldiers who had been hiding in ambush by sending up a cloud of smoke from the city. 39 The army of Israel turned around in the battle, and the army of Benjamin began to attack and kill about 30 soldiers, thinking, “Now we’re really defeating them,[ag] just like before.”
40 But then the smoke began to rise from the city in a column. The army of Benjamin observed behind them that the whole city was going up in flames[ah] straight into the sky! 41 At that point, as the army of Israel turned back to face the army of Benjamin,[ai] the army of Benjamin was filled with terror, because they realized that disaster was about to overtake them. 42 So they turned tail and ran away from the army of Israel toward the wilderness, but they were overtaken in battle when soldiers came out from the cities to destroy them.[aj] 43 They surrounded the army of Benjamin, pursuing them ceaselessly until they defeated them near the east-facing[ak] border of Gibeah. 44 That’s how 18,000 men from the tribe of Benjamin fell in battle, all of whom were valiant soldiers. 45 The rest of them turned and ran into the wilderness in the direction of the rock of Rimmon, but 5,000 of them were killed on the highways while 2,000 of them were overtaken and killed near Gidom.
46 To sum up, the soldiers from the tribe of Benjamin who died that day totaled 25,000 men, all of them expert swordsmen and valiant soldiers. 47 However, 600 soldiers ran into the wilderness in the direction of the rock of Rimmon, where they remained as fugitives for four months. 48 Meanwhile, the army of Israel went back to fight the surviving[al] descendants of Benjamin. They attacked the entire city with swords, including its cattle and everyone they could find. Then they set fire to all of the cities that they could find.
The Israelis Mourn the Tribe of Benjamin
21 Now the people of Israel had taken a vow in Mizpah that went like this: “Not even one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a descendant of Benjamin!” 2 So the people went to Bethel, sat before God until dusk, where they cried out loud and wept bitterly. 3 “Why, Lord God of Israel,” they asked him, “is one tribe missing[am] from Israel?”
4 The next day, the people got up early, built an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. 5 The Israelis asked themselves, “Who didn’t come up in our assembly in the Lord’s presence from among all of the tribes of Israel?” They had taken a solemn oath concerning those who didn’t come up to meet with the Lord at Mizpah that “They will certainly be executed.”
6 But the Israelis were mourning for their relatives in the tribe of Benjamin. They announced, “One tribe has been eliminated from Israel today! 7 What can we do to find wives for the survivors who remain, since we’ve already taken an oath in the Lord’s presence not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?”
The Israelis Attempt to Mitigate Their Disaster
8 They asked, “What one group of the tribes of Israel didn’t come up to meet the Lord at Mizpah?” It turned out that no one had come to the encampment from Jabesh-gilead, 9 since when they took a census of the assembly, not even one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was in attendance. 10 So the congregation sent out 12,000 of their valiant soldiers, issuing these orders to them: “Go and attack the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with swords, including the women and little ones. 11 You’re to completely destroy every man and every married woman.”[an]
12 They discovered among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who hadn’t had sex with a man, and they brought them to the encampment at Shiloh in the territory of Canaan. 13 Then the entire congregation sent for the surviving[ao] descendants of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon and assured them that their intentions toward them were peaceful.[ap] 14 So the survivors of the tribe of Benjamin[aq] returned at that time, and the Israelis[ar] gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the raid on[as] Jabesh-gilead. Even so, there weren’t enough for them.
15 The people felt sorry for the tribe of Benjamin because the Lord had broken one of the tribes of Israel. 16 So the elders of the congregation asked, “What will we do to obtain wives for the survivors, since the women of Benjamin have been devastated?” 17 They continued, “Let’s make sure that there’s an inheritance for the survivors of the tribe of Benjamin, so that a tribe won’t be blotted out from Israel. 18 But we can’t give them wives from our own daughters, since we’ve[at] taken this vow: ‘May the Lord curse[au] anyone who gives his daughter as[av] a wife to the tribe of Benjamin!’”
19 So they concluded, “Look, there’s a festival to the Lord every year in Shiloh on the north side of Bethel, south of Lebonah and on the east side of the highway that runs from Bethel to Shechem…” 20 So they told the descendants of Benjamin, “Go and hide in the vineyards. 21 Watch when the unmarried women[aw] from Shiloh come out to participate in the dances. Then come out of the vineyards and each of you grab a wife from the unmarried women[ax] from Shiloh. Then go back home to the territory of Benjamin. 22 If their fathers or brothers come complaining to us, we’ll tell them ‘Be generous! Give them to us voluntarily, because we didn’t take anyone to be a wife for the men of the tribe of Benjamin[ay] as a result of the battle. And you haven’t incurred guilt by giving your daughters to them.’”
23 So the descendants of Benjamin did all of this: they chose and carried away just enough wives from those who danced to meet the number needed, then they left to return to their inheritance, to rebuild their cities, and to live there. 24 The Israelis left there at that time, each man to his tribe and family, and each of them went down from there to his territorial allotment.
25 Back in those days, Israel didn’t yet have a king, so each person did whatever seemed right in his own opinion.
31 Jesus continued,[a] “To what may I compare the people living today?[b] 32 They’re like little children who sit in the marketplace and shout to each other,
‘A wedding song we played for you,
the dance you all did scorn.
A woeful dirge we chanted, too,
but then you would not mourn.’
33 Because John the Baptist has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, yet you say, ‘He has a demon!’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look! He’s[c] a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Wisdom is vindicated by all[d] her children.”
Jesus Forgives a Sinful Woman
36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus[e] to eat with him. So he went to the Pharisee’s home and took his place at the table. 37 There was a woman who was a notorious[f] sinner in that city. When she learned that Jesus[g] was eating at the Pharisee’s home, she took an alabaster jar of perfume 38 and knelt at his feet behind him. She was crying and began to wash his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair.[h] Then she kissed his feet over and over again, anointing them constantly with the perfume.
39 Now the Pharisee who had invited Jesus[i] saw this and told himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who is touching him and what kind of woman she is. She’s a sinner!”
40 Jesus told him, “Simon, I have something to ask you.”
“Teacher,” he replied, “ask it.”
41 “Two men were in debt to a moneylender. One owed him 500 denarii,[j] and the other 50. 42 When they couldn’t pay it back, he generously canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one who had the larger debt canceled.”
Jesus[k] told him, “You have answered correctly.”
44 Then, turning to the woman, he told Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You didn’t give me any water for my feet, but this woman has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You didn’t give me a kiss,[l] but this woman, from the moment I came in, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You didn’t anoint my head with oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with perfume. 47 So I’m telling you that her sins, as many as they are, have been forgiven, and that’s why she has shown such great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.”
48 Then Jesus[m] told her, “Your sins are forgiven!”
49 Those who were at the table with them began to say among themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?”
50 But Jesus[n] told the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
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