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ULT JDG Chapter 19

19 Now it happened in those days, when there was no king over Israel, that there was a man, a Levite, sojourning in the remotest parts of the hill country of Ephraim. He took for himself a woman, a concubine, from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 However, his concubine played the harlot against him and she went away from being with him to the house of her father, to Bethlehem in Judah. She was there for a period of days, four months. 3 Then her husband rose up and he went after her, to speak to her heart, in order to persuade to return to him. His young man was with him, and a team of donkeys. She brought him into the house of her father, and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him. 4 His father-in-law, the father of the young woman, prevailed against him so he stayed with him three days. They ate and they drank, and they spent the night there. 5 Now it happend on the fourth day that they got up early in the morning and he rose up to go, however the father of the young woman said to his son-in-law, “Strengthen your heart with a piece of bread, then afterwards you shall go.” 6 So the two of them sat down and they ate together, and they drank. Then the father of the young woman said to the man, “Please be willing and spend the night and your heart will be glad.” 7 Then the man rose up in order to leave,however his father-in-law urged him. So he stayed and he spent the night there. 8 He got up early in the morning on the fifth day in order to leave, but the father of the young woman said, “Please strengthen your heart.” So they lingered until the turning aside of the day, and the two of them ate. 9 When the man rose up to go, he and his concubine and his young man, his father-in-law, the father of the young woman said to him, “Look, please, the day has drawn toward evening. Please stay the night. See, the day is declining. Spend the night here and your heart will be glad. Then make an early start tomorrow for your journey and go to your tent.”

10 But the man was not willing to spend the night. So he got up and he left. He came as far as the region opposite Jebus, that is Jerusalem. Now with him was a team of donkeys equipped for riding, and also his concubine was with him. 11 They were near Jebus,and the daylight had greatly diminshed. So the young man said to his master, “Come, please, we should turn aside into this city of the Jebusite so we can spend the night in it.” 12 However his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into a city of a foreigner, where there are none here from the sons of Israel. Instead we will pass by until reaching Gibeah.” 13 Then he said to his young man, “Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and we will spend the night in either Gibeah or in Ramah.” 14 So they passed by and they went on. But the sun went down with regard to them in proximity to the region of Gibeah, which belonged to Benjamin. 15 As a result they turned aside there to come in to spend the night in the Gibeah area. They came in and they sat down in the open plaza of the city, but no one was receiving them into the house to spend the night.

16 Now, look, an old man was coming from his work, from the field at the evening. The man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was sojurning in the Gibeah area. But the men of the place were Benjamite. 17 He raised his eyes and he saw the traveling man in the open plaza of the city. Then the old man said, “Where are you going and from where are you coming?” 18 He said to him, “We are passing through from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to the house of Yahweh. However there is no one receiving me into the house. 19 Moreover, there is straw, also fodder for our donkeys. There is even bread and wine for me and for your maidservant, and for the young man with your servants. There is no lack of anything.” 20 The old man said, “Peace to you! Surely all of your need is upon me. Only you must not spend the night in the open plaza.” 21 So he brought him into his house and he poured out feed for the donkeys. They washed their feet and they ate and they drank.

22 They were making their heart glad, but look, the men of the city, men of sons of wickedness, had encircled themselves around the house, pounding repeatedly on the door. They said to the old man, the master of the house, saying, “Bring out the man who came to your house, so we will know him.” 23 The man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, please you must not act wickedly! Seeing that this man has come into my house, you must not do this disgraceful thing! 24 Here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. Please let me bring them out so you can violate them and do to them what is good in your eyes. But to this man do not do this wicked thing!” 25 But the men were not willing to listen to him, so the man seized his concubine and made her go forth to them who were outside. They knew her and they abused her the whole night until the morning. Then they sent her away at the rising of the dawn. 26 The woman came at the changing of the morning and she fell down at the entrance of the house of the man where her master was there, until the daylight.

27 Her master rose up in the morning and he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way. But look, the woman, his concubine had fallen at the entrance of the house, and her hands were on the threshold. 28 He said to her, “Get up and let us go!” But there was no answering, so he took her on the donkey. Thus the man rose up and he went to his place. 29 When he came to his house, he took the knife, and he seized his concubine, and he cut her in pieces to her bones, into twelve pieces, and he sent her into all of the territory of Israel. 30 Now it would happen, everyone who saw it said, “Nothing has happened and never has been seen anything like this from the day of the coming up of the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt until this day. Consider about it for yourselves! Make a plan and speak up!”

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