When There Was No King in Israel
A Levite on his way to our Father's house retrieves his runaway concubine and finds only an old foreigner willing to take him in. Men of the town surround it; the Levite pushes her out. At dawn she lies at the door. He cuts her in twelve pieces.
19 1In those days Israel had no king. A Levite in Ephraim's remote hill country took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2His concubine was unfaithful to him, left him for her father's house in Bethlehem, Judah, and stayed four months. 3Her husband set out after her, to speak to her heart and bring her back, with his servant and two donkeys. She brought him to her father's house, and the girl's father was glad to meet him. 4His father-in-law, the girl's father, prevailed on him to stay, and he remained with him three days; they ate, drank, and slept there.
5On the fourth day they rose early, and he got up to leave. But the girl's father told his son-in-law, "Have a bit of bread, then go." 6The two sat, ate, drank together. The girl's father said to the man, "Please, stay tonight and let your heart be glad." 7The man rose to leave, but his father-in-law urged him, so he stayed the night there again. 8On the fifth day he rose early to leave; the girl's father said, "Please restore yourself, and wait until afternoon." So the two of them ate. 9As the man rose to go, with his concubine and servant, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said, "Look, day is nearly gone; stay the night. See, it's ending; lodge here and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow rise early, travel on, and go home." 10But the man refused to stay the night; he got up, departed, and came opposite Jebus (Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine. 11Near Jebus, with daylight nearly gone, the servant said to his master, "Come, please, let's turn into this Jebusite city and spend the night."
12His master replied, "We won't turn into a foreign city, not Israelite; we'll press on to Gibeah." 13He told his servant, "Come, let's reach one of these places and lodge in Gibeah or Ramah." 14So they went on their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah in Benjamin. 15They turned aside to lodge at Gibeah. He went in and sat in the city square, but no one took them into his house to lodge.
16An old man came from field work at evening. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, living in Gibeah as a foreigner; the local men were Benjamites. 17The old man looked up, saw the traveler in the city square, and asked, "Where are you going? Where have you come from?"
18He said to him, "We're traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the far hill country of Ephraim—that's my home. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I'm going to our Father's house, but no one takes me into his house. 19We have both straw and feed for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, your maidservant, and the young man with your servants. We lack nothing."
20The old man said, "Peace to you. I'll supply all you need; just don't lodge in the square." 21He brought him home, fed the donkeys, and they washed their feet, ate, and drank.
22While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly worthless men of the city surrounded the house, pounding on the door. They shouted to the old man who owned the house, "Bring out the man who entered your house, so we can have relations with him!"
23The house's owner went out to them and said, "No, my brothers, please don't do evil since this man came into my house; don't do this disgraceful thing. 24Here are my virgin daughter and his concubine—let me bring them out. Violate them, do to them whatever seems good to you, but don't do this disgraceful thing to this man."
25But the men wouldn't listen. So the man grabbed his concubine and pushed her out to them; they raped and abused her all night until dawn, then let her go. 26At daybreak the woman came and fell at the man's house door, where her master was, until daylight. 27At dawn her master rose, opened the house doors, went out on his way—there lay his concubine, fallen at the house entrance, hands on the threshold. 28He said to her, "Get up, let's go." No answer. So he put her on the donkey and headed home.
29At home he took a knife, seized his concubine, cut her limb by limb into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all Israel's territory. 30All who saw it said, "No such thing has happened or been seen since Israel came up out of Egypt until today. Consider it, discuss it, and speak."
