The Levite and His Concubine
Judges 19In those days, when there was no king in Israel, there was a certain Levite living on the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim, who took for himself a concubine out of Bethlehem Judah. His concubine played the prostitute against him, and went away from him to her father’s house to Bethlehem Judah, and was there for four months. Her husband arose and went after her to speak kindly to her, to bring her again, having his servant with him and a couple of donkeys. She brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he rejoiced to meet him. His father-in-law, the young woman’s father, kept him there; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank, and stayed there.
On the fourth day, they got up early in the morning, and he rose up to depart. The young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, then y’all may go.” So both of them sat down, ate, and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man, “Please agree to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.” The man rose up to depart, but his father-in-law persuaded him, and he stayed there again. He arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the young woman’s father said, “Please strengthen your heart and stay until the day declines;” and they both ate.
When the man rose up to depart with and his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look, now the day draws toward evening. Please y’all—stay all night. See, the day is ending. You should stay here, so that your heart may be merry. Y’all can get up early tomorrow for on y’all’s journey home.” But the man wouldn’t stay that night, but he rose up and went toward Jebus (also called Jerusalem). he had with him a couple of saddled donkeys and his concubine.
When they were by Jebus, the day was far spent, and the servant said to his master, “Please come and let’s enter into this city of the Jebusites, and stay in it.”
His master said to him, “We won’t enter into the city of a foreigner that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to Gibeah.” He said to his servant, “Come and let’s draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.” So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin. They went over there, to go in to stay in Gibeah. He went in, and sat down in the street of the city; for there was no one who took them into his house to stay.
That evening, an old man came from his work out of the field. Now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he lived in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjamites. He lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?”
He said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem Judah to the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem Judah. I am going to the house of YHWH; and there is no one who has taken me into his house. Yet there is both straw and feed for our donkeys; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your servant, and for the young man who is with your servants. There is no lack of anything.”
The old man said, “Peace be to you! Just let me supply all your needs, but don’t sleep in the street.” So he brought him into his house, and gave the donkeys fodder. Then they washed their feet, and ate and drank. As they were making their hearts merry, suddenly, the men of the city, certain wicked fellows, surrounded the house, beating at the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we can have sex with him!”
The man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, “No, my brothers. Y’all must not be this evil. After all, this man has come into my house, so y’all must not do this senseless act. Look, here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. I will bring them out now. Y’all can abuse them, and y’all do with them what is good in your* eye. But y’all must not do anything senseless to this man.”
But the men wouldn’t listen to him; so the man grabbed his concubine, and brought her out to them; and they had sex with her, and abused her all night until the morning. When the day began to dawn, they let her go. Then the woman came in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, until it was light. Her lord rose up in the morning and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way. There was a woman, his concubine, who had fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold.
He said to her, “Get up, and let’s get going!” but no one answered. Then he took her up on the donkey; and the man rose up, and went to his place.
When he had come into his house, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Israel. Everyone who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day! Y’all think about it and discuss it, and then y’all must speak!”