Judges 19:1–30
19 In those days Israel had no king.
Now a Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraimo took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.p 2 But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her parents’ home in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months, 3 her husband went to her to persuade her to return. He had with him his servant and two donkeys. She took him into her parents’ home, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him. 4 His father-in-law, the woman’s father, prevailed on him to stay; so he remained with him three days, eating and drinking,q and sleeping there.
5 On the fourth day they got up early and he prepared to leave, but the woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh yourselfr with something to eat; then you can go.” 6 So the two of them sat down to eat and drink together. Afterward the woman’s father said, “Please stay tonight and enjoy yourself.s” 7 And when the man got up to go, his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night. 8 On the morning of the fifth day, when he rose to go, the woman’s father said, “Refresh yourself. Wait till afternoon!” So the two of them ate together.
9 Then when the man, with his concubine and his servant, got up to leave, his father-in-law, the woman’s father, said, “Now look, it’s almost evening. Spend the night here; the day is nearly over. Stay and enjoy yourself. Early tomorrow morning you can get up and be on your way home.” 10 But, unwilling to stay another night, the man left and went toward Jebust (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.
11 When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, “Come, let’s stop at this city of the Jebusitesu and spend the night.”
12 His master replied, “No. We won’t go into any city whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.” 13 He added, “Come, let’s try to reach Gibeah or Ramahv and spend the night in one of those places.” 14 So they went on, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin.w 15 There they stopped to spend the night.x They went and sat in the city square,y but no one took them in for the night.
16 That eveningz an old man from the hill country of Ephraim,a who was living in Gibeah (the inhabitants of the place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the fields. 17 When he looked and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?”b
18 He answered, “We are on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim where I live. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going to the house of the Lord.a c No one has taken me in for the night. 19 We have both straw and fodderd for our donkeyse and bread and winef for ourselves your servants—me, the woman and the young man with us. We don’t need anything.”
20 “You are welcome at my house,” the old man said. “Let me supply whatever you need. Only don’t spend the night in the square.” 21 So he took him into his house and fed his donkeys. After they had washed their feet, they had something to eat and drink.g
22 While they were enjoying themselves,h some of the wicked meni of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the
Judges 20:1–48
The Israelites Punish the Benjamites
20 Then all Israelt from Dan to Beershebau and from the land of Gilead came together as onev and assembledw before the Lord in Mizpah.x 2 The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, four hundred thousand meny armed with swords. 3 (The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, “Tell us how this awful thing happened.”
4 So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, “I and my concubine came to Gibeahz in Benjamin to spend the night.a 5 During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me.b They raped my concubine, and she died.c 6 I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel’s inheritance,d because they committed this lewd and outrageous acte in Israel. 7 Now, all you Israelites, speak up and tell me what you have decided to do.f”
8 All the men rose up together as one, saying, “None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. 9 But now this is what we’ll do to Gibeah: We’ll go up against it in the order decided by casting lots.g 10 We’ll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeaha in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for this outrageous act done in Israel.” 11 So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city.h
12 The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What about this awful crime that was committed among you?i 13 Now turn those wicked menj of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.k”
But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. 14 From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. 15 At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred able young men from those living in Gibeah. 16 Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed,l each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
17 Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle.
18 The Israelites went up to Bethelb m and inquired of God.n They said, “Who of us is to go up firsto to fightp against the Benjamites?”
The Lord replied, “Judahq shall go first.”
19 The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. 20 The Israelites went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. 21 The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelitesr on the battlefield that day. 22 But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. 23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lords until evening,t and they inquired of the Lord.u They said, “Shall we go up again to fightv against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites?”
The Lord answered, “Go up against them.”
24 Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. 25 This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to …
Judges 21:1–25
21 The men of Israel had taken an oathc at Mizpah:d “Not one of us will givee his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”
2 The people went to Bethel,a where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. 3 “Lord, God of Israel,” they cried, “why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missingf from Israel today?”
4 Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.g
5 Then the Israelites asked, “Who from all the tribes of Israelh has failed to assemble before the Lord?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah was to be put to death.
6 Now the Israelites grieved for the tribe of Benjamin, their fellow Israelites. “Today one tribe is cut off from Israel,” they said. 7 “How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oathi by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?” 8 Then they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?” They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gileadj had come to the camp for the assembly. 9 For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there.
10 So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children. 11 “This is what you are to do,” they said. “Kill every malek and every woman who is not a virgin.l” 12 They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shilohm in Canaan.
13 Then the whole assembly sent an offer of peacen to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon.o 14 So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them.
15 The people grieved for Benjamin,p because the Lord had made a gap in the tribes of Israel. 16 And the elders of the assembly said, “With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left? 17 The Benjamite survivors must have heirs,” they said, “so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out.q 18 We can’t give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath:r ‘Cursed be anyone who givess a wife to a Benjamite.’ 19 But look, there is the annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh,t which lies north of Bethelu, east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem,v and south of Lebonah.”
20 So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, “Go and hide in the vineyards 21 and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing,w rush from the vineyards and each of you seize one of them to be your wife. Then return to the land of Benjamin. 22 When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Do us the favor of helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war. You will not be guilty of breaking your oath because you did not givex your daughters to them.’ ”
23 So that is what the Benjamites did. While the young women were dancing,y each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritancez and rebuilt the towns and settled in