Judges 19

1 In those days there was no king in Israel. And there was a man, a Levite, living as a foreigner in the far parts of the hill country of Ephraim; and he took himself a woman from Bethlehem of Judah as his concubine. [a] 2 And his concubine went away from him and left him for her father's house, to Bethlehem of Judah; and she was there four months. [b] 3 And her husband got up and went after her, to speak to her heart and bring her back to himself; and his young man was with him, and a pair of donkeys. And she brought him into her father's house; and the young woman's father saw him and was glad to meet him. 4 And his father-in-law, the young woman's father, kept him there, and he stayed with him three days; and they ate and drank and spent the night there.

5 And on the fourth day they got up early in the morning, and he stood up to go; and the young woman's father said to his son-in-law, “Strengthen your heart with a bit of bread, and after that you can go.” 6 So he sat down, and the two of them ate together and drank. And the young woman's father said to the man, “Come now, stay the night, and let your heart be merry.” 7 And the man got up to go; but his father-in-law pressed him, and he stayed and spent the night there. 8 And he got up early in the morning on the fifth day to go; and the young woman's father said, “Strengthen your heart now, and hold out like a soldier until the day declines.” And the two of them ate. [c] 9 And the man got up to go, he and his concubine and his young man; and his father-in-law, the young woman's father, said to him, “Look now, the day has weakened toward evening. Stay the night here, and let your heart be merry; and you can all get up early tomorrow for your road, and you will go to your own dwelling.”

10 But the man was not willing to stay the night. He got up and left and came as far as the place opposite Jebus (that is Jerusalem); and with him were a pair of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was with him. 11 And they came as far as Jebus, and the day was far gone; and the young man said to his master, “Come now, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusite and spend the night in it.” 12 And his master said to him, “We will not turn aside to a foreign city, where there is nobody from the children of Israel; we will pass on as far as Gibeah.” 13 And he said to his young man, “Come, let us get near to one of the places, and we will spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah.” 14 And they passed by and went on, and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin. 15 And they turned aside there to go in and spend the night in Gibeah. And they went in and sat down in the open square of the city, and there was no man who took them into a house to spend the night.

16 And look — an old man was coming in from his work in the field in the evening. And the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was living as a foreigner in Gibeah; and the men of the place were sons of Benjamin. 17 And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said to him, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?” 18 And he said to him, “We are passing through from Bethlehem of Judah to the far parts of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there, and I went as far as Bethlehem of Judah, and now I am going to my own house; and there is no man who takes me into his house. [d] 19 And there is straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for me and for the slave woman and for the young man with your servants; there is no lack of anything.” 20 And the old man said, “Peace to you. Only let every lack of yours be on me; only do not spend the night in the square.” 21 And he brought him into his house and made room for the donkeys; and they washed their feet and ate and drank.

22 And while they were making their hearts merry — look, the men of the city, sons of lawless men, surrounded the house, knocking at the door; and they spoke to the man who owned the house, the old man, and said, “Bring out the man who came into your house, so that we may know him.” [e] 23 And the man who owned the house went out to them and said, “No, brothers, do not do this evil, I beg you. After this man has come into my house, do not do this senseless thing. 24 Look — my daughter, a virgin, and his concubine: I will bring them out. You bring them low, and do to them what is good in your eyes; but to this man do not do this senseless thing.” 25 But the men would not consent to listen to him. So the man took hold of his concubine and brought her out to them, outside; and they knew her and made a fool of her all night until the morning, and they sent her away as the morning came up. 26 And the woman came toward daybreak and fell down at the door of the house where her husband was, until it was light. 27 And her husband got up in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way; and look — the woman, his concubine, had fallen at the doors of the house, and her hands were on the threshold. 28 And he said to her, “Get up and let us go.” And she did not answer, because she was dead. And he took her up onto the donkey and went to his place.

29 And he took the sword and took hold of his concubine and cut her up limb by limb into twelve pieces, and sent them through every border of Israel. 30 And everyone who saw it said, “Nothing like this has happened, and nothing like this has been seen, from the day the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day. Take counsel among yourselves about it, and speak.”