Judges 19:6

6 So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl's father said to the man, "Please be willing to spend the night, and ¹let your heart be merry."

Judges 19:6 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 19:6

And they sat down
Not only sat down upon their seats again, the Levite having rose up in order to go away, but sat down at table:

and did eat and drink both of them together;
both the Levite and his father-in-law; and it appears by this, and what follows, that the Levite did not take only a short repast, or breakfast with him, but stayed and dined with him, when they ate a plentiful meal, and drank freely after dinner:

for the damsel's father had said to the man, be content, I pray thee,
and tarry all night, and let thine heart be merry;
let us spend a pleasant evening together, in drinking freely, though not to excess, in cheerful conversation, and innocent mirth. This he proposed to him, and hoped he would agree to it.

Judges 19:6 In-Context

4 His father-in-law, the girl's father, detained him; and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.

5 Now on the fourth day they got up early in the morning, and he prepared to go; and the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Sustain yourself with a piece of bread, and afterward you may go."

6 So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl's father said to the man, "Please be willing to spend the night, and let your heart be merry."

7 Then the man arose to go, but his father-in-law urged him so that he spent the night there again.

8 On the fifth day he arose to go early in the morning, and the girl's father said, "Please sustain yourself, and wait until afternoon "; so both of them ate.

Cross References

• 1. Judges 16:25; Judges 19:9, 22; Ruth 3:7; 1 Kings 21:7; Esther 1:10