Parallel Bible results for "judges 19"

Judges 19

Common English Bible CEB

1 In those days when there was no king in Israel, there was a certain Levite living as an immigrant in the far corners of the Ephraim highlands. He married a secondary wife from Bethlehem in Judah.

2 In an act of unfaithfulness toward him, his secondary wife left him and went back to her father's household at Bethlehem in Judah. She stayed there four full months.

3 Then her husband set out after her to convince her to come back. He had his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. She took him into her father's house, and when the young woman's father saw him, he was happy to welcome him.

4 Since his father-in-law, the young woman's father, insisted, he stayed with him three days, eating, drinking, and spending the night there.

5 On the fourth day, they got up early in the morning, and he got ready to set out. But the young woman's father said to his son-in-law, "Eat a little food to give you strength, and then you can go."

6 So the two of them sat down and ate and drank together. The young woman's father said to the man, "Why not spend the night and enjoy yourself?"

7 When the man got ready to set out, his father-in-law persuaded him, and he spent the night there again.

8 On the fifth day, he got up early in the morning to set out, and the young woman's father said, "Have some food for strength." So the two of them ate, sitting around until late in the day.

9 When the man got ready to set out with his secondary wife and servant, his father-in-law, the young woman's father, said, "Look, the day has turned to evening, so spend the night. Seriously, the day is over. Spend the night here and enjoy yourself. Then you can get up early tomorrow for your journey, and you can head home."

10 But the man was unwilling to spend another night. He got up, set out, and went as far as the area of Jebus, that is, Jerusalem. He had a couple of saddled donkeys and his secondary wife with him.

11 When they were near Jebus, the day was totally gone. The servant said to his master, "Come on, let's turn into this Jebusite city and spend the night in it."

12 But his master replied to him, “We won't turn into a city of foreigners who aren't Israelites. We'll travel on to Gibeah.

13 "Come on," he said to his servant, "let's reach Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those places."

14 So they traveled on, and the sun set when they were near Gibeah in Benjamin.

15 They turned in to enter there, so they could spend the night in Gibeah, and he went and sat down in the city square. But no one offered to take them home to spend the night.

16 Then in the evening, an old man was coming home from his daily work in the fields. This man was from the Ephraim highlands and was an immigrant in Gibeah, the people of that place being Benjaminites.

17 He looked up and saw the traveler in the city square. "Where are you heading and where have you come from?" the old man asked.

18 "We're traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the far corners of the Ephraim highlands," he replied to the old man. "That's where I'm from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and I'm heading to my home. But no one has offered to take me in tonight.

19 We've got our own straw and feed for our donkeys, plus food and wine to provide for me, the woman, and my servant with us. We don't need anything."

20 The old man answered, "You're welcome to stay with me, but let me take care of all your needs. Just don't spend the night in the square."

21 And he took him into his house. He mixed feed for the donkeys, and they washed their feet, ate, and drank.

22 While they were relaxing, suddenly the men of the city, a perverse bunch, surrounded the house and started pounding on the door. They said to the old man, the owner of the house, "Send out the man who came to your house, so we can have sex with him!"

23 The owner of the house went outside and said to them, "No, my friends, please don't commit such an evil act, given that this man has come to my home as a guest. Don't do this disgraceful thing!

24 Here's my daughter, the young woman, and his secondary wife. Let me send them out, and you can abuse them and do whatever you want to them. But don't do such a disgraceful thing to this man!"

25 But the men refused to listen to him. So the Levite grabbed his secondary wife and sent her outside to them. They raped her and abused her all night long until morning. They finally let her go as dawn was breaking.

26 At daybreak, the woman came and collapsed at the door of the man's house where her husband was staying, where she lay until it was daylight.

27 When her husband got up in the morning, he opened the doors of the house and went outside to set out on his journey. And there was his secondary wife, lying at the entrance of the house, with her hands clutching the doorframe.

28 "Get up," he said to her, "let's go." But there was no response. So he laid her across a donkey, and the man set out for home.

29 When he got home, he picked up a knife, took his secondary wife, and chopped her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces. Then he sent them into all the areas of Israel.

30 Everyone who saw it said, "Has such a thing ever happened or been seen since the time when the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt until today? Think about it, decide what to do, and speak out!"

The Message Bible MSG

1 It was an era when there was no king in Israel. A Levite, living as a stranger in the backwoods hill country of Ephraim, got himself a concubine, a woman from Bethlehem in Judah.

2 But she quarreled with him and left, returning to her father's house in Bethlehem in Judah. She was there four months.

3 Then her husband decided to go after her and try to win her back. He had a servant and a pair of donkeys with him. When he arrived at her father's house, the girl's father saw him, welcomed him, and made him feel at home.

4 His father-in-law, the girl's father, pressed him to stay. He stayed with him three days; they feasted and drank and slept.

5 On the fourth day, they got up at the crack of dawn and got ready to go. But the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Strengthen yourself with a hearty breakfast and then you can go."

6 So they sat down and ate breakfast together.

7 The man got up to go, but his father-in-law kept after him, so he ended up spending another night.

8 On the fifth day, he was again up early, ready to go. The girl's father said, "You need some breakfast." They went back and forth, and the day slipped on as they ate and drank together.

9 But the man and his concubine were finally ready to go. Then his father-in-law, the girl's father, said, "Look, the day's almost gone - why not stay the night? There's very little daylight left; stay another night and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow you can get an early start and set off for your own place."

10 But this time the man wasn't willing to spend another night. He got things ready, left, and went as far as Jebus (Jerusalem) with his pair of saddled donkeys, his concubine, and his servant.

11 At Jebus, though, the day was nearly gone. The servant said to his master, "It's late; let's go into this Jebusite city and spend the night."

12 But his master said, "We're not going into any city of foreigners. We'll go on to Gibeah."

13 He directed his servant, "Keep going. Let's go on ahead. We'll spend the night either at Gibeah or Ramah."

14 So they kept going. As they pressed on, the sun finally left them in the vicinity of Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

15 They left the road there to spend the night at Gibeah.

16 Then, late in the evening, an old man came in from his day's work in the fields. He was from the hill country of Ephraim and lived temporarily in Gibeah where all the local citizens were Benjaminites.

17 When the old man looked up and saw the traveler in the town square, he said, "Where are you going? And where are you from?"

18 The Levite said, "We're just passing through. We're coming from Bethlehem on our way to a remote spot in the hills of Ephraim. I come from there. I've just made a trip to Bethlehem in Judah and I'm on my way back home, but no one has invited us in for the night.

19 We wouldn't be any trouble: We have food and straw for the donkeys, and bread and wine for the woman, the young man, and me - we don't need anything."

20 The old man said, "It's going to be all right; I'll take care of you. You aren't going to spend the night in the town square."

21 He took them home and fed the donkeys. They washed up and sat down to a good meal.

22 They were relaxed and enjoying themselves when the men of the city, a gang of local hell-raisers all, surrounded the house and started pounding on the door. They yelled for the owner of the house, the old man, "Bring out the man who came to your house. We want to have sex with him."

23 He went out and told them, "No, brothers! Don't be obscene - this man is my guest. Don't commit this outrage.

24 Look, my virgin daughter and his concubine are here. I'll bring them out for you. Abuse them if you must, but don't do anything so senselessly vile to this man."

25 But the men wouldn't listen to him. Finally, the Levite pushed his concubine out the door to them. They raped her repeatedly all night long. Just before dawn they let her go.

26 The woman came back and fell at the door of the house where her master was sleeping. When the sun rose, there she was.

27 It was morning. Her master got up and opened the door to continue his journey. There she was, his concubine, crumpled in a heap at the door, her hands on the threshold.

28 "Get up," he said. "Let's get going." There was no answer.

29 He lifted her onto his donkey and set out for home. When he got home he took a knife and dismembered his concubine - cut her into twelve pieces. He sent her, piece by piece, throughout the country of Israel.

30 And he ordered the men he sent out, "Say to every man in Israel: 'Has such a thing as this ever happened from the time the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt until now? Think about it! Talk it over. Do something!'"