Judges 19:3

Contemporary English Version

her husband decided to try and talk her into coming back. So he went to Bethlehem, taking along a servant and two donkeys. He talked with his wife, and she invited him into her family's home. Her father was glad to see him

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then her husband got up and followed her to speak kindly to her and bring her back. He had his servant with him and a pair of donkeys. So she brought him to her father’s house, and when the girl’s father saw him, he gladly welcomed him.

Hebrew Names Version
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: and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the young lady saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

King James Version
And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

Lexham English Bible
So her husband set out, and he went after her to speak tenderly to her, to bring her back. He took with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. And she brought him to her father's house, and the father of the young woman saw him and was glad to meet him.

English Standard Version
Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back. He had with him his servant and a couple of donkeys. And she brought him into her father's house. And when the girl's father saw him, he came with joy to meet him.

New Century Version
Then her husband went to ask her to come back to him, taking with him his servant and two donkeys. When the Levite came to her father's house, she invited him to come in, and her father was happy to see him.

New English Translation
her husband came after her, hoping he could convince her to return. He brought with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father's house and the girl's father saw him, he greeted him warmly.

Amplified Bible
Then her husband arose and went after her to speak kindly and tenderly to her in order to bring her back, taking with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. So she brought him into her father's house, and when the father of the girl saw him, he was happy to meet him.

New American Standard Bible
Then her husband set out and went after her to speak gently to her in order to bring her back, taking with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. And she brought him into her father's house, and when the girl's father saw him, he was glad to meet him.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And her husband arose and went after her, to speake friendly vnto her, and to bring her againe: he had also his seruant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him vnto her fathers house, and when the yong womans father sawe him, he reioyced of his comming.

Legacy Standard Bible
Daarop maak haar man klaar en gaan haar agterna om na haar hart te spreek en haar terug te bring; sy dienaar was by hom met 'n paar esels. En toe sy hom in die huis van haar vader bring en die vader van die jong vrou hom sien, was hy bly om hom te ontmoet.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then her husband went after her to persuade her to return; he had his servant with him and a pair of donkeys. She brought him into her father's house; and when the girl's father saw him, he was glad to meet him.

Darby Translation
And her husband rose up and went after her, to speak kindly to her, to bring her again; and his servant was with him, and a couple of asses. And she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the damsel saw him he rejoiced to meet him.

Easy-to-Read Version
Then her husband went after her. He wanted to speak kindly to her so that she would come back to him. He took with him his servant and two donkeys. The Levite came to her father's house. Her father saw the Levite and came out to greet him. The father was very happy.

George Lamsa Translation
And her husband arose and went after her to speak lovingly to her and to bring her back, taking with him his servant and a couple of asses; and she brought him into her fathers house; and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

Good News Translation
Then the man decided to go after her and try to persuade her to return to him. He took his servant and two donkeys with him. The woman showed the Levite into the house, and when her father saw him, he gave him a hearty greeting.

Literal Translation
And her husband rose up and went after her, to speak to her heart, to bring her back. And his young man was with him, and a team of asses. And she brought him into her father's house. And the young woman's father saw him and rejoiced to meethim.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And hir hußbade gat him vp, & wente after her, to speake fredly wt her, & to fetch her againe, & had a seruaunt & a couple of asses wt him. And she led him in to hir fathers house. But whan the damsels father sawe him, he was glad, & receaued him:

American Standard Version
And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly unto her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

Bible in Basic English
Then her husband got up and went after her, with the purpose of talking kindly to her, and taking her back with him; he had with him his young man and two asses: and she took him into her father's house, and her father, when he saw him, came forward to him with joy.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And her husbande arose, and went after her, to speake frendly vnto her, and to bryng her agayne, hauyng his lad with him, and a couple of asses: And she brought hym vnto her fathers house, & when the father of the damosell sawe hym, he reioyced of his commyng.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly unto her, to bring her back, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses; and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

King James Version (1611)
And her husband arose, and went after her to speake friendly vnto her, and to bring her againe, hauing his seruant with him, and a couple of asses: and shee brought him into her fathers house, and when the father of the damsell saw him, he reioyced to meet him.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And her husband rose up, and went after her to speak kindly to her, to recover her to himself; and he had his young man with him, and a pair of asses; and she brought him into the house of her father; and the father of the damsel saw him, and was well pleased to meet him.

English Revised Version
And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly unto her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

Berean Standard Bible
her husband got up and went after her to speak kindly to her and bring her back, taking with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. So the girl brought him into her father's house, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And hir hosebonde suede hir, and wolde be recounselid to hir, and speke faire, and lede hir ayen with him; and he hadde in cumpany a child, and tweyne assis. And sche resseyuede hym, and brouyte him in to `the hows of hir fadir; and whanne hise wyues fadir hadde herd this, and `hadde seyn hym, he ran gladli to hym, and kisside the man.

Young's Literal Translation
And her husband riseth and goeth after her, to speak unto her heart, to bring her back, and his young man [is] with him, and a couple of asses; and she bringeth him into the house of her father, and the father of the young woman seeth him, and rejoiceth to meet him.

Update Bible Version
And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly to her, to bring her again, having his attendant with him, and a couple of donkeys: and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

Webster's Bible Translation
And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly to her, [and] to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

World English Bible
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: and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the young lady saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

New King James Version
Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him.

New Living Translation
her husband set out for Bethlehem to speak personally to her and persuade her to come back. He took with him a servant and a pair of donkeys. When he arrived at her father's house, her father saw him and welcomed him.

New Life Bible
Then her husband got up and went after her. He was gentle in speaking to her, asking her to return with him. He brought his servant and two donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father's house. When her father saw him, he was glad to meet him.

New Revised Standard
Then her husband set out after her, to speak tenderly to her and bring her back. He had with him his servant and a couple of donkeys. When he reached her father's house, the girl's father saw him and came with joy to meet him.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then arose her husband, and went after her, to speak unto her heart, that he might bring her back again, having his young man with him, and a couple of asses, - and she brought him into the house of her father, and, when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And her husband followed her, willing to be reconciled with her, and to speak kindly to her, and to bring her back with him, having with him a servant and two asses: and she received him, and brought him into her father’s house. And when his father in law had heard this, and had seen him, he met him with joy,

Revised Standard Version
Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back. He had with him his servant and a couple of asses. And he came to her father's house; and when the girl's father saw him, he came with joy to meet him.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then her husband arose and went after her to speak tenderly to her in order to bring her back, taking with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. So she brought him into her father's house, and when the girl's father saw him, he was glad to meet him.

Contextual Overview

¹ Before kings ruled Israel, a Levite was living deep in the hill country of the Ephraim tribe. He married a woman from Bethlehem in Judah, ² but she was unfaithful and went back to live with her family in Bethlehem. Four months later ³ her husband decided to try and talk her into coming back. So he went to Bethlehem, taking along a servant and two donkeys. He talked with his wife, and she invited him into her family's home. Her father was glad to see him ⁴ and did not want him to leave. So the man stayed three days, eating and drinking with his father-in-law. ⁵ When everyone got up on the fourth day, the Levite started getting ready to go home. But his father-in-law said, "Don't leave until you have a bite to eat. You'll need strength for your journey." ⁶ The two men sat down together and ate a big meal. "Come on," the man's father-in-law said. "Stay tonight and have a good time." ⁷ The Levite tried to leave, but his father-in-law insisted, and he spent one more night. ⁸ The fifth day, the man got up early to leave, but his wife's father said, "You need to keep up your strength! Why don't you leave right after lunch?" So the two of them started eating. ⁹ Finally, the Levite got up from the meal, so he and his wife and servant could leave. "Look," his father-in-law said, "it's already late afternoon, and if you leave now, you won't get very far before dark. Stay with us one more night and enjoy yourself. Then you can get up early tomorrow morning and start home." ¹⁰ But the Levite decided not to spend the night there again. He had the saddles put on his two donkeys, then he and his wife and servant traveled as far as Jebus, which is now called Jerusalem.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

went: Judges 15:1

speak: Genesis 50:21, Leviticus 19:17, Leviticus 20:10, Hosea 2:14, Matthew 1:19, John 8:4, John 8:5, John 8:11, Galatians 6:1

friendly unto her: Heb. to her heart, Genesis 34:3

to bring: Jeremiah 3:1

his servant: Numbers 22:22

Reciprocal: Judges 19:26 - her lord was Ruth 2:13 - friendly 1 Corinthians 7:11 - or

Cross-References

Genesis 19:6
Lot went outside and shut the door behind him.

Genesis 19:8
I have two daughters who have never been married. I'll bring them out, and you can do what you want with them. But don't harm these men. They are guests in my home."

Genesis 19:28
He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and saw smoke rising from all over the land—it was like a flaming furnace.

Genesis 19:29
When God destroyed the cities of the valley where Lot lived, he remembered his promise to Abraham and saved Lot from the terrible destruction.

Genesis 21:8
The time came when Sarah no longer had to nurse Isaac, and on that day Abraham gave a big feast.

Exodus 12:15
For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. And on the first of these seven days, you must remove all yeast from your homes. If you eat anything made with yeast during this festival, you will no longer be part of Israel.

Exodus 12:39
They left Egypt in such a hurry that they did not have time to prepare any food except the bread dough made without yeast. So they baked it and made thin bread.

Judges 6:19
Gideon went home and killed a young goat, then started boiling the meat. Next, he opened a big sack of flour and made it into thin bread. When the meat was done, he put it in a basket and poured the broth into a clay cooking pot. He took the meat, the broth, and the bread and placed them under the big tree.

1 Samuel 28:24
Right away the woman killed a calf that she had been fattening up. She cooked part of the meat and baked some thin bread.

2 Kings 4:8
Once, while Elisha was in the town of Shunem, he met a rich woman who invited him to her home for dinner. After that, whenever he was in Shunem, he would have a meal there with her and her husband.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And her husband arose,.... From the place where he lived:

and went after her; to Bethlehemjudah, where her father lived:

to speak comfortably to her "or to her heart" l; having heard perhaps that she repented of her sin, or if it was only upon a quarrel between them, his anger might cool and subside, and therefore sought for a reconciliation; and which was the more commendable in him, as he did not put her away, but she departed from him: and

to bring her again; to his own city, and to his own house and bed, as before:

having his servant with him, and a couple of asses; one of them for her to ride upon, and the other to carry provisions on:

and she brought him into her father's house; it seems she met with him before he came thither, in the fields, or in the street; and by this it appears that she was glad to see him, and received him in a loving manner, and introduced him into her father's house, so that things looked well, and promised success:

and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him; having a good opinion of him, and perhaps understood, even by his daughter's story, that she was most in fault, and therefore was well pleased to see him come after her; though he ought before this time to have sent her home, or sought for a reconciliation of her to her husband.

l על לבה "ad cor", Pagninus.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 19:3. He rejoiced to meet him. — He hoped to be able completely to reconcile his daughter and her husband.