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¹ And it comes to pass in those days, when there is no king in Israel, that there is a man, a Levite, a sojourner in the sides of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he takes a wife for himself, a concubine, out of Beth-Lehem-Judah;

² and his concubine commits whoredom against him, and she goes from him to the house of her father, to Beth-Lehem-Judah, and is there four months of days.

³ And her husband rises and goes after her, to speak to her heart, to bring her back, and his young man [is] with him, and a couple of donkeys; and she brings him into the house of her father, and the father of the young woman sees him, and rejoices to meet him.

⁴ And his father-in-law keeps hold on him, father of the young woman, and he abides with him three days, and they eat and drink, and lodge there.

⁵ And it comes to pass, on the fourth day, that they rise early in the morning, and he rises to go, and the father of the young woman says to his son-in-law, "Support your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward you go on."

⁶ And both of them sit, and eat and drink together, and the father of the young woman says to the man, "Please be willing and lodge all night, and let your heart be glad."

⁷ And the man rises to go, and his father-in-law presses on him, and he turns back and lodges there.

⁸ And he rises early in the morning, on the fifth day, to go, and the father of the young woman says, "Please support your heart"; and they have tarried until the turning of the day, and both of them eat.

⁹ And the man rises to go, he, and his concubine, and his young man, but his father-in-law, father of the young woman, says to him, "Now behold, the day has fallen toward evening, please lodge all night; behold, the declining of the day! Lodge here and let your heart be glad—and you have risen early tomorrow for your journey, and you have gone to your tent."

¹⁰ And the man has not been willing to lodge all night, and he rises, and goes, and comes in until [he is] opposite Jebus (it [is] Jerusalem), and a couple of saddled donkeys [are] with him; and his concubine [is] with him.

¹¹ They [are] near Jebus, and the day has greatly gone down, and the young man says to his lord, "Please come, and we turn aside to this city of the Jebusite and lodge in it."

¹² And his lord says to him, "Let us not turn aside to the city of a stranger, that is not of the sons of Israel there, but we have passed over to Gibeah."

¹³ And he says to his young man, "Come, and we draw near to one of the places, and have lodged in Gibeah, or in Ramah."

¹⁴ And they pass over, and go on, and the sun goes in on them near Gibeah, which is of Benjamin;

¹⁵ and they turn aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah, and he goes in and sits in a broad place of the city, and there is no man gathering them into the house to lodge.

¹⁶ And behold, an old man has come from his work from the field in the evening, and the man [is] of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he [is] a sojourner in Gibeah, and the men of the place [are] Benjamites.

¹⁷ And he lifts up his eyes, and sees the man, the traveler, in a broad place of the city, and the old man says, "To where do you go? And where do you come from?"

¹⁸ And he says to him, "We are passing over from Beth-Lehem-Judah to the sides of the hill-country of Ephraim—I [am] from there, and I go to Beth-Lehem-Judah; and I am going to the house of YHWH, and there is no man gathering me into the house,

¹⁹ and there is both straw and provender for our donkeys, and there is also bread and wine for me, and for your handmaid, and for the young man with your servants; there is no lack of anything."

²⁰ And the old man says, "Peace to you; only, all your lack [is] on me, but do not lodge in the broad place."

²¹ And he brings him into his house, and mixes [food] for the donkeys, and they wash their feet, and eat and drink.

²² They are making their heart glad, and behold, men of the city, men—sons of worthlessness—have gone around the house, beating on the door, and they speak to the old man, the master of the house, saying, "Bring out the man who has come into your house, and we know him."

²³ And the man, the master of the house, goes out to them and says to them, "No, my brothers, please do not do evil after that this man has come into my house; do not do this folly;

²⁴ behold, my daughter, the virgin, and his concubine, please let me bring them out and you humble them, and do that which is good in your eyes to them, and do not do this foolish thing to this man."

²⁵ And the men have not been willing to listen to him, and the man takes hold on his concubine and brings [her] out to them outside, and they know her and roll themselves on her all the night until the morning, and they send her away in the ascending of the dawn;

²⁶ and the woman comes in at the turning of the morning, and falls at the opening of the man's house where her lord [is], until the light.

²⁷ And her lord rises in the morning, and opens the doors of the house, and goes out to go on his way, and behold, the woman, his concubine, is fallen at the opening of the house, and her hands [are] on the threshold,

²⁸ and he says to her, "Rise, and we go"; but there is no answering, and he takes her on the donkey, and the man rises and goes to his place,

²⁹ and comes into his house, and takes the knife, and lays hold on his concubine, and cuts her in pieces to her bones—into twelve pieces, and sends her into all the border of Israel.

³⁰ And it has come to pass, everyone who sees has said, "There has not been—indeed, there has not been seen [anything] like this, from the day of the coming up of the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt until this day; set your [heart] on it, take counsel, and speak."