New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Judges 19
1
In those days Israel didn't have a king. There was a Levite who lived deep in the hill country of Ephraim. He got a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
Reference
Kingdom
Judges 18:1
Judges 21:25
Judges 17:6
Parallel theme
Judges 17:8
Joshua 24:30
Joshua 24:33
Malachi 2:15
References Israel
Matthew 2:6
2
But she wasn't faithful to him. She left him. She went back to her father's house in Bethlehem in Judah. She stayed there for four months.
3
Then her husband went to see her. He tried to talk her into coming back with him. He had his servant and two donkeys with him. She took her husband into her father's house. When her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him.
Reference
4
His father-in-law, the woman's father, begged him to stay. So he remained with him for three days. He ate, drank and slept there.
5
On the fourth day they got up early. The Levite prepared to leave. But the woman's father spoke to his son-in-law. He said, "Have something to eat. It will give you strength. Then you can go on your way."
Reference
6
So the two of them sat down. They ate and drank together. After that, the woman's father said, "Please stay tonight. Enjoy yourself."
Reference
7
The man got up to go. But his father-in-law talked him into staying. So he stayed there that night.
8
On the morning of the fifth day, he got up to go. But the woman's father said, "Have something to eat. It will give you strength. Wait until this afternoon!" So the two of them ate together.
9
Then the man got up to leave. His concubine and his servant got up when he did. But his father-in-law, the woman's father, spoke to him again. "Look," he said. "It's almost evening. The day is nearly over. So spend another night here. Please stay. Enjoy yourself. Early tomorrow morning you can get up and go back home."
10
But the man didn't want to stay another night. So he left. He went toward Jebus. He had his two donkeys and his concubine with him. The donkeys had saddles on them. Jebus is also called Jerusalem.
Reference
11
By the time the travelers came near Jebus, the day was almost over. So the servant said to his master, "Come. Let's stop at this Jebusite city. Let's spend the night here."
12
His master replied, "No. We won't go into a city where strangers live. The people there aren't from Israel. We'll continue on to Gibeah."
13
He added, "Come. Let's try to reach Gibeah or Ramah. We can spend the night in one of those places."
14
So they continued on. As they came near Gibeah in Benjamin, the sun went down.
15
They stopped there to spend the night. They went to the city's main street and sat down. But no one took them home for the night.
Reference
Parallel theme
Judges 19:18
16
That evening an old man came into the city. He had been working in the fields. He was from the hill country of Ephraim. But he was living in Gibeah. The people who lived there were from the tribe of Benjamin.
Reference
17
The old man saw the traveler in the main street. He asked, "Where are you going? Where did you come from?"
Reference
18
The Levite answered, "We've come from Bethlehem in Judah. We're on our way to Ephraim. I live deep in the hill country there. I've been to Bethlehem. Now I'm going to the house of the Lord. But no one has taken me home for the night.
Reference
Parallel theme
Judges 18:31
19
We have straw and feed for our donkeys. We have food and wine for ourselves. We have enough for me, my female servant and the young man who is with us. We don't need anything."
20
"You are welcome at my house," the old man said. "I'd be happy to supply anything you might need. But don't spend the night in the street."
Reference
Peace
Judges 6:23
21
So the old man took him into his house and fed his donkeys. After the travelers had washed their feet, they had something to eat and drink.
Reference
22
They were inside enjoying themselves. But some of the evil men who lived in the city surrounded the house. They pounded on the door. They shouted to the old man who owned the house. They said, "Bring out the man who came to your house. We want to have sex with him."
Reference
Kingdom
1 Corinthians 6:9
Parallel theme
Judges 20:5
Deuteronomy 13:13
2 Corinthians 6:15
1 Samuel 25:25
1 Samuel 2:12
Judges 16:25
Jude 1:7
23
The owner of the house went outside. He said to them, "No, my friends. Don't do such an evil thing. This man is my guest. So don't do this terrible thing.
Reference
24
"Look, here is my virgin daughter. And here's the Levite's concubine. I'll bring them out to you now. You can have them. Do to them what you want to. But don't do such a terrible thing to this man."
Reference
25
The men wouldn't listen to him. So the Levite sent his concubine out to them. They forced her to have sex with them. They raped her all night long. As the night was ending, they let her go.
26
At sunrise she went back to the house where her master was staying. She fell down at the door. She stayed there until daylight.
27
Later that morning her master got up. He opened the door of the house. He stepped out to continue on his way. But his concubine was lying there. She had fallen at the doorway of the house. Her hands were reaching out toward the door.
28
He said to her, "Get up. Let's go." But there wasn't any answer. Then he put her dead body on his donkey. And he started out for home.
Reference
Parallel theme
Judges 20:5
29
When he reached home, he got a knife. He cut up his concubine. He cut her into 12 pieces. He sent them into all of the territories of Israel.
Reference
Chapter Summary
Judges 19 introduces one of the darkest tales in the book of Judges. One Levite takes a concubine from Bethlehemjudah who runs away from him and goes back to her father's house. He tracks her down and ends up taking her on the road towards his house. When they stop for the night in Gibeah, the men of the place swarm around it demanding to abuse the Levite. What happens next leads to the woman's death and forms the basis for the civil war detailed in the final chapters of Judges.
The chapter begins by stating that there was no king in Israel. A Levite was living in the outskirts of the hill country of Ephraim.
He took a concubine from Bethlehemjudah.
The woman is angry with him or has otherwise fallen out with him and goes back to her father's house in Bethlehemjudah where she stays for four months.
At the end of the four months, the Levite decides to go and get her. He wants to talk to her, make peace, and take her back with him. When he gets to her father's house, he is welcomed in.
The Levite spends some time with the father-in-law and every time he gets ready to go, he is urged to stay a little longer. Meals and drinks are brought out and the two men enjoy each other's company.
Eventually, the Levite insists that he has to go. He takes his concubine and servant with him and sets off towards the hill country of Ephraim.
As the sun begins to set, they arrive in Jebus (Jerusalem) and the Levite's servant suggests they spend the night there, but the Levite refuses to stay in the city of foreigners. So they head off towards Gibeah, a city of the tribe of Benjamin.
As they enter Gibeah, the sun has set and they sit in the street as no one offers to put them up for the night.
An old man eventually comes back from his work in the fields. He sees the Levite and his men and asks them where they are going. The Levite informs him that they are going from Bethlehemjudah to the hill country of Ephraim. He also tells the old man that they have food for themselves and the animals but no place to spend the night.
The old man offers them a place to stay in his house. He tells them not to spend the night outside his home but takes them all in. He feeds the animals and gives the Levite and his men food and drink.
Later that night, a group of wicked men swarm around the house. They pound on the doors demanding that the old man bring out the male guest that is staying with him so they can abuse him.
The old man goes out to them and pleads with them not to do this terrible thing.
He calls them wicked and tells them they should not be doing this.
He then offers them his unmarried daughter and the Levite's concubine instead, but this seems to be another example of the corrupt nature of this society and what its people believe to be right and wrong.
The men refuse to listen.
The Levite eventually takes his concubine and sends her out to the men. The men abuse her and do this throughout the night. In the morning, she comes back to the house and falls at the door.
When the Levite gets up in the morning, he opens the door and finds her lying there. He tells her to get up so they can go, but she does not respond. She has died.
The Levite puts her dead body on his donkey and goes home. When he gets there, he takes a knife and cuts her body into twelve pieces and sends a piece to every territory in Israel.
This shocking act is meant to shame the people of Israel and make them all aware of what happened and think about it.
The Israelites who receive the pieces are horrified as it is the worst thing that has ever happened since the time Israel came out of Egypt. They decide that the matter needs careful consideration and that something has to be done.
The chapter closes not by describing the judgment or battle but by setting the scene for the national gathering and civil war of Judges chapter 20.
Judges 19 is one of the most terrifying accounts in the Bible. The story has elements of sex, abuse, death, and the shocking treatment of the victim's body. The narrative never portrays these events in a positive light. It is the terrible events that lead people to believe that the moral fiber of society has seriously broken down.
The opening line, "there was no king in Israel," becomes especially interesting in light of what happens next. The people of Gibeah are violent and abusive, and the Levite reacts in a way that shocks the nation and exposes the people. The chapter portrays a society that has lost all morality and sense of right and wrong.
The story has an important contrast to the previous chapters of Judges. In the previous stories, the Israelites' enemies come from outside the nation. Here, the problem is coming from within. The men of Gibeah are Israelites, and the city is in the tribe of Benjamin.
The Levite's behavior adds to the atmosphere of disaster and decay. He goes back and takes the concubine with him, but she is sent out to the men when they threaten him and abused by them. The story does not offer an ideal hero who makes the right decision. Instead, almost every aspect of the story highlights the broken state of society and its morality.
Dividing the woman's body into twelve pieces is an attempt to unify the tribes in their anger at the terrible act. It brings the whole nation together, but the next chapter will show how this incident leads to a conflict between the tribes of Israel.
Judges 19 sets up the final section of the book and provides a transition between chapters of individual judges and stories of external enemies. The events at Gibeah show Israel that its people have decayed and are in need of serious judgment. The next chapter will show the civil war that follows this event.
The chapter begins by stating that there was no king in Israel. A Levite was living in the outskirts of the hill country of Ephraim.
He took a concubine from Bethlehemjudah.
The woman is angry with him or has otherwise fallen out with him and goes back to her father's house in Bethlehemjudah where she stays for four months.
At the end of the four months, the Levite decides to go and get her. He wants to talk to her, make peace, and take her back with him. When he gets to her father's house, he is welcomed in.
The Levite spends some time with the father-in-law and every time he gets ready to go, he is urged to stay a little longer. Meals and drinks are brought out and the two men enjoy each other's company.
Eventually, the Levite insists that he has to go. He takes his concubine and servant with him and sets off towards the hill country of Ephraim.
As the sun begins to set, they arrive in Jebus (Jerusalem) and the Levite's servant suggests they spend the night there, but the Levite refuses to stay in the city of foreigners. So they head off towards Gibeah, a city of the tribe of Benjamin.
As they enter Gibeah, the sun has set and they sit in the street as no one offers to put them up for the night.
An old man eventually comes back from his work in the fields. He sees the Levite and his men and asks them where they are going. The Levite informs him that they are going from Bethlehemjudah to the hill country of Ephraim. He also tells the old man that they have food for themselves and the animals but no place to spend the night.
The old man offers them a place to stay in his house. He tells them not to spend the night outside his home but takes them all in. He feeds the animals and gives the Levite and his men food and drink.
Later that night, a group of wicked men swarm around the house. They pound on the doors demanding that the old man bring out the male guest that is staying with him so they can abuse him.
The old man goes out to them and pleads with them not to do this terrible thing.
He calls them wicked and tells them they should not be doing this.
He then offers them his unmarried daughter and the Levite's concubine instead, but this seems to be another example of the corrupt nature of this society and what its people believe to be right and wrong.
The men refuse to listen.
The Levite eventually takes his concubine and sends her out to the men. The men abuse her and do this throughout the night. In the morning, she comes back to the house and falls at the door.
When the Levite gets up in the morning, he opens the door and finds her lying there. He tells her to get up so they can go, but she does not respond. She has died.
The Levite puts her dead body on his donkey and goes home. When he gets there, he takes a knife and cuts her body into twelve pieces and sends a piece to every territory in Israel.
This shocking act is meant to shame the people of Israel and make them all aware of what happened and think about it.
The Israelites who receive the pieces are horrified as it is the worst thing that has ever happened since the time Israel came out of Egypt. They decide that the matter needs careful consideration and that something has to be done.
The chapter closes not by describing the judgment or battle but by setting the scene for the national gathering and civil war of Judges chapter 20.
Judges 19 is one of the most terrifying accounts in the Bible. The story has elements of sex, abuse, death, and the shocking treatment of the victim's body. The narrative never portrays these events in a positive light. It is the terrible events that lead people to believe that the moral fiber of society has seriously broken down.
The opening line, "there was no king in Israel," becomes especially interesting in light of what happens next. The people of Gibeah are violent and abusive, and the Levite reacts in a way that shocks the nation and exposes the people. The chapter portrays a society that has lost all morality and sense of right and wrong.
The story has an important contrast to the previous chapters of Judges. In the previous stories, the Israelites' enemies come from outside the nation. Here, the problem is coming from within. The men of Gibeah are Israelites, and the city is in the tribe of Benjamin.
The Levite's behavior adds to the atmosphere of disaster and decay. He goes back and takes the concubine with him, but she is sent out to the men when they threaten him and abused by them. The story does not offer an ideal hero who makes the right decision. Instead, almost every aspect of the story highlights the broken state of society and its morality.
Dividing the woman's body into twelve pieces is an attempt to unify the tribes in their anger at the terrible act. It brings the whole nation together, but the next chapter will show how this incident leads to a conflict between the tribes of Israel.
Judges 19 sets up the final section of the book and provides a transition between chapters of individual judges and stories of external enemies. The events at Gibeah show Israel that its people have decayed and are in need of serious judgment. The next chapter will show the civil war that follows this event.