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JUDGES 19-21\n\n1 In those days Israel had no king. \nNow a Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her father\u2019s house in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months, 3 her husband went to her to persuade her to return. He had with him his servant and two donkeys. She took him into her father\u2019s house, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him. 4 His father-in-law, the girl\u2019s father, prevailed upon him to stay; so he remained with him three days, eating and drinking, and sleeping there. \n5 On the fourth day they got up early and he prepared to leave, but the girl\u2019s father said to his son-in-law, \u201cRefresh yourself with something to eat; then you can go.\u201d 6 So the two of them sat down to eat and drink together. Afterward the girl\u2019s father said, \u201cPlease stay tonight and enjoy yourself.\u201d 7 And when the man got up to go, his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night. 8 On the morning of the fifth day, when he rose to go, the girl\u2019s father said, \u201cRefresh yourself. Wait till afternoon!\u201d So the two of them ate together. \n9 Then when the man, with his concubine and his servant, got up to leave, his father-in-law, the girl\u2019s father, said, \u201cNow look, it\u2019s almost evening. Spend the night here; the day is nearly over. Stay and enjoy yourself. Early tomorrow morning you can get up and be on your way home.\u201d 10 But, unwilling to stay another night, the man left and went toward Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine. \n11 When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, \u201cCome, let\u2019s stop at this city of the Jebusites and spend the night.\u201d \n12 His master replied, \u201cNo. We won\u2019t go into an alien city, whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.\u201d 13 He added, \u201cCome, let\u2019s try to reach Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those places.\u201d 14 So they went on, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin. 15 There they stopped to spend the night. They went and sat in the city square, but no one took them into his home for the night. \n16 That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was living in Gibeah (the men of the place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the fields. 17 When he looked and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, \u201cWhere are you going? Where did you come from?\u201d \n18 He answered, \u201cWe are on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim where I live. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going to the house of the Lord. No one has taken me into his house. 19 We have both straw and fodder for our donkeys and bread and wine for ourselves your servants\u2014me, your maidservant, and the young man with us. We don\u2019t need anything.\u201d \n20 \u201cYou are welcome at my house,\u201d the old man said. \u201cLet me supply whatever you need. Only don\u2019t spend the night in the square.\u201d 21 So he took him into his house and fed his donkeys. After they had washed their feet, they had something to eat and drink. \n22 While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, \u201cBring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him.\u201d \n23 The owner of the house went outside and said to them, \u201cNo, my friends, don\u2019t be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don\u2019t do this disgraceful thing. 24 Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But to this man, don\u2019t do such a disgraceful thing.\u201d \n25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. 26 At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight. \n27 When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, \u201cGet up; let\u2019s go.\u201d But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home. \n29 When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. 30 Everyone who saw it said, \u201cSuch a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Think about it! Consider it! Tell us what to do!\u201d\n Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out as one man and assembled before the Lord in Mizpah. 2 The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand soldiers armed with swords. 3 (The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, \u201cTell us how this awful thing happened.\u201d \n4 So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, \u201cI and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5 During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died. 6 I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel\u2019s inheritance, because they committed this lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. 7 Now, all you Israelites, speak up and give your verdict.\u201d \n8 All the people rose as one man, saying, \u201cNone of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. 9 But now this is what we\u2019ll do to Gibeah: We\u2019ll go up against it as the lot directs. 10 We\u2019ll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeah in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for all this vileness done in Israel.\u201d 11 So all the men of Israel got together and united as one man against the city. \n12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, \u201cWhat about this awful crime that was committed among you? 13 Now surrender those wicked men of Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.\u201d \nBut the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. 14 From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. 15 At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred chosen men from those living in Gibeah. 16 Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. \n17 Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fighting men. 18 The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, \u201cWho of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?\u201d \nThe Lord replied, \u201cJudah shall go first.\u201d \n19 The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. 20 The men of Israel went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. 21 The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. 22 But the men of Israel encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. 23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and they inquired of the Lord. They said, \u201cShall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our brothers?\u201d The Lord answered, \u201cGo up against them.\u201d \n24 Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. 25 This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords. \n26 Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. 27 And the Israelites inquired of the Lord. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, 28 with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, \u201cShall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?\u201d \nThe Lord responded, \u201cGo, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.\u201d \n29 Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah. 30 They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. 31 The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn away from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads\u2014the one leading to Bethel and the other to Gibeah. \n32 While the Benjamites were saying, \u201cWe are defeating them as before,\u201d the Israelites were saying, \u201cLet\u2019s retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads.\u201d \n33 All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place on the west of Gibeah. 34 Then ten thousand of Israel\u2019s finest men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize how near disaster was. 35 The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. 36 Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten. \nNow the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah. 37 The men who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword. 38 The men of Israel had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city, 39 and then the men of Israel would turn in the battle. \nThe Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the men of Israel (about thirty), and they said, \u201cWe are defeating them as in the first battle.\u201d 40 But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the smoke of the whole city going up into the sky. 41 Then the men of Israel turned on them, and the men of Benjamin were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come upon them. 42 So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the desert, but they could not escape the battle. And the men of Israel who came out of the towns cut them down there. 43 They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. 44 Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters. 45 As they turned and fled toward the desert to the rock of Rimmon, the Israelites cut down five thousand men along the roads. They kept pressing after the Benjamites as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more. \n46 On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. 47 But six hundred men turned and fled into the desert to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. 48 The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire. \n \n21\tThe men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: \u201cNot one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.\u201d \n2 The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. 3 \u201cO Lord, the God of Israel,\u201d they cried, \u201cwhy has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?\u201d \n4 Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.\n5 Then the Israelites asked, \u201cWho from all the tribes of Israel has failed to assemble before the Lord?\u201d For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah should certainly be put to death. \n6 Now the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites. \u201cToday one tribe is cut off from Israel,\u201d they said. 7 \u201cHow can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?\u201d 8 Then they asked, \u201cWhich one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?\u201d They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. 9 For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there. \n10 So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children. 11 \u201cThis is what you are to do,\u201d they said. \u201cKill every male and every woman who is not a virgin.\u201d 12 They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan. \n13 Then the whole assembly sent an offer of peace to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon. 14 So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them. \n15 The people grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a gap in the tribes of Israel. 16 And the elders of the assembly said, \u201cWith the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left? 17 The Benjamite survivors must have heirs,\u201d they said, \u201cso that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. 18 We can\u2019t give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: \u2018Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.\u2019 19 But look, there is the annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh, to the north of Bethel, and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and to the south of Lebonah.\u201d \n20 So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, \u201cGo and hide in the vineyards 21 and watch. When the girls of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, then rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, \u2018Do us a kindness by helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.\u2019 \u201d \n23 So that is what the Benjamites did. While the girls were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them. \n24 At that time the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance. \n\n25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.