1 ULB በዚያም ዘመን፣ በእስራኤል ውስጥ ንጉሥ ባልነበረበት ጊዜ፣ በኮረብታማው የኤፍሬም አገር እጅግ በጣም ሩቅ በሆነ አካባቢ ለአጭር ጊዜ የኖረ አንድ ሌዋዊ ሰው ነበረ፡፡ እርሱም አንዲትን ሴት ቁባት አድርጎ ወሰዳት፡፡ BSB BSB: Now in those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite who lived in the remote hill country of Ephraim took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
2 ULB ነገር ግን ቁባቱ ለእርሱ ታማኝ አልነበረችም፤ እርሱን ተወችውና ተመልሳ ወደ አባትዋ ቤት ወደ ቤተ ልሔም ይሁዳ ሄደች፡፡ እርስዋም በዚያ አራት ወር ቆየች፡፡ BSB BSB: But she was unfaithful to him and left him to return to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. After she had been there four months,
3 ULB የዚያን ጊዜ ባልዋ ተነሣና ተመልሳ ወደ እርሱ እንድትመጣ ለማባበል ተከትሏት ሄደ፡፡ የእርሱ አገልጋይና ሁለት አህዮች ከእርሱ ጋር ነበሩ፡፡ እርስዋም ወደ አባትዋ ቤት አስገባችው፡፡የልጅቱ አባት ባየው ጊዜ ደስ አለው፡፡ BSB BSB: her husband got up and went after her to speak kindly to her and bring her back, taking 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.
4 ULB የልጂቱ አባት፣ አማቱም በቤቱ ለሦስት ቀን እንዲቆይ ለመነው፡፡ እነርሱም በሉ፣ ጠጡ፣ ሌሊቱንም በዚያ አሳለፉ፡፡ BSB BSB: His father-in-law, the girl’s father, persuaded him to stay, so he remained with him three days, eating, drinking, and lodging there.
5 ULB በአራተኛው ቀን ማልደው ተነሡ፣ እርሱም ለመሄድ ተዘጋጀ፣ ነገር ግን የልጂቱ አባት አማቹን እንዲህ አለው፣ “እንድትበረታ እንጀራ ብላ፣ ከዚያ መሄድ ትችላለህ፡፡” BSB BSB: On the fourth day, they got up early in the morning and prepared to depart, but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread, and then you can go.”
6 ULB ስለዚህ ሁለቱም በአንድ ላይ ለመብላትና ለመጠጣት ተቀመጡ፡፡ ከዚያም የልጂቱ አባት እንዲህ አለ፣ “እባክህ ሌሊቱን ደግሞ እዚህ ለማሳለፍ ፈቃደኛ ሁን፣ መልካም ጊዜም ይሁንልህ፡፡” BSB BSB: So they sat down and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Please agree to stay overnight and let your heart be merry.”
7 ULB ሌዋዊው ለመሄድ በማለዳ በተነሳ ጊዜ፣ የወጣቷ ሴት አባት እንዲቆይ ለመነው፣ ከዚህ የተነሳ እቅዱን ለወጠና ሌሊቱን በዚያ አሳለፈ፡፡ BSB BSB: The man got up to depart, but his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night.
8 ULB በአምስተኛው ቀን ለመሄድ ማልዶ ተነሣ፣ ነገር ግን የልጂቱ አባት እንዲህ አለ፣ “ሰውነትህን አበርታ፣ እስከ ማምሻ ድረስ ቆይ አለው፡፡ ስለዚህ ሁለቱም አብረው በሉ፡፡ BSB BSB: On the fifth day, he got up early in the morning to depart, but the girl’s father said, “Please refresh your heart.” So they waited until late afternoon and the two of them ate.
9 ULB ሌዋዊው፣ ቁባቱና አገልጋዮቹ ለመሄድ በተነሱ ጊዜ፣ የልጂቱ አባት አማቱ እንዲህ አለው፣ “ተመልከት፣ አሁን ቀኑ እየመሸ ነው፡፡ እባክህ ሌላ ሌሊት በዚህ ቆዩ፣ መልካም ጊዜም ይሁንልህ፡፡ ነገ በማለዳ ተነስታችሁ ወደ ቤታችሁ ተመልሳችሁ መሄድ ትችላላችሁ፡፡” BSB BSB: When the man got up to depart with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is drawing to a close. Please spend the night. See, the day is almost over. Spend the night here, that your heart may be merry. Then you can get up early tomorrow for your journey home.”
10 ULB ነገር ግን ሌዋዊው ሌሊቱን በዚያ ለማሳለፍ ፈቃደኛ አልነበረም፡፡ ተነሳና ሄደ፡፡ ኢየሩሳሌምም ወደ ተባለችው ወደ ኢያቡስ ሄደ፡፡ ሁለት የተጫኑ አህዮች ነበሩት፣ ቁባቱም ከእርሱ ጋር ነበረች፡፡ BSB BSB: But the man was unwilling to spend the night. He got up and departed, and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.
11 ULB ወደ ኢያቡስም በቀረቡ ጊዜ መሸባቸው፣ አገልጋዩም ለጌታው እንዲህ አለው፣ “ና፣ ወደ ኢያቡሳውያን ከተማ እንሂድና ሌሊቱን በዚያ እናሳልፍ፡፡” BSB BSB: When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, “Please, let us stop at this Jebusite city and spend the night here.”
12 ULB ጌታውም፣ “የእስራኤል ሕዝብ ወገን ወዳልሆነ ወደ እንግዳ ሕዝብ ከተማ ውስጥ አንገባም፡፡ እኛ ወደ ጊብዓ እንሄዳለን፡፡” BSB BSB: But his master replied, “We will not turn aside to the city of foreigners, where there are no Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.”
13 ULB ሌዋዊውም ለወጣቱ ሰው እንዲህ አለው፣ “ና፣ ከእነዚህ ስፍራዎች ወደ አንዱ እንሂድ፣ ሌሊቱንም በጊብዓ ወይም በራማ እናሳልፍ፡፡” BSB BSB: He continued, “Come, let us try to reach one of these towns to spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.”
14 ULB ስለዚህ መንገዳቸውን ቀጠሉ፣ የብንያም ነገድ ወደምትሆነው ወደ ጊብዓ ግዛት ሲቀርቡ ፀሐይ ገባችባቸው፡፡ BSB BSB: So they continued on their journey, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin.
15 ULB እነርሱም ሌሊቱን በጊብዓ ለማሳለፍ ወደዚያ አቀኑ፡፡ እርሱም ወደ ውስጥ ገባና በከተማው አደባባይ ተቀመጠ፣ ሌሊቱን በዚያ ያሳልፉ ዘንድ ወደ ቤቱ የወሰዳቸው ማንም ሰው አልነበረምና፡፡ BSB BSB: They stopped to go in and lodge in Gibeah. The Levite went in and sat down in the city square, but no one would take them into his home for the night.
16 ULB ነገር ግን በዚያን ጊዜ አንድ ሽማግሌ ሰው ከእርሻ ሥራው በምሽት እየመጣ ነበር፡፡ እርሱም ከኮረብታማው ከኤፍሬም አገር ነበረ፣ እርሱም በጊብዓ በእንግድነት ተቀምጦ ነበር፡፡ ነገር ግን በዚያ ስፍራ ይኖሩ የነበሩ ሰዎች ብንያማውያን ነበሩ፡፡ BSB BSB: That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was residing in Gibeah (the men of that place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the field.
17 ULB እርሱም ዓይኑን አነሳና መንገደኛውን በከተማው አደባባይ አየው፡፡ ሽማግሌውም እንዲህ አለ፣ “ወዴት ትሄዳለህ? ከወዴትስ መጣህ?” BSB BSB: When he looked up and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going, and where have you come from?”
18 ULB ሌዋዊውም እንዲህ አለው፣ “እኛ ከቤተ ልሔም ይሁዳ በጣም ሩቅ ወደሆነው ወደ ኮረብታማው ወደ ኤፍሬም አገር እንሄዳለን፣ እኔም የመጣሁት ከዚያ ነው፡፡ ወደ ቤተ ልሔም ይሁዳ ሄጄ ነበር፣ አሁን ወደ እግዚአብሔር ቤት እየሄድሁ ነው፣ ነገር ግን ወደ ቤቱ የሚወስደኝ ማንም ሰው የለም፡፡ BSB BSB: The Levite replied, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote hill country of Ephraim, where I am from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I am going to the house of the LORD; but no one has taken me into his home,
19 ULB ለአህዮቻችን ገለባና ገፈራ አለን፣ ለእኔና እዚህ ላለችው ለሴት አገልጋይህ፣ ከአገልጋዮችህም ጋር ላለው ለዚህ ወጣት ሰው እንጀራና የወይን ጠጅ አለን፡፡ አንዳችም አላጣንም፡፡” BSB BSB: even though there is both straw and feed for our donkeys, and bread and wine for me and the maidservant and young man with me. There is nothing that we, your servants, lack.”
20 ULB ሽማግሌውም ሰላምታ አቀረበላቸው፣ “ሰላም ለእናንተ ይሁን! የሚያስፈልጋችሁን ሁሉ እኔ እሰጣችኋለሁ፡፡ በአደባባይ ግን ሌሊቱን አትደሩ” አለው፡፡ BSB BSB: “Peace to you,” said the old man. “Let me supply everything you need. Only do not spend the night in the square.”
21 ULB ስለዚህም ሰውየው ሌዋዊውን ወደ ቤቱ ወሰደው፣ ለአህዮቹም ገፈራ ሰጣቸው፡፡ እግራቸውን ታጠቡ፣ በሉም ጠጡም፡፡ BSB BSB: So he brought him to his house and fed his donkeys. And they washed their feet and ate and drank.
22 ULB እነርሱም መልካም ጊዜ ነበራቸው፣ ክፉ የሆኑ የከተማይቱ ሰዎች ያደሩበትን ቤት ከበቡ፣ በሩንም ይደበድቡ ነበር፡፡ የቤቱ ባለቤት ለሆነው ለሽማግሌው እንዲህ አሉት፣ “ከእርሱ ጋር መተኛት እንድንችል ወደ ቤትህ የገባውን ሰው አምጣው፡፡” BSB BSB: While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house, so we can have relations with him!”
23 ULB ሰውየውም፣ የቤቱ ባለቤት፣ ወደ እነርሱ ሄደና እንዲህ አላቸው፣ “አይሆንም፣ ወንድሞቼ ሆይ፣ ይህን ክፉ ነገር እባካችሁ አታድርጉ! ይህ ሰው ወደ ቤቴ የገባ እንግዳ ስለሆነ፣ ይህን ክፉ ነገር አትሥሩ፡፡ BSB BSB: The owner of the house went out and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Do not commit this outrage.
24 ULB ተመልከቱ፣ ድንግል ልጄና የእርሱም ቁባት እዚህ አሉ፡፡ አሁን ሄጄ ላምጣቸው፡፡ አስነውሩአቸው፣ የፈለጋችሁትንም አድርጉባቸው፡፡ ነገር ግን በዚህ ሰው ላይ እንደዚህ ያለ ክፉ ነገር አታድርጉበት!” BSB BSB: Look, let me bring out my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine, and you can use them and do with them as you wish. But do not do such a vile thing to this man.”
25 ULB ነገር ግን ሰዎቹ እርሱን አልሰሙትም፣ ስለዚህ ሰውዮው ቁባቱን ያዛትና ወደ ውጭ አወጣላቸው፡፡ እነርሱም ያዟትና ከእርሷ ጋር ተኙ፣ ሌሊቱን በሙሉ አመነዘሩባት፣ ጎህም ሲቀድ ለቀቁአት፡፡ BSB BSB: But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite 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 ULB ሴቲቱም በማለዳ መጣችና ጌታዋ ባለበት በሰውዮው ቤት በር ወደቀች፣ ጸሐይ እስኪወጣ ድረስ እዚያው ተዘረረች፡፡ BSB BSB: Early that morning, the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, collapsed at the doorway, and lay there until it was light.
27 ULB ጌታዋም በማለዳ ተነሣና የቤቱን በር ከፈተ፣ መንገዱንም ለመሄድ ወጣ፡፡ እርሱም ቁባቱ እጅዋን በመድረኩ ላይ ዘርግታ በበሩ ተዘርራ አያት፡፡ BSB BSB: In the morning, when her master got up and opened the doors of the house to go out on his journey, there was his concubine, collapsed in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold.
28 ULB ሌዋዊውም እንዲህ አላት፣ “ተነሺ፡፡ እንሂድ፡፡” ነገር ግን ምንም መልስ አልነበረም፡፡ እርሱም በአህያው ላይ ጫናት፣ ተነሥቶም ወደ ቤቱ ሄደ፡፡ BSB BSB: “Get up,” he told her. “Let us go.” But there was no response. So the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.
29 ULB ሌዋዊውም ወደ ቤቱ በመጣ ጊዜ፣ ቢላዋ ወሰደ፣ ቁባቱንም ይዞ ቆራረጣት፣ ብልት በብልት ለአሥራ ሁለት ቈራርጦ ቁራጮቹን ወደ እስራኤል አገር ሁሉ ላከው፡፡ BSB BSB: When he reached his house, he picked up a knife, took hold of his concubine, cut her limb by limb into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel.
30 ULB ይህንን ያየ ሁሉ እንዲህ አለ፣ “የእስራኤል ሕዝብ ከግብፅ ምድር ከወጡ ጀምሮ እስከ ዛሬ ድረስ እንዲህ ያለ ነገር ከቶ አልተደረገም ወይም አልታየም፡፡ ስለ ነገሩ አስቡበት! ምክር ስጡን! ምን ማድረግ እንዳለብን ንገሩን!” BSB BSB: And everyone who saw it said, “Nothing like this has been seen or done from the day the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt until this day. Think it over, take counsel, and speak up!”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.