The Crime of the Benjamites (Genesis 19:1–11)
1 UDB At that time the Israelite people had no king. There was a man from the tribe of Levi who lived in a remote place in the hill country where the tribe of Ephraim lives. He had previously taken to live with him a woman who was a slave. She was from Bethlehem, in the area where the tribe of Judah lives. 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 UDB But she started to sleep with other men also. Then she left him and returned to her father's house in Bethlehem. She stayed there for four months. 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 UDB Then her husband took his servant and two donkeys and went to Bethlehem. He went to ask her to come back to live with him again. When he arrived at her father's house, she invited him to come in. Her father was happy to see him. 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 UDB The woman's father asked him to stay. So he stayed there for three days. During that time he ate and drank and slept there. 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 UDB On the fourth day, they all got up early in the morning. The man from the tribe of Levi was preparing to leave, but the woman's father said to him, "Eat something before you go." 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 UDB So the two men sat down to eat and drink together. Then the woman's father said to him, "Please stay another night. Relax and have a good time." 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 UDB The man from the tribe of Levi wanted to leave, but the woman's father requested him to stay one more night. So he stayed again that night. BSB BSB: The man got up to depart, but his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night.
8 UDB On the fifth day, the man got up early and prepared to leave. But the woman's father said to him again, "Have something to eat. Wait until this afternoon, and then leave." So the two men ate together. 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 UDB In the afternoon, when the man from the tribe of Levi and his slave wife and his servant got up to leave, the woman's father said, "It will soon be dark. The day is almost finished. Stay here tonight and have a good time. Tomorrow morning you can get up early and leave for your home." 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 UDB But the man from the tribe of Levi did not want to stay for another night. He put saddles on his two donkeys and started to go with his slave wife and his servant toward the city of Jebus, which is now named Jerusalem. 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 UDB When it was late in the afternoon, they came near to Jebus. The servant said to his master, "We should stop in this city where the Jebus people live and stay here tonight." 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 UDB But his master said, "No, it would not be good for us to stay here where foreign people live. There are no Israelite people here. We will go on to the city of Gibeah." 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 UDB He said to his servant, "Let us go. It is not far to Gibeah. We can go there, or we can go a bit further to Ramah. We can stay in one of those two cities tonight." BSB BSB: He continued, “Come, let us try to reach one of these towns to spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.”
14 UDB So they continued walking. When they came near to Gibeah, where people from the tribe of Benjamin live, the sun was setting. BSB BSB: So they continued on their journey, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin.
15 UDB They stopped to stay there that night. They went to the public square of that city and sat down. But no one who passed by invited them to stay in their house for that night. 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 UDB But then an old man came by. He had been working in the fields. He was from the hill country of the tribe of Ephraim, but at that time he was living in Gibeah. 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 UDB He realized that the man from the tribe of Levi was only traveling and that he did not have a place to stay in that city. So he asked the man, "Where have you come from? And where are you going?" 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 UDB He replied, "We are traveling from Bethlehem to my home in the hill country where people of the tribe of Ephraim live. I went from there to Bethlehem, but now we are going to Shiloh where Yahweh's house is. No one here has invited us to stay in their house tonight. 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 UDB We have straw and food for our donkeys, and bread and wine for me and the young woman and my servant. We do not need anything else." 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 UDB The old man said, "May everything go well for you. I can provide whatever you need. Do not stay here in the square tonight." 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 UDB Then the old man took them to his house. He gave food to the donkeys. He gave water to the man and the woman and the servant to wash their feet. And the old man gave them something to eat and drink. BSB BSB: So he brought him to his house and fed his donkeys. And they washed their feet and ate and drank.
22 UDB While they were having a good time together, some wicked men from that city surrounded the house and started to bang on the door. They shouted to the old man, "Bring out to us the man who has come to your house. We want to have sex with him." 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 UDB The old man went outside and said to them, "My brothers, I will not do that. That would be a very evil thing. This man is a guest in my house. You should not do such a terrible thing! 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 UDB Look, my virgin daughter and his concubine are here. I will bring them out to you now. You may do to them whatever you wish, but do not do such a terrible thing to this man!" 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 UDB But the men did not pay attention to what he said. So the man took his concubine and sent her to them, outside the house. They forced her to have sex with them and abused her all night. Then at dawn they let her go. 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 UDB She returned to the old man's house, and she fell down at the doorway and lay there until it was light. 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 UDB The next morning, her master got up and went outside of the house to continue his journey. He saw his slave wife lying there at the doorway of the house, her hands still touching the doorsill. 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 UDB He said to her, "Get up! Let us go!" But she did not answer. He put her body on the donkey, and he and his servant traveled to his home. 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 UDB When he arrived at his home, he took a knife, and he cut the body of the slave woman into twelve pieces. Then he sent one piece to each area of Israel, along with a message telling what had happened. 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 UDB Everyone who saw a piece of the body and the message said, "Nothing like this has ever happened before. Not since our ancestors left Egypt have we heard of such a terrible thing. We need to think carefully about it. Someone should decide what we should do." 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.