Judges 19

A Levite’s Story Turns Real Ugly

1 Back when Israel did not have any king, there was a Levite living deep in the hill country of Ephraim. He had a side chick, a concubine, from Bethlehem in Judah.

2 She got into it with him and left, went back to her daddy’s house in Bethlehem. She stayed there for four months.

3 Her man went after her, wanted to talk things out and bring her home. He brought his servant and a couple donkeys. She let him in, and her dad welcomed him big time.

4 Her father-in-law kept him there for three days, they ate, drank, and kicked it.

5 On the fourth day, they got up early to leave, but the father-in-law said, “Chill, eat some breakfast, then roll out.”

6 So they sat down, ate, drank, and stayed. Her dad said, “Relax. Stay another night and enjoy yourself.”

7 The Levite was tryna leave, but pops kept pressing him, so he stayed one more night.

8 The next morning, they got up early to go. Her dad said, “Eat something before you all head out.” So they sat and ate together again.

9 When the Levite stood up to leave with his woman and servant, the girl’s dad said, “Man, it is late, stay tonight again. Tomorrow you can bounce early.”

They Hit the Road Late

10 But the Levite did not want to stay another night. He left with his people and passed by Jerusalem (back then it was still held by the Jebusites).

11 When they got near Jerusalem, the servant said, “Let us stop here and spend the night.”

12 But the Levite said, “Nah, we are not staying with foreigners. We will push on to Gibeah.”

13 He said, “We will keep moving and either stay in Gibeah or Ramah tonight.”

14 So they rolled on till the sun went down near Gibeah in Benjamin’s territory.

15 They stopped in Gibeah and tried to find a place to stay, but nobody offered them a room, even though they waited in the city square.

An Old Man Shows Kindness

16 An old man from the hill country of Ephraim came in from working in the fields. He lived in Gibeah, but he was not from there.

17 He saw the traveler in the city square and asked, “Where are you coming from, Where you headed?”

18 The Levite said, “I am coming from Bethlehem, heading back to Ephraim. No one’s offered me a place to crash.”

19 “I got food, wine, and hay for my donkeys. Me, my girl, and my servant good, we just need a spot to rest.”

20 The old man said, “Peace, bruh. You can stay at my crib, do not sleep in the square.”

21 So he brought them home, fed their animals, and they ate and drank together.

Gibeah Gets Evil

22 While they were chilling, some wicked men from the city surrounded the house. They beat on the door and shouted to the old man, “Bring that dude out here, we want to have sex with him!”

23 The old man ran out and said, “Do not do this evil, fellas. He is a guest in my house. Do not disgrace him.”

24 “Look, here is my daughter and his concubine, I will bring them out. You all can do what you want, just do not touch this man.”

25 But they would not listen. So the Levite grabbed his concubine and threw her outside. The men raped and abused her all night ‘til morning. At sunrise, they let her go.

26 She crawled back to the house and collapsed at the door right before daylight.

A Shocking Response

27 That morning, the Levite got up, opened the door, and saw her laid out with her hands on the doorstep.

28 He said, “Get up. Let us go.” But she did not respond. So he put her on his donkey and went home.

29 When he got there, he took a knife, cut her body into twelve pieces, and sent one piece to each tribe of Israel.

30 Everyone who saw it was shook. They said, “We have never seen anything like this, not since Israel came out of Egypt. We must talk about this and do something, now.”