Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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The Levite and His Concubine
1 In those days before Israel
had a king, there was a Levite
living far back in the hill country of
Ephraim. He took a girl from Bethlehem
in Judah to be his concubine.
2 But she became angry with him,
went back to her father's house in
Bethlehem, and stayed there four
months.
3 Then the man decided to
go after her and try to persuade her
to return to him. He took his servant
and two donkeys with him. The girl
showed the Levite into the house,
and when her father saw him, he
gave him a hearty greeting.
4 The father
insisted that he stay, and so he
stayed for three days. The couple
had their meals and spent the nights
there.
5 On the morning of the fourth
day they woke up early and got
ready to go. But the girl's father said
to the Levite, “Have something to
eat first. You'll feel better. You can
go later.”
6 So the two men sat down and
ate and drank together. Then the
girl's father told him, “Please spend
the night and enjoy yourself.”
7 The Levite got up to go, but the
father urged him to stay, so he spent
another night there.
8 Early in the
morning of the fifth day he started to
leave, but the girl's father said, “Eat
something, please. Wait until later in
the day.” So the two men ate together.
9 When the man, his concubine,
and the servant once more started to
leave, the father said, “Look, it's almost
evening now; you might as
well stay all night. It will be dark
soon; stay here and have a good
-- --
time. Tomorrow you can get up early
for the trip and go home.”
10
11 But the man did not want to
spend another night, so he and his
concubine started on their way.
They had two donkeys with saddles
on their backs. It was late in the day
when they came near Jebus (that is,
Jerusalem), so the servant said to his
master, “Why don't we stop and
spend the night here in this Jebusite
city?”
12
13 But his master said, “We're
not going to stop in a city where the
people are not Israelites. We'll pass
on by and go a little farther and
spend the night at Gibeah or Ramah.”
14 So they passed by Jebus
and continued on their way. It was
sunset when they came to Gibeah in
the territory of the tribe of Benjamin.
15 They turned off the road to go
and spend the night there. They
went into town and sat down in the
city square, but no one offered to
take them home for the night.
16 While they were there, an old
man came by at the end of a day's
work on the farm. He was originally
from the hill country of Ephraim,
but he was now living in Gibeah.
(The other people there were from
the tribe of Benjamin.)
17 The old
man noticed the traveler in the city
square and asked him, “Where do
you come from? Where are you
going?”
18 The Levite answered, “We have
been in Bethlehem in Judah, and
now we are on our way home note deep
in the hill country of Ephraim. No
one will put us up for the night,
19 even though we have food and
straw for our donkeys, bread and
wine for my concubine and me and
for my servant as well. We have
everything we need.”
20 The old man said, “You are welcome
in my home! I'll take care of
you; you don't have to spend the
night in the square.”
21 So he took
them home with him and fed their
donkeys. His guests washed their
feet and had a meal.
22 They were enjoying themselves
when all of a sudden some sexual
perverts from the town surrounded
the house and started beating on the
door. They said to the old man,
“Bring out that man that came home
with you! We want to have sex with
him!”
23 But the old man went outside
and said to them, “No, my friends!
Please! Don't do such an evil, immoral
thing! This man is my guest.
24 Look! Here is his concubine and
my own virgin daughter. I'll bring
them out now, and you can have
them. Do whatever you want to with
them. But don't do such an awful
thing to this man!” note
25 But the men
would not listen to him. So the Levite
took his concubine and put her
outside with them. They raped her
and abused her all night long and
didn't stop until morning.
26 At dawn the woman came and
fell down at the door of the old
man's house, where her husband
was. She was still there when daylight
came.
27 Her husband got up
that morning, and when he opened
the door to go on his way, he found
his concubine lying in front of the
house with her hands reaching for
the door.
28 He said, “Get up. Let's
go.” But there was no answer. So he
put her body across the donkey and
started on his way home.
29 When he
arrived, he went in the house and
got a knife. He took his concubine's
body, cut it into twelve pieces, and
sent one piece to each of the twelve
tribes of Israel. note
30 Everyone who saw
it said, “We have never heard of
such a thing! Nothing like this has
ever happened since the Israelites
left Egypt! We have to do something
about this! What will it be?”
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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