Judges 19

1 Now in those days [when there was no central authority, a time of spiritual chaos], when there was no king [ruler, leader] in Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, also referring to his descendants], a Levite [a descendant of Levi, one of Jacob’s 12 sons] who lived in the remote [farthest, most distant] hill country [mountainous region] of Ephraim [doubly fruitful, referring to Joseph’s son and the tribe that descended from him] took for himself a concubine [a woman who lives with a man but is not his wife, a secondary wife] from Bethlehem [house of bread, a place in Zebulun] in Judah [the name of the tribe descended from Judah, the son of Jacob]. word study 2 But she was unfaithful [played the harlot, committed adultery] to him and left [went away, departed] him to return [go back, come back] to her father’s [parent’s, ancestral] house [dwelling place, home] in Bethlehem [house of bread, city in Judah] in Judah [region, tribe of Judah]. After she had been [stayed, remained] there [in that place, at that time] four [a period of four, a quartet of] months [lunar cycles, periods of time], word study 3 her husband [the man, her male partner] got up [rose, stood up] and went after her [in pursuit of her, to follow her] to speak kindly [to speak friendly, with a gentle voice] to her and bring her back [to return her, to restore her], taking his servant [his attendant, his young man] and a pair [a couple, a team] of donkeys [asses, male donkeys]. So the girl [the maiden, the young woman] brought him into her father’s [her parent’s, her family’s] house, and when her father [her parent, her elder] saw him, he gladly welcomed him [he rejoiced to meet him, he was happy to see him]. word study 4 His father-in-law [relative by marriage], the girl’s [young, unmarried woman] father, persuaded [retained, kept] him to stay, so he remained [abode, dwelt] with him three [thrice] days, eating [devouring, consuming], drinking [feasting], and lodging [staying, resting] there [in that place]. word study 5 On the fourth [following three days of rest] day, they got up early [at dawn, with the morning light] in the morning and prepared to depart, but the girl’s father [her earthly father, the one who gave her in marriage] said to his son-in-law [his daughter’s husband, the one united to her], “Refresh [strengthen, comfort] your heart [your inner being, soul] with a morsel [a small piece, a bite] of bread [food, sustenance], and then you can go [depart, journey on].” word study 6 So they sat down [to dwell, to remain] and the two [a pair, together] of them ate [to eat, devour] and drank [to drink, feast] together [in unity, as one]. Then the girl’s [maiden, young woman] father [parent, ancestor] said to the man [male, individual], “Please [I pray, be willing] agree to stay overnight [to lodge, to rest] and let your heart [feelings, will, intellect] be merry [to be good, joyful, pleasing].” word study 7 The man [a male person, individual] got up [rose, stood up] to depart [to walk, go], but his father-in-law [relative by marriage] persuaded [urged, pressed] him, so he stayed [lodged, returned] there [in that place] that night [again, for the night]. word study 8 On the fifth day, he got up early [at dawn, with the break of day] in the morning to depart, but the girl’s father [the maiden’s parent, her guardian] said, “Please [I pray, if you will] refresh [comfort, strengthen] your heart [your innermost being, mind, and emotions].” So they waited [tarried, lingered] until late [toward the end of] afternoon and the two [a pair, both] of them ate [partook of food, devoured]. word study 9 When the man [the husband, master] got up to depart [to set out, journey] with his concubine [secondary wife, companion] and his servant [young man, attendant], his father-in-law [relative by marriage], the girl’s father [parent, guardian], said to him, “Look [behold, see], the day [period of light, time] is drawing to a close [coming to an end, growing dark]. Please [I pray, kindly] spend the night [lodge, rest]. See [look, behold], the day [time, period] is almost over [ending, passing away]. Spend the night [stay, remain] here [in this place], that your heart [inner being, mind] may be merry [joyful, glad]. Then you can get up early [rise, start] tomorrow [the next day, in the future] for your journey [way, path] home [to your house, dwelling place].” word study 10 But the man [refused] was unwilling to spend the night [to lodge, to stay]. He got up [rose, stood] and departed [went away, left], and arrived [came, approached] opposite [before, in front of] Jebus [the original name of Jerusalem, the threshing place] (that is, Jerusalem [the city of peace]), with [accompanied by, together with] his two [a pair, a team] saddled [tied, bound] donkeys [male asses] and his concubine [woman who lives with a man, but is not his wife]. word study 11 When they were near [approaching, by] Jebus [the original name of Jerusalem, meaning ’threshing place’] and the day [a period of 24 hours, a figurative space of time] was almost gone [far spent, coming to a close], the servant [young man, attendant] said to his master [lord, one in authority], “Please [I pray, come], let us stop [turn aside, rest] at this [specific, nearby] Jebusite [inhabitant of Jebus] city [town, settlement] and spend the night [lodge, stay] here [in this place].” word study 12 But his master [lord, ruler] replied, “We will not turn aside [to depart, to stray] to the city [town, settlement] of foreigners [strangers, non-Israelites], where there are no Israelites [sons of Israel, God’s chosen people]. We will go on [to pass over, to transition] to Gibeah [a city in Benjamin, King Saul’s birthplace].” word study 13 He continued [to speak, saying], “Come, let us try to reach [approach, draw near to] one of these towns [places, cities] to spend the night [lodge, rest] in Gibeah [a city of Benjamin] or [as an alternative] Ramah [a city of battle].” word study 14 So they continued on their journey [to walk, to live], and the sun [the sun; the east or the west] set as they neared [came beside, approached] Gibeah [a city in Palestine, birthplace of King Saul] in Benjamin [son of the right hand, referring to the tribe] [in the region, belonging to]. word study 15 They stopped [to turn aside, to go out of their way] to go in and lodge [to spend the night, to rest] in Gibeah [a city in Palestine, the birthplace of King Saul]. The Levite [a member of the priestly tribe] went in and sat down [to dwell, to remain] in the city square [a public area, a street or plaza], but no one [not a single person, no man] would take them into his home [his house, his dwelling place] for the night [the evening, the time of rest]. word study 16 That evening [at sunset, as the day was ending] an old man [a mature, elderly individual, advanced in years] from the hill country [mountainous region, elevated area] of Ephraim [doubly fruitful, a tribe of Israel], who was residing [sojourning, temporarily living] in Gibeah [a city of Benjamin, a place of pilgrimage] (the men of that place [location, region, city] were Benjamites [descendants of Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob]), came in [entered, arrived] from his work [labor, task, occupation] in the field [agricultural land, open country, a place of cultivation]. word study 17 When he looked up [lifted his eyes, gazed] and saw the traveler [wayfaring man, journeying stranger] in the city square [street of the city, public plaza], the old man [elderly, aged] asked, “Where are you going [to walk, to proceed], and where have you come from [whence, from what place]?” word study 18 The Levite replied, “We [emphasizing our community] are traveling from Bethlehem [Beth-lehem, house of bread] in Judah [the tribe descended from Judah] to the remote [farther side, distant] hill country of Ephraim [doubly fruitful, referring to Joseph’s son], where I [the speaker] am from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I am going to the house [a dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]; but no one [a male person] has taken me into his home [a dwelling place], word study 19 even though there is both straw [dry grass, fodder] and feed [provender, food] for our donkeys [asses], and bread [food, grain] and wine [fermented wine, intoxicating drink] for me and the maidservant [female slave, servant] and young man [youth, boy] with me. There is [exists, is present] nothing [no lack, absence] that we, your servants [slaves, attendants], lack [are in need of, require].” word study 20 “Peace [shalom, completeness and wellness] to you,” said the old [elderly, venerable] man. “Let me supply [provide, furnish] everything you need [lack, require]. Only [except] do not spend the night [lodge, stay] in the square [street, plaza].” word study 21 So he brought him to his house [dwelling place, home] and fed [gave provender to, mixed food for] his donkeys [asses, male donkeys]. And they washed [bathed, cleansed] their feet [with water, as a sign of hospitality] and ate [devoured, consumed] and drank [feasted, took in refreshment]. word study 22 While they [enjoying themselves, making their hearts merry] were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked [evil] men of the city [sons of Belial, worthless men] surrounded the house [dwelling place]. Pounding [beating, knocking] on the door, they said to the old [elderly, aged] man who owned the house [master of the house, owner of the dwelling], “Bring out the man [the male person, individual] who came to your house [dwelling place, home], so we can have relations [know him, be intimate] with him [have sex with him]!” word study 23 The owner [master, head of the household] of the house went out and said to them, “No [do not, I implore you], my brothers [fellow Israelites, close relatives], do not do this wicked [evil, morally wrong] thing! After all, this man is a guest [traveler, sojourner] in my house [dwelling place, home]. Do not commit [perform, carry out] this outrage [folly, shameful act, wickedness]. word study 24 Look, let me bring out my virgin [a maiden, untouched] daughter and the man’s concubine [a woman who lives with a man but is not his wife], and you can use them and do with them as you wish [treat them however you please, humble them]. But do not do such a vile [wicked, shameful] thing to this man [the guest, the traveler].” word study 25 But the men would not listen [be willing to hear, obey] to him. So the Levite took his concubine [woman living with him, but not his wife] and sent her outside to them, and they raped [knew her, abused her] her and abused [treated her poorly, thrust upon her] her throughout the night [time of darkness, adversity], and at dawn [break of day, new beginning] they let her go [sent her away, released her]. word study 26 Early [at the dawning, in the break of day] that morning, the woman [female person, wife] went back to the house [dwelling place, home] where her master [lord] was staying, collapsed [fell down, was stretched out] at the doorway [entrance], and lay there [in that place] until [as far as, till] it was light [natural illumination, spiritual enlightenment]. word study 27 In the morning [at the break of day, dawn], when her master [lord] got up [rose, stood up] and opened [to engrave, carve] the doors [gate, entrance] of the house [dwelling place] to go out [to come out] on his journey [way, path], there was his concubine [woman, female companion], collapsed [fallen down] in the doorway [entrance] of the house [place], with her hands [open hands] on [upon] the threshold [door sill]. word study 28 “Get up [arise, stand up],” he told her [to his wife, the concubine]. “Let us go [walk, journey, travel].” But there was no response [none answered, complete silence, no reply]. So the man [the husband, the master] put her on his donkey [a beast of burden] and set out for home [his place, his house, his location]. word study 29 When he reached [arrived at, came into] his house [dwelling place, home], he picked up [took hold of, grasped] a knife [for cutting, a sword], took hold of [seized, laid hand on] his concubine [woman living with him, but not his wife], cut her [divided, severed] limb by limb [with her bones, into pieces] into twelve [twelve parts] pieces, and sent her [dispatched, distributed] throughout [into all parts of, across] the territory [borders, land] of Israel [God’s people, the nation]. word study 30 And everyone who saw it said, “Nothing [like this terrible thing] like this has been seen or done from the day [since the time of] the Israelites came out [were delivered, ascended] of the land [territory, region] of Egypt [the land of the Egyptians] until this day [the present time]. Think it over [consider, reflect], take counsel [seek advice, plan], and speak up [declare, proclaim]!” word study