Judges 19:28

Verse

“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.

American Standard Version (1901)

And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going; but none answered: then he took her up upon the ass; and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.

Bible in Basic English

And he said to her, Get up and let us be going; but there was no answer; so he took her up and put her on the ass, and went on his way and came to his house.

Free Bible Version

“Get up, let's go,” he told her, but there was no answer. Then the man lifted her onto his donkey and went home.

Geneva Bible 1599

And hee said vnto her, Vp and let vs goe: but shee answered not. Then he tooke her vp vpon the asse, and the man rose vp, and went vnto his place.

King James (Authorized) Version

And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.

Translation for Translators

He said to her, “Get up! Let’s go!” But she did not answer, because she had died. He put her body on the donkey and traveled to his home.

Unlocked Literal Bible

The Levite said to her, “Get up. Let us go.” But there was no answer. He put her on the donkey, and the man set out for home.

Noah Webster Bible

And he said to her, Rise, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her upon an ass, and the man rose, and went to his place.

World English Bible

He said to her, “Get up, and let’s get going!” but no one answered. Then he took her up on the donkey; and the man rose up, and went to his place.

Young's Literal Translation

and he saith unto her, 'Rise, and we go;' and there is none answering, and he taketh her on the ass, and the man riseth and goeth to his place,

Context

The Crime of the Benjamites

²⁷In 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“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.

Summary

This verse depicts the tragic aftermath of a horrific event where a Levite's concubine was abused and killed. The Levite discovers her lifeless body at the doorstep, and in shock and grief, he carries her home. The brutality of this incident serves as a stark reminder of the moral decay and lawlessness during the period of the judges in Israel. It highlights the consequences of forsaking God's ways and the need for righteous leadership and adherence to God's laws to prevent such atrocities.

Commentary

John Gill

John Gill Bible Commentary

And he said unto her, up, and let us be going,.... He spoke to her as supposing her asleep, in order to awake her, and prepare for their journey with all the haste they could, lest greater mischief should befall them: but none answered; for she was dead; and her death was occasioned, as Josephus (w) says, partly through grief at what she had suffered, and partly through shame, not daring to come into the sight of her husband; but chiefly through the injuries done her by the number of persons that had lain with her: so it is reported (x) of the Thessalonians, when they took Phocis, many women were destroyed through the abundance of rapes committed upon them. To these Abarbinel adds, the cold of the night, being without her clothes, or anything to cover her: then the man took her up upon an ass; and carried off her dead body, without making any remonstrance to the inhabitants, from whom he could not expect that any justice would be done him: and the man rose up, and got him unto his place; to his city on one side Mount Ephraim, to which he made as much haste as he could, instead of going to the house of God at Shiloh, as he proposed; for now the circumstances of things were changed with him, and instead of sacrificing and giving praise to God in his house, his business was to seek for justice from the tribes of Israel. (w) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 2. sect. 8.) (x) Herodot. Urania, sive, l. 8. c. 33.