Judges 19:15-25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
15 [a]There they turned off to enter Gibeah for the night.(A) The man went in and sat down in the town square, but no one took them inside to spend the night. 16 In the evening, however, an old man came from his work in the field; he was from the mountain region of Ephraim, though he was living in Gibeah where the local people were Benjaminites. 17 (B)When he noticed the traveler in the town square, the old man asked, “Where are you going, and where have you come from?” 18 He said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem of Judah far up into the mountain region of Ephraim, where I am from. I have been to Bethlehem of Judah, and now I am going home; but no one has taken me into his house. 19 We have straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself and for your maidservant and the young man who is with your servant; there is nothing else we need.” 20 “Rest assured,” the old man said to him, “I will provide for all your needs, but do not spend the night in the public square.” 21 So he led them to his house and mixed fodder for the donkeys. Then they washed their feet, and ate and drank.(C)
The Outrage at Gibeah. 22 [b](D)While they were enjoying themselves, the men of the city, a bunch of scoundrels, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They said to the old man who was the owner of the house, “Bring out the man who has come into your house, so that we may get intimate with him.” 23 The man who was the owner of the house went out to them and said, “No, my brothers; do not be so wicked. This man has come into my house; do not commit this terrible crime. 24 Instead, let me bring out my virgin daughter and this man’s concubine. Humiliate them, or do whatever you want; but against him do not commit such a terrible crime.” 25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and thrust her outside to them. They raped her and abused her all night until morning, and let her go as the sun was coming up.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 19:15–21 The narrative casts a very unfavorable light on Gibeah of Benjamin, the town from which Israel’s first king would come (cf. 1 Sm 9:1–2). No Benjaminite offers hospitality to the Levite and his travel party, who are obliged to wait at night in the town square until an Ephraimite residing in Gibeah welcomes them into his home.
- 19:22–25 This part of the grim story closely parallels that of the assault on Lot’s angelic visitors in Gn 19:4–8.
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