Judges:19-21
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And it came to pass in those days ,
when there was no king in Israel ,
that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim ,
who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah .
*
And his concubine played the whore against him ,
and went away from him unto her father '
s house to Bethlehemjudah ,
and was there four whole months .
*
And her husband arose ,
and went after her ,
to speak friendly unto her ,
and to bring her again ,
having his servant with him ,
and a couple of asses :
and she brought him into her father '
s house :
and when the father of the damsel saw him ,
he rejoiced to meet him .
*
And his father in law ,
the damsel '
s father ,
retained him ;
and he abode with him three days :
so they did eat and drink ,
and lodged there .
*
And it came to pass on the fourth day ,
when they arose early in the morning ,
that he rose up to depart :
and the damsel '
s father said unto his son in law ,
Comfort thine heart with a morsel of bread ,
and afterward go your way .
*
And they sat down ,
and did eat and drink both of them together :
for the damsel '
s father had said unto the man ,
Be content ,
I pray thee ,
and tarry all night ,
and let thine heart be merry .
*
And when the man rose up to depart ,
his father in law urged him :
therefore he lodged there again .
*
And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart :
and the damsel '
s father said ,
Comfort thine heart ,
I pray thee .
And they tarried until afternoon ,
and they did eat both of them .
*
And when the man rose up to depart ,
he ,
and his concubine ,
and his servant ,
his father in law ,
the damsel '
s father ,
said unto him ,
Behold ,
now the day draweth toward evening ,
I pray you tarry all night :
behold ,
the day groweth to an end ,
lodge here ,
that thine heart may be merry ;
and to morrow get you early on your way ,
that thou mayest go home .
*
But the man would not tarry that night ,
but he rose up and departed ,
and came over against Jebus ,
which is Jerusalem ;
and there were with him two asses saddled ,
his concubine also was with him .
*
And when they were by Jebus ,
the day was far spent ;
and the servant said unto his master ,
Come ,
I pray thee ,
and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites ,
and lodge in it .
*
And his master said unto him ,
We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger ,
that is not of the children of Israel ;
we will pass over to Gibeah .
*
And he said unto his servant ,
Come ,
and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night ,
in Gibeah ,
or in Ramah .
*
And they passed on and went their way ;
and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah ,
which belongeth to Benjamin .
*
And they turned aside thither ,
to go in and to lodge in Gibeah :
and when he went in ,
he sat him down in a street of the city :
for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging .
*
And ,
behold ,
there came an old man from his work out of the field at even ,
which was also of mount Ephraim ;
and he sojourned in Gibeah :
but the men of the place were Benjamites .
*
And when he had lifted up his eyes ,
he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city :
and the old man said ,
Whither goest thou ?
and whence comest thou ?
*
And he said unto him ,
We are passing from Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim ;
from thence am I :
and I went to Bethlehemjudah ,
but I am now going to the house of the LORD ;
and there is no man that receiveth me to house .
*
Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses ;
and there is bread and wine also for me ,
and for thy handmaid ,
and for the young man which is with thy servants :
there is no want of any thing .
*
And the old man said ,
Peace be with thee ;
howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me ;
only lodge not in the street .
*
So he brought him into his house ,
and gave provender unto the asses :
and they washed their feet ,
and did eat and drink .
*
Now as they were making their hearts merry ,
behold ,
the men of the city ,
certain sons of Belial ,
beset the house round about ,
and beat at the door ,
and spake to the master of the house ,
the old man ,
saying ,
Bring forth the man that came into thine house ,
that we may know him .
*
And the man ,
the master of the house ,
went out unto them ,
and said unto them ,
Nay ,
my brethren ,
nay ,
I pray you ,
do not so wickedly ;
seeing that this man is come into mine house ,
do not this folly .
*
Behold ,
here is my daughter a maiden ,
and his concubine ;
them I will bring out now ,
and humble ye them ,
and do with them what seemeth good unto you :
but unto this man do not so vile a thing .
*
But the men would not hearken to him :
so the man took his concubine ,
and brought her forth unto them ;
and they knew her ,
and abused her all the night until the morning :
and when the day began to spring ,
they let her go .
*
Then came the woman in the dawning of the day ,
and fell down at the door of the man '
s house where her lord was ,
till it was light .
*
And her lord rose up in the morning ,
and opened the doors of the house ,
and went out to go his way :
and ,
behold ,
the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house ,
and her hands were upon the threshold .
*
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 .
*
And when he was come into his house ,
he took a knife ,
and laid hold on his concubine ,
and divided her ,
together with her bones ,
into twelve pieces ,
and sent her into all the coasts of Israel .
*
And it was so ,
that all that saw it said ,
There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day :
consider of it ,
take advice ,
and speak your minds .
*
Then all the children of Israel went out ,
and the congregation was gathered together as one man ,
from Dan even to Beersheba ,
with the land of Gilead ,
unto the LORD in Mizpeh .
*
And the chief of all the people ,
even of all the tribes of Israel ,
presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God ,
four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword .
* (
Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh .)
Then said the children of Israel ,
Tell us ,
how was this wickedness ?
*
And the Levite ,
the husband of the woman that was slain ,
answered and said ,
I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin ,
I and my concubine ,
to lodge .
*
And the men of Gibeah rose against me ,
and beset the house round about upon me by night ,
and thought to have slain me :
and my concubine have they forced ,
that she is dead .
*
And I took my concubine ,
and cut her in pieces ,
and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel :
for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel .
*
Behold ,
ye are all children of Israel ;
give here your advice and counsel .
*
And all the people arose as one man ,
saying ,
We will not any of us go to his tent ,
neither will we any of us turn into his house .
*
But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah ;
we will go up by lot against it ;
*
And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel ,
and an hundred of a thousand ,
and a thousand out of ten thousand ,
to fetch victual for the people ,
that they may do ,
when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin ,
according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel .
*
So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city ,
knit together as one man .
*
And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin ,
saying ,
What wickedness is this that is done among you ?
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Now therefore deliver us the men ,
the children of Belial ,
which are in Gibeah ,
that we may put them to death ,
and put away evil from Israel .
But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel :
*
But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah ,
to go out to battle against the children of Israel .
*
And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword ,
beside the inhabitants of Gibeah ,
which were numbered seven hundred chosen men .
*
Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded ;
every one could sling stones at an hair breadth ,
and not miss .
*
And the men of Israel ,
beside Benjamin ,
were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword :
all these were men of war .
*
And the children of Israel arose ,
and went up to the house of God ,
and asked counsel of God ,
and said ,
Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin ?
And the LORD said ,
Judah shall go up first .
*
And the children of Israel rose up in the morning ,
and encamped against Gibeah .
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And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin ;
and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah .
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And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah ,
and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men .
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And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves ,
and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day .
* (
And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until even ,
and asked counsel of the LORD ,
saying ,
Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother ?
And the LORD said ,
Go up against him .)
*
And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day .
*
And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day ,
and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men ;
all these drew the sword .
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Then all the children of Israel ,
and all the people ,
went up ,
and came unto the house of God ,
and wept ,
and sat there before the LORD ,
and fasted that day until even ,
and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD .
*
And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD , (
for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days ,
*
And Phinehas ,
the son of Eleazar ,
the son of Aaron ,
stood before it in those days ,)
saying ,
Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother ,
or shall I cease ?
And the LORD said ,
Go up ;
for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand .
*
And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah .
*
And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day ,
and put themselves in array against Gibeah ,
as at other times .
*
And the children of Benjamin went out against the people ,
and were drawn away from the city ;
and they began to smite of the people ,
and kill ,
as at other times ,
in the highways ,
of which one goeth up to the house of God ,
and the other to Gibeah in the field ,
about thirty men of Israel .
*
And the children of Benjamin said ,
They are smitten down before us ,
as at the first .
But the children of Israel said ,
Let us flee ,
and draw them from the city unto the highways .
*
And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place ,
and put themselves in array at Baaltamar :
and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places ,
even out of the meadows of Gibeah .
*
And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel ,
and the battle was sore :
but they knew not that evil was near them .
*
And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel :
and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men :
all these drew the sword .
*
So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten :
for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites ,
because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah .
*
And the liers in wait hasted ,
and rushed upon Gibeah ;
and the liers in wait drew themselves along ,
and smote all the city with the edge of the sword .
*
Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait ,
that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city .
*
And when the men of Israel retired in the battle ,
Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons :
for they said ,
Surely they are smitten down before us ,
as in the first battle .
*
But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke ,
the Benjamites looked behind them ,
and ,
behold ,
the flame of the city ascended up to heaven .
*
And when the men of Israel turned again ,
the men of Benjamin were amazed :
for they saw that evil was come upon them .
*
Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness ;
but the battle overtook them ;
and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them .
*
Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about ,
and chased them ,
and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising .
*
And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men ;
all these were men of valour .
*
And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon :
and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men ;
and pursued hard after them unto Gidom ,
and slew two thousand men of them .
*
So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword ;
all these were men of valour .
*
But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon ,
and abode in the rock Rimmon four months .
*
And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin ,
and smote them with the edge of the sword ,
as well the men of every city ,
as the beast ,
and all that came to hand :
also they set on fire all the cities that they came to .
*
Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh ,
saying ,
There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife .
*
And the people came to the house of God ,
and abode there till even before God ,
and lifted up their voices ,
and wept sore ;
*
And said ,
O LORD God of Israel ,
why is this come to pass in Israel ,
that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel ?
*
And it came to pass on the morrow ,
that the people rose early ,
and built there an altar ,
and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings .
*
And the children of Israel said ,
Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD ?
For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh ,
saying ,
He shall surely be put to death .
*
And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother ,
and said ,
There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day .
*
How shall we do for wives for them that remain ,
seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives ?
*
And they said ,
What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD ?
And ,
behold ,
there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly .
*
For the people were numbered ,
and ,
behold ,
there were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there .
*
And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest ,
and commanded them ,
saying ,
Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword ,
with the women and the children .
*
And this is the thing that ye shall do ,
Ye shall utterly destroy every male ,
and every woman that hath lain by man .
*
And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins ,
that had known no man by lying with any male :
and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh ,
which is in the land of Canaan .
*
And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon ,
and to call peaceably unto them .
*
And Benjamin came again at that time ;
and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead :
and yet so they sufficed them not .
*
And the people repented them for Benjamin ,
because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel .
*
Then the elders of the congregation said ,
How shall we do for wives for them that remain ,
seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin ?
*
And they said ,
There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin ,
that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel .
*
Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters :
for the children of Israel have sworn ,
saying ,
Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin .
*
Then they said ,
Behold ,
there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel ,
on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem ,
and on the south of Lebonah .
*
Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin ,
saying ,
Go and lie in wait in the vineyards ;
*
And see ,
and ,
behold ,
if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances ,
then come ye out of the vineyards ,
and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh ,
and go to the land of Benjamin .
*
And it shall be ,
when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain ,
that we will say unto them ,
Be favourable unto them for our sakes :
because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war :
for ye did not give unto them at this time ,
that ye should be guilty .
*
And the children of Benjamin did so ,
and took them wives ,
according to their number ,
of them that danced ,
whom they caught :
and they went and returned unto their inheritance ,
and repaired the cities ,
and dwelt in them .
*
And the children of Israel departed thence at that time ,
every man to his tribe and to his family ,
and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance .
*
In those days there was no king in Israel :
every man did that which was right in his own eyes .
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