Judges 19

All 30 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

Read Judges 19 in the Bible reader, with audio →

1. 1In those days, Israel had no king. A certain Levite was living in a remote area of the hill country of Ephraim, and he had taken a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
2. 2And his concubine was unfaithful to him and went away to her father's house in Bethlehemjudah, where she stayed for four whole months.
3. 3Her husband set out after her, bringing a servant and two donkeys, hoping to speak kindly to her and win her back. When she brought him into her father's house and her father saw him, he welcomed him warmly.
4. 4His father-in-law, the young woman's father, urged him to stay, so he remained there for three days. They ate, drank, and stayed there.
5. 5On the 4th day, they got up early in the morning and the Levite prepared to leave. But the young woman's father said to his son-in-law, "Have something to eat first to keep your strength up, and then you can be on your way."
6. 6So the two of them sat down and ate and drank together. Then the young woman's father said to him, "Please, stay another night and enjoy yourself."
7. 7The man got up to leave, but his father-in-law pressured him, so he ended up staying another night.
8. 8On the morning of the 5th day, he got up early to leave. But the young woman's father said, "Come on, have something to eat first." So they lingered until the afternoon, and the two of them ate together.
9. 9When the man finally got up to leave with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law said, "Look, the day is almost over. It's getting late. Stay one more night and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow you can get an early start and head home."
10. 10But this time the man refused to stay another night. He got up and left, traveling as far as the area near Jebus — that is, Jerusalem — with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.
11. 11By the time they were near Jebus, the day was almost gone. The servant said to his master, "Let's stop here and spend the night in this Jebusite city."
12. 12But his master replied, "No, we won't stop in a foreign city where the people aren't Israelites. We'll keep going to Gibeah."
13. 13He told his servant, "Come on, let's try to reach either Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those towns."
14. 14So they pressed on, and the sun set on them just as they reached Gibeah, which belongs to the tribe of Benjamin.
15. 15They turned off the road to spend the night in Gibeah. The Levite went in and sat down in the town square, but no one offered to take them in for the night.
16. 16Then an old man came in from working in the fields that evening. He was originally from the hill country of Ephraim but was living in Gibeah, where the local people were Benjamites.
17. 17He looked up and noticed the traveler sitting in the town square. "Where are you headed?" the old man asked. "And where are you coming from?"
18. 18The Levite answered, "We're traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, where I'm from. I went to Bethlehem, and now I'm going to the house of the LORD. But no one here has taken me into their house."
19. 19We have straw and feed for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, your servant, and the young man traveling with us. We don't need anything — just a place to stay."
20. 20The old man said, "You're welcome in my home. I'll take care of whatever you need. Just don't spend the night out here in the square."
21. 21So he brought them to his house and fed the donkeys. They washed their feet, and then they ate and drank together.
22. 22While they were enjoying themselves, some men of the city, certain sons of Belial, surrounded the house and pounded on the door. They spoke to the old man who owned the house, saying, 'Bring out the man who came to your house so we may know him.'
23. 23The old man went outside to face them and said, "No, my brothers, please don't do this evil thing! This man is a guest in my house. Don't commit such an outrage.
24. 24Look — here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out to you. Do whatever you want with them, but don't do this vile thing to this man."
25. 25But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. They had relations with her and abused her all night until morning. When dawn began to break, they let her go.
26. 26At daybreak, the woman returned to the house where her lord was and collapsed at the doorway. She lay there until it was fully light.
27. 27Her lord got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and went out to continue his journey. There was his concubine, collapsed at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold.
28. 28"Get up," he said to her. "Let's go." But there was no answer. So he lifted her onto the donkey and set out for home.
29. 29When he arrived home, he took a knife and divided his concubine, along with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent them to all the regions of Israel.
30. 30Everyone who saw it said, "Nothing like this has ever been done or seen since the day the people of Israel came out of Egypt! Think about it. Talk it over. Then speak up about what should be done."