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Micah replied. “You’ve taken away all the gods
I have made, and my priest, and I have nothing left!”
25 The men of Dan said, “Watch what you say!
There are some short-tempered men around
here who might get angry and kill you and your
family.” 26 So the men of Dan continued on their
way. When Micah saw that there were too many
of them for him to attack, he turned around and
went home.
27 Then, with Micah’s idols and his priest, the
men of Dan came to the town of Laish, whose
people were peaceful and secure. They attacked
with swords and burned the town to the ground.
28 There was no one to rescue the people, for
they lived a great distance from Sidon and had
no allies nearby. This happened in the valley
near Beth-rehob.
Then the people of the tribe of Dan rebuilt the
town and lived there. 29 They renamed the town
Dan after their ancestor, Israel’s son, but it had
originally been called Laish.
30 Then they set up the carved image, and
they appointed Jonathan son of Gershom, son
of Moses,* as their priest. This family continued
as priests for the tribe of Dan until the Exile.
31 So Micah’s carved image was worshiped by
the tribe of Dan as long as the Tabernacle of God
remained at Shiloh.
The Levite and His Concubine
Now in those days Israel had no king.
There was a man from the tribe of Levi
living in a remote area of the hill country of
Ephraim. One day he brought home a woman
from Bethlehem in Judah to be his concubine.
2 But she became angry with him* and returned
to her father’s home in Bethlehem.
After about four months, 3 her husband set
out for Bethlehem to speak personally to her
and persuade her to come back. He took with
him a servant and a pair of donkeys. When he
arrived at* her father’s house, her father saw
him and welcomed him. 4 Her father urged him
to stay awhile, so he stayed three days, eating,
drinking, and sleeping there.
5 On the fourth day the man was up early,
ready to leave, but the woman’s father said to
his son-in-law, “Have something to eat before
you go.” 6 So the two men sat down together
and had something to eat and drink. Then the
woman’s father said, “Please stay another night
and enjoy yourself.” 7 The man got up to leave,
but his father-in-law kept urging him to stay, so
he finally gave in and stayed the night.
8 On the morning of the fifth day he was
19
18:30 As in an ancient Hebrew tradition, some Greek
manuscripts, and Latin Vulgate; Masoretic Text reads son
of Manasseh. 19:2 Or she was unfaithful to him. 19:3 As
in Greek version; Hebrew reads When she brought him to.
19:18 As in Greek version (see also 19:29); Hebrew reads
now I’m going to the Tabernacle of the Lord.
JUDG ES 19
up early again, ready to leave, and again the
woman’s father said, “Have something to eat;
then you can leave later this afternoon.” So they
had another day of feasting. 9 Later, as the man
and his concubine and servant were preparing to leave, his father-in-law said, “Look, it’s
almost evening. Stay the night and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow you can get up early and be on
your way.”
10 But this time the man was determined to
leave. So he took his two saddled donkeys and
his concubine and headed in the direction of
Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). 11 It was late in the day
when they neared Jebus, and the man’s servant
said to him, “Let’s stop at this Jebusite town and
spend the night there.”
12 “No,” his master said, “we can’t stay in
this foreign town where there are no Israelites.
Instead, we will go on to Gibeah. 13 Come on,
let’s try to get as far as Gibeah or Ramah, and
we’ll spend the night in one of those towns.”
14 So they went on. The sun was setting as they
came to Gibeah, a town in the land of Benjamin,
15 so they stopped there to spend the night. They
rested in the town square, but no one took them
in for the night.
16 That evening an old man came home from
his work in the fields. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, but he was living in Gibeah,
where the people were from the tribe of Benjamin. 17 When he saw the travelers sitting in the
town square, he asked them where they were
from and where they were going.
18 “We have been in Bethlehem in Judah,”
the man replied. “We are on our way to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim,
which is my home. I traveled to Bethlehem,
and now I’m returning home.* But no one has
taken us in for the night, 19 even though we
have everything we need. We have straw and
feed for our donkeys and plenty of bread and
wine for ourselves.”
20 “You are welcome to stay with me,” the
old man said. “I will give you anything you
might need. But whatever you do, don’t spend
the night in the square.” 21 So he took them
home with him and fed the donkeys. After they
washed their feet, they ate and drank together.
22 While they were enjoying themselves,
a crowd of troublemakers from the town surrounded the house. They began beating at the
door and shouting to the old man, “Bring out
the man who is staying with you so we can have
sex with him.”
23 The old man stepped outside to talk to
them. “No, my brothers, don’t do such an evil
thing. For this man is a guest in my house, and
such a thing would be shameful. 24 Here, take
my virgin daughter and this man’s concubine.
I will bring them out to you, and you can abuse