Judges 19:1-14

Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited

19:1 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite ¹  living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine ²  from Bethlehem ³  in Judah. 19:2 However, she ⁴  got angry at him ⁵  and went home ⁶  to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months, 19:3 her husband came ⁷  after her, hoping he could convince her to return. ⁸  He brought with him his servant ⁹  and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father’s house and the girl’s father saw him, he greeted him warmly. ¹⁰  19:4 His father-in-law, the girl’s father, persuaded him to stay with him for three days, and they ate and drank together, and spent the night there. 19:5 On the fourth day they woke up early and the Levite got ready to leave. ¹¹  But the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Have a bite to eat for some energy, ¹²  then you can go.” 19:6 So the two of them sat down and had a meal together. ¹³  Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Why not stay another night and have a good time!” ¹⁴  19:7 When the man got ready to leave, ¹⁵  his father-in-law convinced him to stay another night. ¹⁶  19:8 He woke up early in the morning on the fifth day so he could leave, but the girl’s father said, “Get some energy. ¹⁷  Wait until later in the day to leave!” ¹⁸  So they ate a meal together. 19:9 When the man got ready to leave ¹⁹  with his concubine and his servant, ²⁰  his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look! The day is almost over! ²¹  Stay another night! Since the day is over, ²²  stay another night here and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home.” ²³  19:10 But the man did not want to stay another night. He left ²⁴  and traveled as far as ²⁵  Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). ²⁶  He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine. ²⁷ 

19:11 When they got near Jebus, it was getting quite late ²⁸  and the servant ²⁹  said to his master, “Come on, let’s stop at ³⁰  this Jebusite city and spend the night in it.” 19:12 But his master said to him, “We should not stop at a foreign city where non-Israelites live. ³¹  We will travel on to Gibeah.” 19:13 He said to his servant, ³²  “Come on, we will go into one of the other towns ³³  and spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.” 19:14 So they traveled on, ³⁴  and the sun went down when they were near Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. ³⁵ 

[19:1]  ¹ tn Heb “a man, a Levite.”

[19:1]  ² sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 8:31.

[19:1]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[19:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and his concubine.” The pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:2]  ⁵ tn Or “was unfaithful to him.” Many have understood the Hebrew verb וַתִּזְנֶה (vattizneh) as being from זָנָה (zanah, “to be a prostitute”), but it may be derived from a root meaning “to be angry; to hate” attested in Akkadian (see HALOT 275 s.v. II זנה).

[19:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “went from him.”

[19:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “arose and came.”

[19:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “to speak to her heart to bring her back.”

[19:3]  ⁹ tn Or “young man.”

[19:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he was happy to meet him.”

[19:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he arose to go.”

[19:5]  ¹² tn Heb “Sustain your heart [with] a bit of food.”

[19:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “And they sat and ate, the two of them together, and they drank.”

[19:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Be willing and spend the night so that your heart might be good.”

[19:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and the man arose to go.”

[19:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his father-in-law persuaded him and he again spent the night there.”

[19:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Sustain your heart.” He is once more inviting him to stay for a meal.

[19:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Wait until the declining of the day.”

[19:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the man arose to go.”

[19:9]  ²⁰ tn Or “young man.”

[19:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “the day is sinking to become evening.”

[19:9]  ²² tn Or “declining.”

[19:9]  ²³ tn Heb “for your way and go to your tent.”

[19:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and he arose and went.”

[19:10]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to the front of.”

[19:10]  ²⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[19:10]  ²⁷ tc Some ancient witnesses add “and his servant.”

[19:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and the day was descending greatly.”

[19:11]  ²⁹ tn Or “young man.”

[19:11]  ³⁰ tn Heb “turn aside” (also in the following verse).

[19:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “who are not from the sons of Israel.”

[19:13]  ³² tn Or “young man.”

[19:13]  ³³ tn Heb “we will enter one of the places.”

[19:14]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and they passed by and went.”

[19:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “which belongs to Benjamin.”