Judges 19:16-21

19:16 But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field. ¹  The man was from the Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah. (The residents of the town were Benjaminites.) ²  19:17 When he looked up and saw the traveler ³  in the town square, the old man said, “Where are you heading? Where do you come from?” 19:18 The Levite ⁴  said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem ⁵  in Judah to the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. That’s where I’m from. I had business in Bethlehem in Judah, but now I’m heading home. ⁶  But no one has invited me into their home. 19:19 We have enough straw and grain for our donkeys, and there is enough food and wine for me, your female servant, ⁷  and the young man who is with your servants. ⁸  We lack nothing.” 19:20 The old man said, “Everything is just fine! ⁹  I will take care of all your needs. But don’t spend the night in the town square.” 19:21 So he brought him to his house and fed the donkeys. They washed their feet and had a meal. ¹⁰ 

[19:16]  ¹ tn Heb “And look, an old man was coming from his work, from the field in the evening.”

[19:16]  ² tn Heb “And the men of the place were Benjaminites.”

[19:17]  ³ tn Heb “the man, the traveler.”

[19:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:18]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[19:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “I went to Bethlehem in Judah, but [to] the house of the LORD I am going.” The Hebrew text has “house of the LORD,” which might refer to the shrine at Shiloh. The LXX reads “to my house.”

[19:19]  ⁷ tn By calling his concubine the old man’s “female servant,” the Levite emphasizes their dependence on him for shelter.

[19:19]  ⁸ tc Some Hebrew mss and ancient witnesses read the singular, “your servant,” which would refer to the Levite. If one retains the plural, then both the Levite and his wife are in view. In either case the pronominal suffix emphasizes their dependence on the old man for shelter.

[19:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “Peace to you.”

[19:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “ate and drank.”