Daniel P. Barron

1 And it was in those days, so there was no king in Israel. And there was a Levite man sojourning in mount Ephraim's remote parts. And he took for himself a concubine woman from House of Bread in Judah. 2 And his concubine played the prostitute ⁱ against him and went from him to her father's house, to House of Bread in Judah. And she was there days, four months. 3 And her man arose and went after her to speak unto her heart ⁱⁱ to bring her back, and his young man was with him and a couple donkeys. And she brought him into her father's house, and the father of the young woman saw him and was happy to meet him.

4 And his father-in-law, the young woman's father, was strong ⁱⁱⁱ with him, so he stayed with him three days. And they ate and drank and lodged there. 5 And it was on the forth, ^iv so they rose early in the morning and he arose to go. And the father of the young woman said to his son-in-law, “Please sustain your heart with a bit of bread, and afterwards you may go.” 6 So, they sat, and the two of them ate and drank together. And the father of the young woman said to the man, “Please be willing and lodge and let your heart be good.” 7 And the man arose to go, and his father-in-law pressed him; so he turned and lodged there.

8 And he rose early in the morning on the fifth day to go, and the father of the young woman said, “Please sustain your heart.” So, they tarried until the extent ^v of the day, and the two of them ate. 9 And the man arose to go, he and his concubine and his young man, and his father-in-law, the young woman's father, said to him, “Look, please, relax. The day is to evening. Lodge, please. Look, the day is declining. Lodge here, and let your heart be good. And you may rise early tomorrow to your way and go to your tent.” 10 And the man was not willing to lodge. So, he arose and went and came unto opposite of Jebus (she is Jerusalem). And with him were a couple of saddled donkeys and his concubine with him.

11 They were near Jebus, and the day had gone down much. And the young man said to his lords, ^vi “Please go and let us turn aside to this Jebusite city and lodge in it.” 12 And his lords said to him, “We shall not turn aside to a foreign city that is not from sons of Israel here. So, we shall pass on to Hill. ^vii 13 And he said to his young man, “Go, and let us draw near in one of the places and lodge in the Hill or in the Height. ^viii 14 And they passed on and went, and the Sun came in on them near the Hill which belongs to Benjamin.

15 And they turned aside there to come in to lodge in the Hill, and they came in and sat in the open square of the city. And there was not a man who would take them in to the house to lodge. 16 And behold, in the evening an old man came in from the field from his work, and the man was from mount Ephraim. And he was a sojourner in the Hill, and the men of the place were Benjamites.

17 And he lifted his eyes and saw the traveling man in the open square of the city, and the old man said, “Where are you going and from where have you come?” 18 And he said to him, “We are passing from House of Bread in Judah unto remote parts of mount Ephraim. I am from there. And I went to House of Bread in Judah, and I am going to house of Yehvah. And there is no man who will take me in to the house. 19 And also there is straw and also fodder for our donkeys, and also I have bread and wine. And for your maid and for the young man and with your servant there is no need of anything.” 20 And the old man said, “Peace to you. Only, all your need is upon me. Only, you shall not lodge in the open square.” 21 And he brought him into his house, and he gave fodder to the donkeys. And they washed their feet and ate and drank.

22 And they were doing good with their hearts. And behold, the men of the city, sons of Belial ^ix men, surrounded the house pounding on the door. And they spoke to the old man, owner of the house, saying, “Bring out the man who came to your house, and we will know him!” 23 And the man, the owner of the house, came out to them and said to them, “No my brethren! Please do not do bad, after this man has come into my house. Do not do this folly! ^x 24 Look, my virgin daughter and his concubine, please let me bring them out and humble them and do to them what is good in your eyes. And to this man, do not do this thing of folly!”

25 And the men were unwilling to listen to him. And the man grabbed and brought out his concubine out to them. And they knew her and abused her all the night until the morning. And they sent her away in the going up ^xi of the dawn. 26 And the woman came at the turning of the morning, and she fell at the door of the man's house where her lords ^xii was, there until the light.

27 And her lords, he arose in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way. And behold, the woman, his concubine, was fallen at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold. 28 And he said to her, “Get up, and let's go.” And there was no answer. And he took her upon the donkey, and the man arose and went to his place.

29 And he came to his house and took the knife and grabbed his concubine and cut her in pieces, to her bones, to twelve pieces. And he sent her into every territory of Israel. 30 And it was, everyone who saw, so he said, “Not been done and not seen as this, since the day sons of Israel went up from land of Egypt until this day. Put yourselves on her! Take counsel and speak!”

Judges 18 - Judges 20

Translated by Darwin Fish. See original pdf.

1. ה נה זנ תז) tizneh) "played the prostitute" – interesting context here. She simply leaves him and goes to her father's house. No record of any adultery committed, yet it is called, "playing the prostitute" i.e. acting like a harlot. ^
2. ה בה ל־לז על ר בר דל לנ) ledabbêr `al) “to speak unto her heart” YLT; “to speak to her heart” Green, [EXB]; “to appeal to her heart” EHV; “to speak kindly to her” NKJV; “to speak tenderly to her” NAS; “to speak friendly unto her” KJV. ^
3. זלקַיהח) yechezaq) "was strong"; NKJV, etc. "detained"; ESV, etc. "made him stay" ^
4. “day” is implied by the context. ^
5. יום הל ננטות) netot) "the extent of the day" = "afternoon" NKJV, KJV, NAS – verb translated "extent" basic idea is to stretch, e.g. Exodus 8:6 ("stretched").  ^
6. נהיוָדדֹא') adonâyv) "his lords" – plural form ^
7. ה עה בנ גז) giv`âh) "Hill"; NKJV, etc. Gibeah – see footnote for Joshua 15:57. ^
8. 8 ה מה רה) râmâh) “Height”; NKJV, etc. “Ramah” - see footnote for Joshua 18:25. ^
9. ל ילעל לז נרי־בנ בנ) benêy-veliyya`al) “sons of Belial” KJV; "perverted men" NKJV; "worthless fellows" NAS – see footnote for Deuteronomy 13:13. ^
10. ה לה בה ננ) nevâlâh) "folly" KJV, NAS, YLT; "outrage" - See footnote for Genesis 34:7. ^
11. ת דֹע בל) ba`alot) “in the going up” - written; ות לו דֹע כל) ka`alot) "as the going up" - read ^
12. ההֹא')adoneyhâ) "her lords" – plural noun ^