Study Desk

And his master said to him, We will not turn aside into a strange city that does not belong to the house of Israel; but we will pass on to Gibeah.

And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at evening, and the man was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, but the men of the place were Benjamites whose deeds were exceedingly bad.

And he said to him, We are travelling from Beth-lehem of Judah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I; and I went as far as Beth-lehem of Judah, but now I am going to the house of the LORD, but there is no man to take us into his house.

Behold, here is my daughter, a virgin, and his concubine; I will bring them out for you, and you may humble them, and do with them what seems good to you; but to this man you shall not do any shameful thing.

But the men would not listen to him; so the man took his concubine and brought her outside to them: and they raped her and abused her all the night until the morning; and when dawn began to break, they let her go.

And he said to her, Get up, let us go. But she did not answer. Then he put her upon the ass, and the man rose up and went on to his own home.

But now this will be the thing which we shall do to Gibeah; we will draw lots against it;

Now therefore deliver up the wicked men, who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the Benjamites would not listen to the voice of their brethren, the children of Israel;

But all the Benjamites gathered themselves together in Gibeah from their cities, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.

But the children of Israel rallied themselves, and once more set themselves in array in the same place where they had put themselves in array the first day.

And the Benjamites said, They are defeated before us, as at first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them away from the city to the highways.

And there came toward Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was hard fought; but they did not know that disaster was near them.

But when the smoke began to rise out of the city like a pillar, the Benjamites looked behind them, and. behold, the flames of the city ascended up to heaven.

Therefore they fled before the men of Israel on their way to the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and those who came out of the city first were trapped in the midst of them.

But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and abode in the rock of Rimmon four months.

And Benjamin came back at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead; but there were not enough for them.

But Naomi said to them, Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Will I bear sons again that they may be your husbands?

And they lifted up their voices again and wept; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, and turned back and went away; but Ruth clung to her.

And she said to them, Do not call me Naomi, but call me Bitter of Soul; for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me.

Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your best garments, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not show yourself to him until he has finished eating and drinking.