Study Desk

But his master said to him, "We will not turn aside into a city of foreigners who are not of the sons (descendants) of Israel. We will go on as far as Gibeah."

Then behold, there was an old man who was coming out of the field from his work at evening. He was from the hill country of Ephraim but was staying in Gibeah, and the men of the place were sons (descendants) of Benjamin.

The Levite replied, "We are passing through from Bethlehem [in the territory] of Judah to the most remote part of the hill country of Ephraim; I am from there. I went to Bethlehem of Judah, but I am now going [home] to my house, and there is no man [in the city] who will take me into his house [for the night].

"Here is my virgin daughter and this man's concubine. I will bring them out now; abuse and humiliate them and do to them whatever you want, but do not commit this act of sacrilege against this man."

But the men would not listen to him. So the man took the Levite's concubine and brought her outside to them; and they had relations with her and abused her all night until morning; and when daybreak came, they let her go.

He said to her, "Get up, and let us go." But there was no answer [for she had died]. Then he put her [body] on the donkey; and the man left and went home.

"But the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me, but instead they raped my concubine [so brutally] that she died.

"But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it,

"Now therefore, turn over the men [involved], the worthless and wicked men in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and remove this wickedness from Israel." But the Benjamites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel.

But the people, the [fighting] men of Israel, took courage and strengthened themselves and again set their battle line in the same place where they formed it the first day.

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

When the ten thousand choice [fighting] men from all Israel came against Gibeah, the battle was hard and fierce; but the Benjamites did not realize that disaster was about to strike them.

But when the [signal] cloud began to rise out of the city in a column of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them; and behold, the entire city went up in smoke to heaven.

Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel [and fled] toward the direction of the wilderness, but the battle followed and overtook them. As the [fighting men of the] sons of Benjamin ran among them, the Israelites of the cities came out and destroyed them.

But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon and stayed at the rock of Rimmon for four months.

So [the survivors of] Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the women of Jabesh-gilead; but there were not enough [to provide wives] for them.

"But we cannot give them wives from our daughters." For the sons of Israel had sworn [an oath], "Cursed is he who gives a wife to [a man from the tribe of] Benjamin."

But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you return to your mother's house. May the LORD show kindness to you as you have shown kindness to the dead and to me.

But Naomi said, "Go back, my daughters, why should you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that may become your husbands?

Then they wept aloud again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law [goodbye], but Ruth clung to her.