Study Desk

The Levite said to him, "We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to a far away part of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, but am now returning home. But no one will take me into his house.

The old man said, "Peace to you. Let me take care of all your needs. But do not stay the night in the street."

Here is my daughter who has never had a man. And here is the woman who belongs to the man. Let me bring them out. Put them to shame. Do to them whatever you wish. But do not do such a sinful act against this man."

But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took hold of his woman and brought her out to them. The men had sex with her all night until morning. When the sun came up, they let her go.

He said to her, "Get up. Let us be going." But there was no answer. He put her body across the donkey and started on his way home.

But the men of Gibeah came against me. They gathered around the house at night because of me. They wanted to kill me. But they did sex with my woman instead, so she died.

But this is what we will do to Gibeah. We will go against it by drawing names.

Now give us the sinful men of Gibeah. Then we will put them to death and take this sin away from Israel." But the people of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel.

But the men of Israel made their hearts strong. They got ready for battle again in the same place they had fought the first day.

The sons of Benjamin said, "They are being killed in front of us as they were the first day." But the sons of Israel said, "Let us run away so we can get them away from the city and to the roads."

When 10,000 chosen men of Israel came against Gibeah, the battle was hard. But the people of Benjamin did not know that such danger was so close to them.

But when the cloud of smoke started to rise from the city, the men of Benjamin looked behind them. They saw the whole city going up in smoke to heaven.

So they turned their backs to the men of Israel and ran toward the desert. But they were caught in the battle. Those who came out of the cities destroyed them.

The others turned and ran toward the desert to the rock of Rimmon. But Israel killed 5,000 of them on the roads, and 2,000 at Gidom.

But 600 men ran toward the desert to the rock of Rimmon. They stayed there for four months.

So the people of Benjamin returned. The people of Israel gave them the women they had saved alive from the women of Jabesh-gilead. But there were not enough for them.

But we cannot give them our daughters for wives." For the men of Israel had promised, "A curse will come to the one who gives a wife to Benjamin."

But Naomi's husband Elimelech died. And she was left with her two sons,

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

But Naomi said, "Return to your people, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I have more sons within me, who could become your husbands?