Study Desk

So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into a graven image and a molten idol. And they were placed in the house of Micah.

"Stay with me," Micah said to him, "and be my father and priest, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your provisions." So the Levite went in

So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, valiant warriors from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. "Go and explore the land," they told them. The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.

And while they were near Micah's house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?"

So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, tranquil and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone.

So six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war.

So they turned aside there and went to the home of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and greeted him.

So the priest was glad and took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went with the people.

So the Danites went on their way, and Micah turned to go back home, because he saw that they were too strong for him.

So they set up for themselves Micah's graven image, and it was there the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.

her husband got up and went after her to speak kindly to her and bring her back, taking with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. So the girl brought him into her father's house, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him.

His father-in-law, the girl's father, persuaded him to stay, so he remained with him three days, eating, drinking, and lodging there.

So they sat down and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the girl's father said to the man, "Please agree to stay overnight and let your heart be merry."

The man got up to go, but his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night.

On the fifth day, he got up early in the morning to leave, but the girl's father said, "Please refresh your heart." So they waited until late afternoon and the two of them ate.

So they continued on their journey, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin.

So he brought him to his house and fed his donkeys. And they washed their feet and ate and drank.

While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, "Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have relations with him!"

But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go.

"Get up," he told her. "Let us go." But there was no response. So the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.