Study Desk

They being by Jebus, and, the day, having gone far down, the young man said unto his lord - Do come, I pray thee, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites, and tarry the night therein.

And his lord said unto him, We will not turn aside into a city of aliens, who are, not of the sons of Israel, - but will pass on as far as Gibeah.

And he said to his young man, Come and let us draw near unto one of the places, - and tarry the night in Gibeah, or in Ramah.

But lo! an old man, coming in from his work, out of the field, in the evening, and, the man, was from the hill country of Ephraim, he himself, being a sojourner in Gibeah, - but, the men of the place, were Benjamites.

So he lifted up his eyes, and saw a wayfaring man in the broadway of the city, - and the old man said - Whither goest thou? and from whence hast thou come?

So he brought him into his house, and gave provender to the asses, - and they bathed their feet, and did eat and drink.

Lo, my virgin daughter, and his concubine, I must needs now bring, them, forth, and ye must humble, them, and do, unto them, what seemeth good in your own eyes, - but, unto this man, must ye not do this impious thing!

But the men would not hearken unto him, so the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth unto them, outside, - and they knew, her, and abused her all the night, until the morning, and let her go at the uprisings of the dawn.

So then her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went forth, to go on his journey, - when lo! the woman, his concubine, fallen at the entrance of the house, with her hands upon the threshold.

And he said unto her - Up! and let us be going. But there was no answer. So he took her up on the ass, and the man rose up, and went his way to his own place.

And, when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, - and sent her throughout all the bounds of Israel.

Then arose all the people, as one man, saying, - No man of us will go to his tent, and no man of us will turn aside to his house.

Now, the men of Israel, had sworn in Mizpah, saying, - Not a man from among us, shall give his daughter unto Benjamin, to wife.

and look, and lo! if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then shall ye come forth out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife, of the daughters of Shiloh, - and go your way to the land of Benjamin.

And it shall be, when their fathers, or their brethren, come in to complain to us, that we will say unto them - As a favour to us, grant them, because we took not for each man his wife in the battle, - for, ye yourselves, gave them not unto them, so as, now, to be guilty.

And the sons of Israel at that time went their several ways from thence, every man to his own tribe, and to his own family, - yea they went forth from thence, every man to his own inheritance.

In those days, there was no king in Israel, - every man did, that which was right in his own eyes.

And it came to pass, in the days when the Judges administered justice, that there was a famine in the land, - and so a certain man went his way, out of Bethlehem-judah to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

And, the name of the man, was Elimelech, and, the name of his wife, Naomi, and, the name of his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion - Ephrathites out of Bethlehem-judah, - so they came into the country of Moab, and remained there.

Then she arose, she and her daughters-in-law, and returned out of the country of Moab, - for she had heard, in the country of Moab, how that Yahweh had visited his people, in giving unto them, bread.