Study Desk

And the sons of Dan raise up for themselves the graven image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his sons have been priests to the tribe of the Danite, till the day of the removal of [the people] of the land.

and commit whoredom against him doth his concubine, and she goeth from him unto the house of her father, unto Beth-Lehem-Judah, and is there days -- four months.

And her husband riseth and goeth after her, to speak unto her heart, to bring her back, and his young man [is] with him, and a couple of asses; and she bringeth him into the house of her father, and the father of the young woman seeth him, and rejoiceth to meet him.

And keep hold on him doth his father-in-law, father of the young woman, and he abideth with him three days, and they eat and drink, and lodge there.

And it cometh to pass, on the fourth day, that they rise early in the morning, and he riseth to go, and the father of the young woman saith unto his son-in-law, `Support thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward ye go on.'

And the man riseth to go, and his father-in-law presseth on him, and he turneth back and lodgeth there.

And the man riseth to go, he and his concubine, and his young man, and his father-in-law, father of the young woman, saith to him, `Lo, I pray thee, the day hath fallen toward evening, lodge all night, I pray thee; lo, the declining of the day! lodge here, and let thine heart be glad -- and ye have risen early to-morrow for your journey, and thou hast gone to thy tent.'

And the man hath not been willing to lodge all night, and he riseth, and goeth, and cometh in till over-against Jebus (It [is] Jerusalem), and with him [are] a couple of asses saddled; and his concubine [is] with him.

They [are] near Jebus, and the day hath gone greatly down, and the young man saith unto his lord, `Come, I pray thee, and we turn aside unto this city of the Jebusite, and lodge in it.'

And his lord saith unto him, `Let us not turn aside unto the city of a stranger, that is not of the sons of Israel, thither, but we have passed over unto Gibeah.'

And he saith to his young man, `Come, and we draw near to one of the places, and have lodged in Gibeah, or in Ramah.'

And lo, a man, an aged one, hath come from his work from the field in the evening, and the man [is] of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he [is] a sojourner in Gibeah, and the men of the place [are] Benjamites.

And he lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the man, the traveller, in a broad place of the city, and the aged man saith, `Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?'

And he bringeth him in to his house, and mixeth [food] for the asses, and they wash their feet, and eat and drink.

lo, my daughter, the virgin, and his concubine, let me bring them out, I pray you, and humble ye them, and do to them that which is good in your eyes, and to this man do not this foolish thing.'

And the men have not been willing to hearken to him, and the man taketh hold on his concubine, and bringeth [her] out unto them without, and they know her, and roll themselves upon her all the night, till the morning, and send her away in the ascending of the dawn;

And her lord riseth in the morning, and openeth the doors of the house, and goeth out to go on his way, and lo, the woman, his concubine, is fallen at the opening of the house, and her hands [are] on the threshold,

and he saith unto her, `Rise, and we go;' and there is none answering, and he taketh her on the ass, and the man riseth and goeth to his place,

and cometh in unto his house, and taketh the knife, and layeth hold on his concubine, and cutteth her in pieces to her bones -- into twelve pieces, and sendeth her into all the border of Israel.

And all the people rise as one man, saying, `None of us doth go to his tent, and none of us doth turn aside to his house;