21They set out again, placing the children, the cattle, and their household goods in front. 22They had already gone some distance from Micah’s house, when the men in the houses near Micah’s mustered and caught up with the Danites. 23They called out to the Danites, who turned around and said to Micah, “What’s the matter? Why have you mustered?” 24He said, “You have taken my priest and the gods that I made, and walked off! What do I have left? How can you ask, ‘What’s the matter’?” 25But the Danites replied, “Don’t do any shouting at us, or some desperate men might attack you, and you and your family would lose your lives.” 26So Micah, realizing that they were stronger than he, turned back and went home; and the Danites went on their way, 27taking the things Micah had made and the priest he had acquired. They proceeded to Laish, a people tranquil and unsuspecting, and they put them to the sword and burned down the town. 28There was none to come to the rescue, for it was distant from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone; it lay in the valley of Beth-rehob.
They rebuilt the town and settled there, 29and they named the town Dan, after their ancestor Dan who was Israel’s son. Originally, however, the name of the town was Laish. 30The Danites set up the sculptured image for themselves; and Jonathan son of Gershom son of Manasseh,d and his descendants, served as priests to the Danite tribe until the land went into exile. 31They maintainedb the sculptured image that Micah had made throughout the time that the House of God stood at Shiloh.
19 In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite residing at the other end of the hill country of Ephraim took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2Once his concubine deserteda him, leaving him for her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah; and she stayed there a full four months. 3Then her husband set out, with an attendant and a pair of donkeys, and went after her to woo her and to win her back. She admitted him into her father’s house; and when the girl’s father saw him, he received him warmly. 4His father-in-law, the girl’s father, pressed him, and he stayed with him three days; they ate and drank and lodged there. 5Early in the morning of the fourth day, he started to leave; but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Eat something to give you strength, then you can leave.” 6So the two of them sat down and they feasted together. Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Won’t you stay overnight and enjoy yourself?” 7The man started to leave, but his father-in-law kept urging him until he turned back and spent the night there. 8Early in the morning of the fifth day, he was about to leave, when the girl’s father said, “Come, have a bite.” The two of them ate, dawdling until past noon. 9Then the man, his concubine, and his attendant started to leave. His father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is waning toward evening; do stop for the night. See, the day is declining; spend the night here and enjoy yourself. You can start early tomorrow on your journey and head for home.”
10But the man refused to stay for the night. He set out and traveled as far as the vicinity of Jebus—that is, Jerusalem; he had with him a pair of laden donkeys, and his concubine b-was with him.-b 11Since they were close to Jebus, and the day was very far spent, the attendant said to his master, “Let us turn aside to this town of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.” 12But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside to a town of aliens who are not of Israel, but will continue to Gibeah. 13Come,” he said to his attendant, “let us approach one of those places and spend the night either in Gibeah or in Ramah.” 14So they traveled on, and the sun set when they were near Gibeah of Benjamin.
15They turned off there and went in to spend the night in Gibeah. He went and sat down in the town square, but nobody took them indoors to spend the night. 16In the evening, an old man came along from his property c-outside the town.-c (This man hailed from the hill country of Ephraim and resided at Gibeah, where the townspeople were Benjaminites.) 17He happened to see the wayfarer in the town square. “Where,” the old man inquired, “are you going to, and where do you come from?” 18He replied, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the other end of the hill country of Ephraim. That is where I live. I made a journey to Bethlehem of Judah, and now I am on my way d-to the House of the LORD,-d and nobody has taken me indoors. 19We have both bruised straw and feed for our donkeys, and bread and wine for me and your handmaid,e and for the attendant f-with your servants.-f We lack nothing.” 20“Rest easy,” said the old man. “Let me take care of all your needs. Do not on any account spend the night in the square.” 21And he took him into his house. He mixed fodder for the donkeys; then they bathed their feet and ate and drank.
22While they were enjoying themselves, the men of the town, a depraved lot, had gathered about the house and were pounding on the door. They called to the aged owner of the house, “Bring out the man who has come into your house, so that we can be intimate with him.” 23The owner of the house went out and said to them, “Please, my friends, do not commit such a wrong. Since this man has entered my house, do not perpetrate this outrage. 24Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. Let me bring them out to you. Have your pleasure of them, do what you like with them; but don’t do that outrageous thing to this man.” 25But the men would not listen to him, so the man seized his concubine and pushed her out to them. They raped her and abused her all night long until morning; and they let her go when dawn broke.
26Toward morning the woman came back; and as it was growing light, she collapsed at the entrance of the man’s house where her husband was. 27When her husband arose in the morning, he opened the doors of the house and went out to continue his journey; and there was the woman, his concubine, lying at the entrance of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28“Get up,” he said to her, “let us go.” But there was no reply. So the man placed her on the donkey and set out for home. 29When he came home, he picked up a knife, and took hold of his concubine and cut her up limb by limb into twelve parts. He sent them throughout the territory of Israel. 30And everyone who saw it cried out, “Never has such a thing happened or been seen from the day the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt to this day! Put your mind to this; take counsel and decide.”
20 Thereupon all the Israelites—from Dan to Beer-sheba and [from] the land of Gilead—marched forth, and the community assembled to a man before the LORD at Mizpah. 2All the leaders of the people [and] all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people, 400,000 fighting men on foot.—3The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had come up to Mizpah.a—The Israelites said, “Tell us, how did this evil thing happen?” 4And the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, replied, “My concubine and I came to Gibeah of Benjamin to spend the night. 5The citizens of Gibeah set out to harm me. They gathered against me around the house in the night; they meant to kill me, and they ravished my concubine until she died. 6So I took hold of my concubine and I cut her in pieces and sent them through every part of Israel’s territory. For an outrageous act of depravity had been committed in Israel. 7Now you are all Israelites; produce a plan of action here and now!”
8Then all the people rose, as one man, and declared, “We will not go back to our homes, we will not enter our houses! 9But this is what we will do to Gibeah: [we will wage war] against it according to lot. 10We will take from all the tribes of Israel ten men to the hundred, a hundred to the thousand, and a thousand to the ten thousand to supply provisions for the troops—b-to prepare for their going to Geba in Benjamin-b for all the outrage it has committed in Israel.” 11So all the men of Israel, united as one man, massed against the town. 12And the tribes of Israel sent men through the whole tribec of Benjamin, saying, “What is this evil thing that has happened among you? 13Come, hand over those scoundrels in Gibeah so that we may put them to death and stamp out the
