Judges 19

¹In those days there was no king in Israel, and the tribe of the Danites was looking for territory to occupy. For up to that time they had not come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.

⁸This man left the city of Bethlehem in Judah to settle where he could find a place. And as he traveled, he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.

²⁵In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

⁶‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”

³⁰And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

¹⁵Has not the Lord made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

²⁸Then you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, because you were not yet satisfied. Even after that, you were still not satisfied.

²¹she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. So you must purge the evil from among you.

⁹If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she must be burned in the fire.

¹¹“No one, Lord,” she answered. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Now go and sin no more.”

²¹Therefore do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.” So Joseph reassured his brothers and spoke kindly to them.

³And his soul was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke to her tenderly.

¹Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

¹⁹Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.

¹Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter.

⁵And I will bring a bit of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. After that, you may continue on your way.” “Yes,” they replied, “you may do as you have said.”

⁸On the fifth day, he got up early in the morning to depart, but the girl’s father said, “Please refresh your heart.” So they waited until late afternoon and the two of them ate.

³⁴Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

⁷Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”

¹²a piece of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins. So he ate and was revived, for he had not had any food or water for three days and three nights.

¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength. And he spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.

⁹When the man got up to depart with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is drawing to a close. Please spend the night. See, the day is almost over. Spend the night here, that your heart may be merry. Then you can get up early tomorrow for your journey home.”

²⁵And while their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison to entertain them. And they stationed him between the pillars.

⁷After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then Ruth went in secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

¹⁰On the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry with wine, he ordered the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas—

¹⁰And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and send one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them.

¹⁹Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

¹Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

¹³Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”

¹⁴You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

²⁹But they pleaded with Him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them.

⁸From there the border went up the Valley of Ben-hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem) and ascended to the top of the hill that faces the Valley of Hinnom on the west, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim.

⁶³But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the descendants of Judah.

⁶Now the king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who inhabited the land. The Jebusites said to David: “You will never get in here. Even the blind and lame can repel you.” For they thought, “David cannot get in here.”

²⁸Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen cities, along with their villages. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.

⁸Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.

⁴Then David and all the Israelites marched to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus), where the Jebusites inhabited the land.

⁵The people of Jebus said to David, “You will never get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion (that is, the City of David).

⁶Now the king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who inhabited the land. The Jebusites said to David: “You will never get in here. Even the blind and lame can repel you.” For they thought, “David cannot get in here.”

⁶³But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the descendants of Judah.

¹⁰But the man was unwilling to spend the night. He got up and departed, and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.

²¹The Benjamites, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the Benjamites.

¹⁶the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,

²⁵Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,

²⁶Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,

²⁹They have crossed at the ford: “We will spend the night at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.

⁸Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah; raise the battle cry in Beth-aven: Lead on, O Benjamin!

²⁶Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and the men of valor whose hearts God had touched went with him.

²⁸Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen cities, along with their villages. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.

²Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

¹⁸The Levite replied, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote hill country of Ephraim, where I am from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I am going to the house of the Lord; but no one has taken me into his home,

⁴³I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.’

³⁵For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,

²And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

³“My lord,” said Abraham, “if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.

²and said, “My lords, please turn aside into the house of your servant; wash your feet and spend the night. Then you can rise early and go on your way.” “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”

³But Lot insisted so strongly that they followed him into his house. He prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

²³Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until evening.

²³There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

²For when you eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours.

¹Now in those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite who lived in the remote hill country of Ephraim took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.

²⁷Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field; after that, you may build your house.

¹⁴So they continued on their journey, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin.

⁸“Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.

¹⁷He instructed the one in the lead, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong, where are you going, and whose animals are these before you?’

³¹So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image, and it was there the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.

⁶If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.

⁹Do not take my soul away with sinners, or my life with men of bloodshed,

¹Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them,

¹⁸The Israelites set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, “Who of us shall go up first to fight against the Benjamites?” “Judah will be first,” the Lord replied.

⁷And this went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival taunted her until she wept and would not eat.

²³But the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid, for you will not die.”

²⁷Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.

¹⁸Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the Thirty, and he said: “We are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers, for your God helps you.” So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

²³“It is fine,” said the steward. “Do not be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, gave you the treasure that was in your sacks. I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

²⁴And the steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet, and provided food for their donkeys.

⁶and say to him, ‘Long life to you, and peace to you and to your house and to all that belongs to you.

⁶Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word must share in all good things with his instructor.

⁴⁴And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give Me water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

¹⁴So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

¹⁵I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you.

⁴Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree.

²⁴And the steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet, and provided food for their donkeys.

⁸Then he said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him.

⁴¹She arose, bowed facedown, and said, “Here is your servant, ready to serve and to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.”

⁴Before they had gone to bed, all the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house.

⁵They called out to Lot, saying, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have relations with them!”

⁹Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,

⁵And during the night, the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house. They intended to kill me, but they abused my concubine, and she died.

²⁶For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.

²⁷Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

¹³that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known),

²⁵And while their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison to entertain them. And they stationed him between the pillars.

⁷When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.

¹²“No, my brother!” she cried. “Do not violate me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!

⁶Then I took my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance, because they had committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.

⁶Lot went outside to meet them, shutting the door behind him.

⁷“Please, my brothers,” he pleaded, “don’t do such a wicked thing!

²¹she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. So you must purge the evil from among you.

¹⁵The one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction must be burned, along with all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord and committed an outrage in Israel.’”

⁸Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them to you, and you can do to them as you please. But do not do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”

¹⁴And if you are not pleased with her, you are to let her go wherever she wishes. But you must not sell her for money or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.

²When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.

⁸Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved!

¹⁹Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more.

⁴They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by a baker who needs not stoke the fire from the kneading to the rising of the dough.

⁵The princes are inflamed with wine on the day of our king; so he joins hands with those who mock him.

⁷“Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery and assembled at the houses of prostitutes.

⁸They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing after his neighbor’s wife.

⁹Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not the battle in Gibeah overtake the sons of iniquity?

⁹They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.

¹And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man,” she said.

⁶just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. And you are her children if you do what is right and refuse to give way to fear.

³her husband got up and went after her to speak kindly to her and bring her back, taking 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.

¹²So she laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

²⁷In the morning, when her master got up and opened the doors of the house to go out on his journey, there was his concubine, collapsed in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold.

⁵And during the night, the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house. They intended to kill me, but they abused my concubine, and she died.

²⁹Midday passed, and they kept on raving until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no response; no one answered, no one paid attention.

⁷He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent them by messengers throughout the land of Israel, proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not march behind Saul and Samuel.” Then the terror of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out together as one man.

⁶Then I took my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance, because they had committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.

⁷Behold, all you Israelites, give your advice and verdict here and now.”

²For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.

²²If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is executed, and you hang his body on a tree,

²³you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

⁷Behold, all you Israelites, give your advice and verdict here and now.”

¹⁰Arrogance leads only to strife, but wisdom is with the well-advised.

¹⁴For lack of guidance, a nation falls, but with many counselors comes deliverance.

²²Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

⁶Only with sound guidance should you wage war, and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.

⁹They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.