1 In those days, when Israel had no king, a Levite was sojourning in the far reaches of the hill country of Ephraim. He took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem of Judah.
2 His concubine was unfaithful to him and left him for her father's house in Bethlehem of Judah, and she stayed there for a period of four months.
3 Her husband got up and went after her to speak tenderly to her and bring her back, taking his servant and a pair of donkeys. She took him into her father's house, and when the young woman's father saw him, he was glad to meet him.
4 His father-in-law, the young woman's father, kept him there, and he stayed with him three days. They ate and drank and spent the nights there.
5 On the fourth day they got up early in the morning, and he rose to leave, but the young woman's father said to his son-in-law, "Refresh yourself with a bite of bread, then you can go."
6 So they sat down, the two of them together, and ate and drank. Then the young woman's father said to the man, "Do agree to stay the night, and enjoy yourself."
7 The man got up to leave, but his father-in-law urged him, and he stayed the night there once more.
8 On the fifth day he got up early in the morning to leave, and the young woman's father said, "Refresh yourself, please, and linger until the day wanes." And the two of them ate.
9 The man rose to go, he and his concubine and his servant, but his father-in-law, the young woman's father, said to him, "Look, the day is sinking toward evening; stay the night, please. The day is drawing to a close; spend the night here and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow you can get an early start on your way and go to your tent."
10 But the man was not willing to stay the night. He got up, left, and came as far as opposite Jebus, that is, Jerusalem, with his pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine with him.
11 They were by Jebus and the day was nearly gone, and the servant said to his master, "Come on, let us turn in at this city of the Jebusites and stay the night in it."
12 His master told him, "We will not turn in at a city of foreigners who are not from the children of Israel; we will go on as far as Gibeah."
13 He said to his servant, "Come, let us get close to one of these places and spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah."
14 They went on and kept traveling, and the sun set on them close to Gibeah of Benjamin.
15 They turned in there to spend the night in Gibeah. He went in and sat down in the city square, but no one would take them home for the night.
16 Then, in the evening, an old man came in from his work in the field. He was from the hill country of Ephraim and was sojourning in Gibeah; the men of the place were Benjaminites.
17 He looked up and saw the traveler in the city square, and the old man said, "Where are you headed, and where have you come from?"
18 He told him, "We are traveling from Bethlehem of Judah to the far reaches of the hill country of Ephraim, where I come from. I went to Bethlehem of Judah, and I am on my way to the house of the LORD, but nobody will take me in.
19 We have straw and feed for our donkeys, and bread and wine as well for me, for your servant woman, and for the young man with your servants; we need nothing."
20 The old man said, "Peace to you. Leave all your needs to me; just do not spend the night in the square."
21 He brought him into his house and fed the donkeys; they washed their feet and ate and drank.
22 While they were enjoying themselves, the men of the city, sons of Belial, closed in on the house and beat on the door. They told the old man who owned the house, "Bring out the man who came into your house, so we can know him."
23 The man who owned the house went out to them and said, "No, my brothers; do not do evil, please. This man has come into my house; do not commit this outrage.
24 Here are my daughter, a virgin, and his concubine. Let me bring them out to you; abuse them and do to them whatever seems good to you, but to this man do not do this outrageous thing."
25 The men would not listen to him, so the man took hold of his concubine and sent her outside to them. They knew her and abused her the whole night until morning, and let her go as dawn was coming up.
26 At the turn of morning the woman came and collapsed at the door of the man's house where her master was, and lay there till daylight.
27 Her master got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and went out to go on his way, and there was the woman, his concubine, collapsed at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold.
28 "Get up," he said to her, "let us go." There was no reply. He put her on the donkey, and the man got up and went home.
29 When he reached his house, he took the knife, seized his concubine, and cut her up limb by limb into twelve pieces, and he sent her through all the territory of Israel.
30 Everyone who saw it said, "Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen since the day the children of Israel came up out of Egypt until now. Think it over, consult, and speak up!"