Judges 17-21

Judges 17

¹And there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

²And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou didst utter a curse, and didst also speak it in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be my son of the LORD.

³And he restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, I verily dedicate the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.

⁴And when he restored the money unto his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and it was in the house of Micah.

⁵And the man Micah had an house of gods, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

⁶In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

⁷And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.

⁸And the man departed out of the city, out of Beth-lehem-judah, to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.

⁹And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.

¹⁰And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten pieces of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.

¹¹And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.

¹²And Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

¹³Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.

Judges 18

¹In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.

²And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their whole number, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: and they came to the hill country of Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, and lodged there.

³When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned aside thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what doest thou in this place? and what hast thou here?

⁴And he said unto them, Thus and thus hath Micah dealt with me, and he hath hired me, and I am become his priest.

⁵And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.

⁶And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go.

⁷Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt in security, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; for there was none in the land, possessing authority, that might put them to shame in any thing, and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no dealings with any man.

⁸And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye?

⁹And they said, Arise, and let us go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slofthful to go and to enter in to possess the land.

¹⁰When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and the land is large: for God hath given it into your hand; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth.

¹¹And there set forth from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men girt with weapons of war.

¹²And they went up, and encamped in Kiriath-jearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjath-jearim.

¹³And they passed thence unto the hill country of Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.

¹⁴Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do.

¹⁵And they turned aside thither, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare.

¹⁶And the six hundred men girt with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.

¹⁷And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood by the entering of the gate with the six hundred men girt with weapons of war.

¹⁸And when these went into Micah’s house and fetched the graven image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said unto them, What do ye?

¹⁹And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be priest unto the house of one man, or to be priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?

²⁰And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

²¹So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the goods before them.

²²When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah’s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.

²³And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?

²⁴And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and are gone away, and what have I more? and how then say ye unto me, What aileth thee?

²⁵And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.

²⁶And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.

²⁷And they took that which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people quiet and secure, and smote them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt the city with fire.

²⁸And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no dealings with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Beth-rehob. And they built the city, and dwelt therein.

²⁹And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.

³⁰And the children of Dan set up for themselves the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.

³¹So they set them up Micah’s graven image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

Judges 19

¹And it came to pass in these days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem-judah.

²And his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him unto her father’s house to Beth-lehem-judah, and was there the space of four months.

³And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly unto her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father’s house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

⁴And his father in law, the damsel’s father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.

⁵And it came to pass on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart: and the damsel’s father said unto his son in law, Comfort thine heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward ye shall go your way.

⁶So they sat down, and did eat and drink, both of them together: and the damsel’s father said unto the man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart be merry.

⁷And the man rose up to depart; but his father in law urged him, and he lodged there again.

⁸And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the damsel’s father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee, and tarry ye until the day declineth; and they did eat, both of them.

⁹And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel’s father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and tomorrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.

¹⁰But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus (the same is Jerusalem): and there were with him a couple of asses saddled; his concubine also was with him.

¹¹When they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.

¹²And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to Gibeah.

¹³And he said unto his servant, Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.

¹⁴So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them near to Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.

¹⁵And they turned aside thither, to go in to lodge in Gibeah: and he went in, and sat him down in the street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodge.

¹⁶And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even; now the man was of the hill country of Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.

¹⁷And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?

¹⁸And he said unto him, We are passing from Beth-lehem-judah unto the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim; from thence am I, and I went to Beth-lehem-judah: and I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that taketh me into his house.

¹⁹Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing.

²⁰And the old man said, Peace be unto thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.

²¹So he brought him into his house, and gave the asses fodder: and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.

²²As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, beating at the door; and they spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.

²³And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.

²⁴Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not any such folly.

²⁵But the men would not hearken to him: so the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.

²⁶Then came the woman in the dawning of the day and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, till it was light.

²⁷And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands upon the threshold.

²⁸And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going; but none answered: then he took her up upon the ass; and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.

²⁹And 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 borders of Israel.

³⁰And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take counsel, and speak.

Judges 20

¹Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD at Mizpah.

²And the chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.

³(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpah.) And the children of Israel said, Tell us, how was this wickedness brought to pass?

⁴And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was murdered, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.

⁵And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night; me they thought to have slain, and my concubine they forced, and she is dead.

⁶And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.

⁷Behold, ye children of Israel, all of you, give here your advice and counsel.

⁸And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn unto his house.

⁹But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up against it by lot;

¹⁰and we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.

¹¹So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.

¹²And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is come to pass among you?

¹³Now therefore deliver up the men, the sons of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel.

¹⁴And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.

¹⁵And the children of Benjamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

¹⁶Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair-breadth, and not miss.

¹⁷And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.

¹⁸And the children of Israel arose, and went up to Beth-el, and asked counsel of God; and they said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.

¹⁹And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.

²⁰And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel set the battle in array against them at Gibeah.

²¹And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day twenty and two thousand men.

²²And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, and set the battle again in array in the place where they set themselves in array the first day.

²³(And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until even; and they asked of the LORD, saying, Shall I again draw nigh to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.)

²⁴And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day.

²⁵And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.

²⁶Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto Beth-el, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

²⁷And the children of Israel asked of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

²⁸and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver him into thine hand.

²⁹And Israel set liers in wait against Gibeah round about.

³⁰And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.

³¹And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite and kill of the people, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to Beth-el, and the other to Gibeah, in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

³²And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us rise, and draw them away from the city unto the highways.

³³And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at Baal-tamar: and the liers in wait of Israel brake forth out of their place, even out of Maareh-geba.

³⁴And there came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was close upon them.

³⁵And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword.

³⁶So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set against Gibeah.

³⁷And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.

³⁸Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait was, that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city.

³⁹And the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle.:

⁴⁰But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to heaven.

⁴¹And the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them.

⁴²Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and they which came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst thereof.

⁴³They enclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trode them down at their resting place, as far as over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.

⁴⁴And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valour.

⁴⁵And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and followed hard after them unto Gidom, and smote of them two thousand men.

⁴⁶So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour.

⁴⁷But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon, and abode in the rock of Rimmon four months.

⁴⁸And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city, and the cattle and all that they found: moreover all the cities which they found they set on fire.

Judges 21

¹Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.

²And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.

³And they said, O LORD, the God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?

⁴And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

⁵And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up in the assembly unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up unto the LORD to Mizpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death.

⁶And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

⁷How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?

⁸And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up unto the LORD to Mizpah? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.

⁹For when the people were numbered, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there.

¹⁰And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.

¹¹And this is the thing that ye shall do; ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.

¹²And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had not known man by lying with him: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

¹³And the whole congregation sent and spake to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace unto them.

¹⁴And Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.

¹⁵And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?

¹⁷And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not blotted out from Israel.

¹⁸Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.

¹⁹And they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.

²⁰And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;

²¹and see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

²²And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come to complain unto us, that we will say unto them, Grant them graciously unto us: because we took not for each man of them his wife in battle: neither did ye give them unto them; else would ye now be guilty.

²³And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they carried off: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them.

²⁴And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.

²⁵In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.