Immerse: Kingdoms Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 87
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J u dges
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So the two men sat down together and had something to eat and drink.
Then the woman’s father said, “Please stay another night and enjoy yourself.” The man got up to leave, but his father-in-law kept urging him to stay,
so he finally gave in and stayed the night.
On the morning of the fifth day he was up early again, ready to leave, and
again the woman’s father said, “Have something to eat; then you can leave
later this afternoon.” So they had another day of feasting. Later, as the man
and his concubine and servant were preparing to leave, his father-in-law
said, “Look, it’s almost evening. Stay the night and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow you can get up early and be on your way.”
But this time the man was determined to leave. So he took his two
saddled donkeys and his concubine and headed in the direction of Jebus
(that is, Jerusalem). It was late in the day when they neared Jebus, and the
man’s servant said to him, “Let’s stop at this Jebus ite town and spend the
night there.”
“No,” his master said, “we can’t stay in this foreign town where there are
no Israelites. Instead, we will go on to Gibeah. Come on, let’s try to get as
far as Gibeah or Ramah, and we’ll spend the night in one of those towns.”
So they went on. The sun was setting as they came to Gibeah, a town in the
land of Benjamin, so they stopped there to spend the night. They rested in
the town square, but no one took them in for the night.
That evening an old man came home from his work in the fields. He was
from the hill country of Ephraim, but he was living in Gibeah, where the
people were from the tribe of Benjamin. When he saw the travelers sitting
in the town square, he asked them where they were from and where they
were going.
“We have been in Bethlehem in Judah,” the man replied. “We are on our
way to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim, which is my home. I
traveled to Bethlehem, and now I’m returning home. But no one has taken
us in for the night, even though we have everything we need. We have
straw and feed for our donkeys and plenty of bread and wine for ourselves.”
“You are welcome to stay with me,” the old man said. “I will give you
anything you might need. But whatever you do, don’t spend the night in
the square.” So he took them home with him and fed the donkeys. After
they washed their feet, they ate and drank together.
While they were enjoying themselves, a crowd of troublemakers from
the town surrounded the house. They began beating at the door and
shouting to the old man, “Bring out the man who is staying with you so
we can have sex with him.”
The old man stepped outside to talk to them. “No, my brothers, don’t
do such an evil thing. For this man is a guest in my house, and such a
thing would be shameful. Here, take my virgin daughter and this man’s