17:1 There was a man named Micah from the Ephraimite hill country. 17:2 He said to his mother, “You know ¹  the eleven hundred pieces of silver which were stolen ²  from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole ³  it, but now I am giving it back to you.” ⁴  His mother said, “May the Lord reward ⁵  you, my son!” 17:3 When he gave back to his mother the eleven hundred pieces of silver, his mother said, “I solemnly dedicate ⁶  this silver to the Lord. It will be for my son’s benefit. We will use it to make a carved image and a metal image.” ⁷  17:4 When he gave the silver back to his mother, she ⁸  took two hundred pieces of silver ⁹  to a silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a metal image. She then put them in Micah’s house. ¹⁰  17:5 Now this man Micah owned a shrine. ¹¹  He made an ephod ¹²  and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest. ¹³  17:6 In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right. ¹⁴ 

17:7 There was a young man from Bethlehem ¹⁵  in Judah. He was a Levite who had been temporarily residing among the tribe of Judah. ¹⁶  17:8 This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah’s house. ¹⁷  17:9 Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a new place to live.” ¹⁸  17:10 Micah said to him, “Stay with me. Become my adviser ¹⁹  and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food.” ²⁰  17:11 So the Levite agreed to stay with the man; the young man was like a son to Micah. ²¹  17:12 Micah paid ²²  the Levite; the young man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house. 17:13 Micah said, “Now I know God will make me rich, ²³  because I have this Levite as my priest.”

18:1 In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place ²⁴  to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel. ²⁵  18:2 The Danites sent out from their whole tribe five representatives, ²⁶  capable men ²⁷  from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. They said to them, “Go, explore the land.” They came to the Ephraimite hill country and spent the night at Micah’s house. ²⁸  18:3 As they approached ²⁹  Micah’s house, they recognized the accent ³⁰  of the young Levite. So they stopped ³¹  there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” ³²  18:4 He told them what Micah had done for him, saying, ³³  “He hired me and I became his priest.” 18:5 They said to him, “Seek a divine oracle for us, ³⁴  so we can know if we will be successful on our mission.” ³⁵  18:6 The priest said to them, “Go with confidence. ³⁶  The Lord will be with you on your mission.” ³⁷ 

18:7 So the five men journeyed on ³⁸  and arrived in Laish. They noticed that the people there ³⁹  were living securely, like the Sidonians do, ⁴⁰  undisturbed and unsuspecting. No conqueror was troubling them in any way. ⁴¹  They lived far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. ⁴²  18:8 When the Danites returned to their tribe ⁴³  in Zorah and Eshtaol, their kinsmen ⁴⁴  asked them, “How did it go?” ⁴⁵  18:9 They said, “Come on, let’s attack them, ⁴⁶  for ⁴⁷  we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, ⁴⁸  but don’t hesitate ⁴⁹  to invade and conquer ⁵⁰  the land. 18:10 When you invade, ⁵¹  you will encounter ⁵²  unsuspecting people. The land is wide! ⁵³  God is handing it over to you – a place that lacks nothing on earth!” ⁵⁴ 

18:11 So six hundred Danites, fully armed, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. ⁵⁵  18:12 They went up and camped in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. (To this day that place is called Camp of Dan. ⁵⁶  It is west ⁵⁷  of Kiriath Jearim.) 18:13 From there they traveled through the Ephraimite hill country and arrived at Micah’s house. 18:14 The five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish ⁵⁸  said to their kinsmen, ⁵⁹  “Do you realize that inside these houses are an ephod, some personal idols, a carved image, and a metal image? Decide now what you want to do.” 18:15 They stopped ⁶⁰  there, went inside the young Levite’s house (which belonged to Micah), ⁶¹  and asked him how he was doing. ⁶²  18:16 Meanwhile the six hundred Danites, fully armed, stood at the entrance to the gate. ⁶³  18:17 The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole ⁶⁴  the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred fully armed men. ⁶⁵  18:18 When these men broke into Micah’s house and stole ⁶⁶  the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 18:19 They said to him, “Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us! You can be our adviser ⁶⁷  and priest. Wouldn’t it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man’s family?” ⁶⁸  18:20 The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group. ⁶⁹ 

18:21 They turned and went on their way, but they walked behind the children, the cattle, and their possessions. ⁷⁰  18:22 After they had gone a good distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors ⁷¹  gathered together and caught up with the Danites. 18:23 When they called out to the Danites, the Danites ⁷²  turned around and said to Micah, “Why have you gathered together?” 18:24 He said, “You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, ‘What do you want?’” ⁷³  18:25 The Danites said to him, “Don’t say another word to us, or some very angry men ⁷⁴  will attack you, and you and your family will die.” ⁷⁵  18:26 The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized ⁷⁶  they were too strong to resist, ⁷⁷  he turned around and went home.

18:27 Now the Danites ⁷⁸  took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, and came to Laish, where the people were undisturbed and unsuspecting. They struck them down with the sword and burned the city. ⁷⁹  18:28 No one came to the rescue because the city ⁸⁰  was far from Sidon ⁸¹  and they had no dealings with anyone. ⁸²  The city ⁸³  was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites ⁸⁴  rebuilt the city and occupied it. 18:29 They named it Dan after their ancestor, who was one of Israel’s sons. ⁸⁵  But the city’s name used to be Laish. 18:30 The Danites worshiped ⁸⁶  the carved image. Jonathan, descendant ⁸⁷  of Gershom, son of Moses, ⁸⁸  and his descendants ⁸⁹  served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile. 18:31 They worshiped ⁹⁰  Micah’s carved image ⁹¹  the whole time God’s authorized shrine ⁹²  was in Shiloh.

19:1 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite ⁹³  living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine ⁹⁴  from Bethlehem ⁹⁵  in Judah. 19:2 However, she ⁹⁶  got angry at him ⁹⁷  and went home ⁹⁸  to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months, 19:3 her husband came ⁹⁹  after her, hoping he could convince her to return. ¹⁰⁰  He brought with him his servant ¹⁰¹  and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father’s house and the girl’s father saw him, he greeted him warmly. ¹⁰²  19:4 His father-in-law, the girl’s father, persuaded him to stay with him for three days, and they ate and drank together, and spent the night there. 19:5 On the fourth day they woke up early and the Levite got ready to leave. ¹⁰³  But the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Have a bite to eat for some energy, ¹⁰⁴  then you can go.” 19:6 So the two of them sat down and had a meal together. ¹⁰⁵  Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Why not stay another night and have a good time!” ¹⁰⁶  19:7 When the man got ready to leave, ¹⁰⁷  his father-in-law convinced him to stay another night. ¹⁰⁸  19:8 He woke up early in the morning on the fifth day so he could leave, but the girl’s father said, “Get some energy. ¹⁰⁹  Wait until later in the day to leave!” ¹¹⁰  So they ate a meal together. 19:9 When the man got ready to leave ¹¹¹  with his concubine and his servant, ¹¹²  his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look! The day is almost over! ¹¹³  Stay another night! Since the day is over, ¹¹⁴  stay another night here and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home.” ¹¹⁵  19:10 But the man did not want to stay another night. He left ¹¹⁶  and traveled as far as ¹¹⁷  Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). ¹¹⁸  He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine. ¹¹⁹ 

19:11 When they got near Jebus, it was getting quite late ¹²⁰  and the servant ¹²¹  said to his master, “Come on, let’s stop at ¹²²  this Jebusite city and spend the night in it.” 19:12 But his master said to him, “We should not stop at a foreign city where non-Israelites live. ¹²³  We will travel on to Gibeah.” 19:13 He said to his servant, ¹²⁴  “Come on, we will go into one of the other towns ¹²⁵  and spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.” 19:14 So they traveled on, ¹²⁶  and the sun went down when they were near Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. ¹²⁷  19:15 They stopped there and decided to spend the night ¹²⁸  in Gibeah. They came into the city and sat down in the town square, but no one invited them to spend the night. ¹²⁹ 

19:16 But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field. ¹³⁰  The man was from the Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah. (The residents of the town were Benjaminites.) ¹³¹  19:17 When he looked up and saw the traveler ¹³²  in the town square, the old man said, “Where are you heading? Where do you come from?” 19:18 The Levite ¹³³  said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem ¹³⁴  in Judah to the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. That’s where I’m from. I had business in Bethlehem in Judah, but now I’m heading home. ¹³⁵  But no one has invited me into their home. 19:19 We have enough straw and grain for our donkeys, and there is enough food and wine for me, your female servant, ¹³⁶  and the young man who is with your servants. ¹³⁷  We lack nothing.” 19:20 The old man said, “Everything is just fine! ¹³⁸  I will take care of all your needs. But don’t spend the night in the town square.” 19:21 So he brought him to his house and fed the donkeys. They washed their feet and had a meal. ¹³⁹ 

19:22 They were having a good time, ¹⁴⁰  when suddenly ¹⁴¹  some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, ¹⁴²  surrounded the house and kept beating ¹⁴³  on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, “Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him.” ¹⁴⁴  19:23 The man who owned the house went outside and said to them, “No, my brothers! Don’t do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don’t do such a disgraceful thing! 19:24 Here are my virgin daughter and my guest’s ¹⁴⁵  concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like. ¹⁴⁶  But don’t do such a disgraceful thing to this man!” 19:25 The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite ¹⁴⁷  grabbed his concubine and made her go outside. ¹⁴⁸  They raped ¹⁴⁹  her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn. 19:26 The woman arrived back at daybreak and was sprawled out on the doorstep of the house where her master ¹⁵⁰  was staying until it became light. ¹⁵¹  19:27 When her master ¹⁵²  got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and went outside to start on his journey, there was the woman, his concubine, sprawled out on the doorstep of the house with her hands on the threshold. 19:28 He said to her, “Get up, let’s leave!” But there was no response. He put her on the donkey and went home. ¹⁵³  19:29 When he got home, he took a knife, grabbed his concubine, and carved her up into twelve pieces. ¹⁵⁴  Then he sent the pieces throughout Israel. ¹⁵⁵  19:30 Everyone who saw the sight ¹⁵⁶  said, “Nothing like this has happened or been witnessed during the entire time since ¹⁵⁷  the Israelites left the land of Egypt! ¹⁵⁸  Take careful note of it! Discuss it and speak!”

20:1 All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba ¹⁵⁹  and from the land of Gilead ¹⁶⁰  left their homes ¹⁶¹  and assembled together ¹⁶²  before the Lord at Mizpah. 20:2 The leaders ¹⁶³  of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, which numbered ¹⁶⁴  four hundred thousand sword-wielding foot soldiers. 20:3 The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. Then the Israelites said, “Explain how this wicked thing happened!” 20:4 The Levite, ¹⁶⁵  the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up, “I and my concubine stopped in ¹⁶⁶  Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin ¹⁶⁷  to spend the night. 20:5 The leaders of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying. ¹⁶⁸  They wanted to kill me; instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died. 20:6 I grabbed hold of my concubine and carved her up and sent the pieces ¹⁶⁹  throughout the territory occupied by Israel, ¹⁷⁰  because they committed such an unthinkable atrocity ¹⁷¹  in Israel. 20:7 All you Israelites, ¹⁷²  make a decision here!” ¹⁷³ 

20:8 All Israel rose up in unison ¹⁷⁴  and said, “Not one of us will go home! ¹⁷⁵  Not one of us will return ¹⁷⁶  to his house! 20:9 Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will attack the city as the lot dictates. ¹⁷⁷  20:10 We will take ten of every group of a hundred men from all the tribes of Israel (and a hundred of every group of a thousand, and a thousand of every group of ten thousand) to get supplies for the army. ¹⁷⁸  When they arrive in Gibeah of Benjamin they will punish them for the atrocity which they committed in Israel.” ¹⁷⁹  20:11 So all the men of Israel gathered together at the city as allies. ¹⁸⁰ 

20:12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe ¹⁸¹  of Benjamin, saying, “How could such a wicked thing take place? ¹⁸²  20:13 Now, hand over the good-for-nothings ¹⁸³  in Gibeah so we can execute them and purge Israel of wickedness.” ¹⁸⁴  But the Benjaminites refused to listen to their Israelite brothers. 20:14 The Benjaminites came from their cities and assembled at Gibeah ¹⁸⁵  to make war against the Israelites. 20:15 That day the Benjaminites mustered from their cities twenty-six thousand sword-wielding soldiers, besides seven hundred well-trained soldiers from Gibeah. ¹⁸⁶  20:16 Among this army ¹⁸⁷  were seven hundred specially-trained left-handed soldiers. ¹⁸⁸  Each one could sling a stone and hit even the smallest target. ¹⁸⁹  20:17 The men of Israel (not counting Benjamin) had mustered four hundred thousand sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior. ¹⁹⁰ 

20:18 The Israelites went up to Bethel ¹⁹¹  and asked God, ¹⁹²  “Who should lead the charge against the Benjaminites?” ¹⁹³  The Lord said, “Judah should lead.” 20:19 The Israelites got up the next morning and moved ¹⁹⁴  against Gibeah. 20:20 The men of Israel marched out to fight Benjamin; they ¹⁹⁵  arranged their battle lines against Gibeah. 20:21 The Benjaminites attacked from Gibeah and struck down twenty-two thousand Israelites that day. ¹⁹⁶ 

20:22 The Israelite army ¹⁹⁷  took heart ¹⁹⁸  and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before. 20:23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, “Should we ¹⁹⁹  again march out to fight ²⁰⁰  the Benjaminites, our brothers?” ²⁰¹  The Lord said, “Attack them!” ²⁰²  20:24 So the Israelites marched toward ²⁰³  the Benjaminites the next day. 20:25 The Benjaminites again attacked them from Gibeah and struck down eighteen thousand sword-wielding Israelite soldiers. ²⁰⁴ 

20:26 So all the Israelites, the whole army, ²⁰⁵  went up to ²⁰⁶  Bethel. ²⁰⁷  They wept and sat there before the Lord; they did not eat anything ²⁰⁸  that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace ²⁰⁹  to the Lord. 20:27 The Israelites asked the Lord (for the ark of God’s covenant was there in those days; 20:28 Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving the Lord ²¹⁰  in those days), “Should we ²¹¹  once more march out to fight the Benjaminites our brothers, ²¹²  or should we ²¹³  quit?” The Lord said, “Attack, for tomorrow I will hand them ²¹⁴  over to you.”

20:29 So Israel hid men in ambush outside Gibeah. 20:30 The Israelites attacked the Benjaminites the next day; ²¹⁵  they took their positions against Gibeah just as they had done before. 20:31 The Benjaminites attacked ²¹⁶  the army, leaving the city unguarded. ²¹⁷  They began to strike down their enemy ²¹⁸  just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel, ²¹⁹  the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down ²²⁰  about thirty Israelites. 20:32 Then the Benjaminites said, “They are defeated just as before.” But the Israelites said, “Let’s retreat ²²¹  and lure them ²²²  away from the city into the main roads.” 20:33 ²²³  All the men of Israel got up from their places and took their positions at Baal Tamar, while the Israelites hiding in ambush jumped out of their places west of Gibeah. 20:34 Ten thousand men, well-trained soldiers from all Israel, then made a frontal assault against Gibeah – the battle was fierce. ²²⁴  But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was at their doorstep. ²²⁵  20:35 The Lord annihilated Benjamin before Israel; the Israelites struck down that day 25,100 sword-wielding Benjaminites. ²²⁶  20:36 Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated.

The Israelites retreated before ²²⁷  Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hid in ambush outside Gibeah. 20:37 The men hiding in ambush made a mad dash ²²⁸  to Gibeah. They ²²⁹  attacked ²³⁰  and put the sword to the entire city. 20:38 The Israelites and the men hiding in ambush had arranged a signal. When the men hiding in ambush ²³¹  sent up a smoke signal from the city, 20:39 the Israelites counterattacked. ²³²  Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites; ²³³  they struck down ²³⁴  about thirty men. They said, “There’s no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle.” 20:40 But when the signal, a pillar of smoke, began to rise up from the city, the Benjaminites turned around and saw the whole city going up in a cloud of smoke that rose high into the sky. ²³⁵  20:41 When the Israelites turned around, the Benjaminites panicked ²³⁶  because they could see that disaster was on their doorstep. ²³⁷  20:42 They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook ²³⁸  them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down. ²³⁹  20:43 They surrounded the Benjaminites, chased them from Nohah, ²⁴⁰  and annihilated ²⁴¹  them all the way to a spot east of Geba. ²⁴²  20:44 Eighteen thousand Benjaminites, all of them capable warriors, fell dead. 20:45 The rest ²⁴³  turned and ran toward the wilderness, heading toward the cliff of Rimmon. But the Israelites ²⁴⁴  caught ²⁴⁵  five thousand of them on the main roads. They stayed right on their heels ²⁴⁶  all the way to Gidom and struck down two thousand more. 20:46 That day twenty-five thousand ²⁴⁷  sword-wielding Benjaminites fell in battle, all of them capable warriors. ²⁴⁸  20:47 Six hundred survivors turned and ran away to the wilderness, to the cliff of Rimmon. They stayed there four months. 20:48 The Israelites returned to the Benjaminite towns ²⁴⁹  and put the sword to them. They wiped out the cities, ²⁵⁰  the animals, and everything they could find. They set fire to every city in their path. ²⁵¹ 

21:1 The Israelites had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will allow his daughter to marry a Benjaminite.” 21:2 So the people came to Bethel ²⁵²  and sat there before God until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably. ²⁵³  21:3 They said, “Why, O Lord God of Israel, has this happened in Israel?” An entire ²⁵⁴  tribe has disappeared from Israel today!”

21:4 The next morning the people got up early and built an altar there. They offered up burnt sacrifices and token of peace. ²⁵⁵  21:5 The Israelites asked, “Who from all the Israelite tribes has not assembled before the Lord?” They had made a solemn oath that whoever did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah must certainly be executed. ²⁵⁶  21:6 The Israelites regretted what had happened to ²⁵⁷  their brother Benjamin. They said, “Today we cut off an entire ²⁵⁸  tribe from Israel! 21:7 How can we find wives for those who are left? ²⁵⁹  After all, we took an oath in the Lord’s name not to give them our daughters as wives.” 21:8 So they asked, “Who from all the Israelite tribes did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?” Now it just so happened no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the gathering. ²⁶⁰  21:9 When they took roll call, ²⁶¹  they noticed ²⁶²  none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were there. 21:10 So the assembly sent 12,000 capable warriors ²⁶³  against Jabesh Gilead. ²⁶⁴  They commanded them, “Go and kill with your swords ²⁶⁵  the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead, including the women and little children. 21:11 Do this: ²⁶⁶  exterminate every male, as well as every woman who has had sexual relations with a male. ²⁶⁷  But spare the lives of any virgins.” So they did as instructed. ²⁶⁸  21:12 They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young girls who were virgins – they had never had sexual relations with a male. ²⁶⁹  They brought them back to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

21:13 The entire assembly sent messengers to the Benjaminites at the cliff of Rimmon and assured them they would not be harmed. ²⁷⁰  21:14 The Benjaminites returned at that time, and the Israelites ²⁷¹  gave to them the women they had spared from Jabesh Gilead. But there were not enough to go around. ²⁷² 

21:15 The people regretted what had happened to ²⁷³  Benjamin because the Lord had weakened ²⁷⁴  the Israelite tribes. 21:16 The leaders ²⁷⁵  of the assembly said, “How can we find wives for those who are left? ²⁷⁶  After all, the Benjaminite women have been wiped out. 21:17 The ²⁷⁷  remnant of Benjamin must be preserved. An entire Israelite tribe should not be wiped out. ²⁷⁸  21:18 But we can’t allow our daughters to marry them, ²⁷⁹  for the Israelites took an oath, saying, ‘Whoever gives a woman to a Benjaminite will be destroyed!’ ²⁸⁰  21:19 However, there is an annual festival to the Lord in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel ²⁸¹  (east of the main road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem) and south of Lebonah.” 21:20 So they commanded the Benjaminites, “Go hide in the vineyards, 21:21 and keep your eyes open. ²⁸²  When you see ²⁸³  the daughters of Shiloh coming out to dance in the celebration, ²⁸⁴  jump out from the vineyards. Each one of you, catch yourself a wife from among the daughters of Shiloh and then go home to the land of Benjamin. 21:22 When their fathers or brothers come and protest to us, ²⁸⁵  we’ll say to them, “Do us a favor and let them be, ²⁸⁶  for we could not get each one a wife through battle. ²⁸⁷  Don’t worry about breaking your oath! ²⁸⁸  You would only be guilty if you had voluntarily given them wives.’” ²⁸⁹ 

21:23 The Benjaminites did as instructed. ²⁹⁰  They abducted two hundred of the dancing girls to be their wives. ²⁹¹  They went home ²⁹²  to their own territory, ²⁹³  rebuilt their cities, and settled down. ²⁹⁴  21:24 Then the Israelites dispersed from there to their respective tribal and clan territories. Each went from there to his own property. ²⁹⁵  21:25 In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right. ²⁹⁶