⁴The father insisted that he stay, and so he stayed for three days. The couple had their meals and spent the nights there. ⁵On the morning of the fourth day they woke up early and got ready to go. But the woman’s father said to the Levite, “Have something to eat first. It will do you good. You can go later.”

⁶So the two men sat down and ate and drank together. Then the woman’s father said to him, “Please spend the night here and enjoy yourself.”

⁷The Levite got up to go, but the father urged him to stay, so he spent another night there. ⁸Early in the morning of the fifth day he started to leave, but the woman’s father said, “Eat something, please. Wait until later in the day.” So the two men ate together.

⁹When the man, his concubine, and the servant once more started to leave, the father said, “Look, it’s almost evening now; you might as well stay all night. It will be dark soon; stay here and have a good time. Tomorrow you can get up early for your journey and go home.”

^10–11But the man did not want to spend another night there, so he and his concubine started on their way, with their servant and two donkeys with pack saddles. It was late in the day when they came near Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), so the servant said to his master, “Why don’t we stop and spend the night here in this Jebusite city?”

^12–13But his master said, “We’re not going to stop in a city where the people are not Israelites. We’ll pass on and go a little farther and spend the night at Gibeah or Ramah.” ¹⁴So they went past Jebus and continued on their way. It was sunset when they came to Gibeah in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. ¹⁵They turned off the road to go and spend the night there. They went into the city and sat down in the square, but no one offered to take them home for the night.

Read in Logos