Judges 19:4–15

⁴His father-in-law, the girl’s father, detained him; and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.

⁵Now on the fourth day they got up early in the morning, and he ¹prepared to go; and the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “^aSustain ²yourself with a piece of bread, and afterward you may go.”

⁶So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl’s father said to the man, “Please be willing to spend the night, and ^alet your heart be merry.”

⁷Then the man arose to go, but his father-in-law urged him so that he spent the night there again.

⁸On the fifth day he arose to go early in the morning, and the girl’s father said, “Please sustain ¹yourself, and wait until ²afternoon”; so both of them ate.

⁹When the man arose to go along with his concubine and servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Behold now, the day has drawn ¹to a close; please spend the night. Lo, the day is ²coming to an end; spend the night here that your heart may be merry. Then tomorrow you may arise early for your journey so that you may go ³home.”

¹⁰But the man was not willing to spend the night, so he arose and departed and came to a place opposite ^aJebus (that is, Jerusalem). And there were with him a pair of saddled donkeys; his concubine also was with him.

¹¹When they were near Jebus, the day was almost gone; and ^athe servant said to his master, “Please come, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.”

¹²However, his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners who are not of the sons of Israel; but we will go on as far as Gibeah.”

¹³He said to his servant, “Come and let us approach one of these places; and we will spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.”

¹⁴So they passed along and went their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin.

¹⁵They turned aside there in order to enter and lodge in Gibeah. When ¹they entered, they sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night.