1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning in the remote areas of the mountains of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself, a woman from Bethlehem in Judah.

2 But his concubine committed adultery against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four months of days.

3 And her husband rose up and went after her, to speak to her heart, to bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him.

4 And his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.

5 And it came to pass on the fourth day that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart; but the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, Sustain your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.

6 So they sat down, and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man, Please accept my invitation to stay the night, and let your heart be merry.

7 And when the man rose up to depart, his father-in-law pressed upon him; so he turned back and lodged there.

8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, but the young woman’s father said, Please sustain your heart. So they delayed until afternoon; and both of them ate.

9 And when the man rose up to depart, he and his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, Behold, the day is now drawing toward evening; please spend the night. Behold, the day is coming to an end; lodge here, that your heart may be merry; and tomorrow go your way early, so that you may go to your tent.

10 However, the man was not willing to spend that night; so he rose up and departed, and came to a place opposite Jebus (which is, Jerusalem). With him were the two saddled donkeys; his concubine was also with him.

11 They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it.

12 But his master said to him, We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners, who are not of the children of Israel; we will go on to Gibeah.

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

14 And they passed by and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

15 And they turned aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the open place of the city, for no one received them into his house to lodge.

16 And behold, an old man came in from his work in the field at evening, who also was from the mountains of Ephraim; he was sojourning in Gibeah, whereas the men of the place were Benjamites.

17 And when he lifted up his eyes, he saw the traveling man in the open place of the city; and the old man said, Where are you going, and where do you come from?

18 And he said to him, We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah toward the remote areas of the mountains of Ephraim; I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; now I am going to the house of Jehovah. But no one is receiving me into his house,

19 even though we have both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, for your handmaid, and for the young man who is with your servant; there is no lack of anything.

20 And the old man said, Peace to you! However, let all your needs be upon me; only do not spend the night in the open place.

21 So he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.

22 Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, certain men of the city, sons of wickedness surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring out the man who has come to your house, that we may know him.

23 And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, No, my brethren! I beg you, do not act so wickedly! Seeing this man has come into my house, do not do this disgraceful folly.

24 Behold, here is my virgin daughter and his concubine; let me bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them whatever seems good to your eyes; but to this man do not do such a disgraceful thing!

25 But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and abused her wantonly all night until morning; and when the day began to break, they let her go.

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

27 And when her master arose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way, behold the woman, his concubine, fallen at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold.

28 And he said to her, Get up and let us be going. But there was no answer. So the man lifted her onto the donkey; and the man rose up and went to his place.

29 And when he entered his house he took a knife, laid hold of his concubine, and divided her into twelve pieces with her bones, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.

30 And so it was that all who saw it said, No such deed has been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day. Determine, take counsel, and speak up!

1 Naquela época não havia rei em Israel. Aconteceu que um levita que vivia nos montes de Efraim, numa região afastada, tomou para si uma concubina, que era de Belém de Judá.

2 Mas ela lhe foi infiel. Deixou-o e voltou para a casa do seu pai, em Belém de Judá. Quatro meses depois,

3 seu marido foi convencê-la a voltar. Ele tinha levado o seu servo e dois jumentos. A mulher o levou para dentro da casa do seu pai, e quando seu pai o viu, alegrou-se.

4 O sogro dele, pai da moça, o convenceu a ficar ali; e ele permaneceu com eles três dias; todos eles comendo, bebendo e dormindo ali.

5 No quarto dia, eles se levantaram cedo, e o levita se preparou para partir, mas o pai da moça disse ao genro: "Coma alguma coisa, e depois vocês poderão partir".

6 Os dois se assentaram para comer e beber juntos. Mas o pai da moça disse: "Eu lhe peço que fique esta noite, e que se alegre".

7 E, quando o homem se levantou para partir, seu sogro o convenceu a ficar ainda aquela noite.

8 Na manhã do quinto dia, quando ele se preparou para partir, o pai da moça disse: "Vamos comer! Espere até a tarde! " E os dois comeram juntos.

9 Então, quando o homem, com a sua concubina e com o seu servo, levantaram-se para partir, o seu sogro, pai da moça, disse outra vez: "Veja, o dia está quase acabando, é quase noite; passe a noite aqui. Fique e alegre-se. Amanhã de madrugada vocês poderão levantar-se e ir para casa".

10 Não desejando ficar outra noite, o homem partiu rumo a Jebus, isto é, Jerusalém, com dois jumentos selados e com a sua concubina.

11 Quando estavam perto de Jebus e já se findava o dia, o servo disse a seu senhor: "Venha. Vamos parar nesta cidade dos jebuseus e passar a noite aqui".

12 O seu senhor respondeu: "Não. Não vamos entrar numa cidade estrangeira, cujo povo não seja israelita. Iremos para Gibeá".

13 E acrescentou: "Ande! Vamos tentar chegar a Gibeá ou a Ramá e passar a noite num desses lugares".

14 Então prosseguiram, e o sol se pôs quando se aproximavam de Gibeá de Benjamim.

15 Ali entraram para passar a noite. Foram sentar-se na praça da cidade. E ninguém os convidou para passarem a noite em casa.

16 Naquela noite um homem idoso procedente dos montes de Efraim e que estava morando em Gibeá ( os homens do lugar eram benjamitas ), voltou do seu trabalho no campo.

17 Quando viu o viajante na praça da cidade, o homem idoso perguntou: "Para onde você está indo? De onde vem? "

18 Ele respondeu: "Estamos de viagem, indo de Belém de Judá para uma região afastada, nos montes de Efraim, onde moro. Fui a Belém de Judá, e agora estou indo ao santuário do Senhor. Mas aqui ninguém me recebeu em casa.

19 Temos palha e forragem para os nossos jumentos, e para nós mesmos, que somos seus servos temos pão e vinho, para mim, para a sua serva e para o jovem que está conosco. Não temos falta de nada".

20 "Você é bem-vindo em minha casa", disse o homem idoso. "Vou atendê-lo no que você precisar. Não passe a noite na praça. "

21 E os levou para a sua casa e alimentou os jumentos. Depois de lavarem os pés, comeram e beberam alguma coisa.

22 Quando estavam entretidos, alguns vadios da cidade cercaram a casa. Esmurrando a porta, gritaram para o homem idoso, dono da casa: "Traga para fora o homem que entrou na sua casa para que tenhamos relações com ele! "

23 O dono da casa saiu e lhes disse: "Não sejam tão perversos, meus amigos. Já que esse homem é meu hóspede, não cometam essa loucura.

24 Vejam, aqui está minha filha virgem e a concubina do meu hóspede. Eu as trarei para vocês, e vocês poderão usá-las e fazer com elas o que quiserem. Mas, nada façam com esse homem, não cometam tal loucura! "

25 Mas os homens não quiseram ouvi-lo. Então o levita mandou a sua concubina para fora, e eles a violentaram e abusaram dela a noite toda. Ao alvorecer a deixaram.

26 Ao romper do dia a mulher voltou para a casa onde o seu senhor estava hospedado, caiu junto à porta e ali ficou até o dia clarear.

27 Quando o seu senhor se levantou de manhã, abriu a porta da casa e saiu para prosseguir viagem, lá estava a sua concubina, caída à entrada da casa, com as mãos na soleira da porta.

28 Ele lhe disse: "Levante-se, vamos! " Não houve resposta. Então o homem a pôs em seu jumento e foi para casa.

29 Quando chegou em casa, apanhou uma faca e cortou o corpo da sua concubina em doze partes, e as enviou a todas as regiões de Israel.

30 Todos os que viram isso disseram: "Nunca se viu nem se fez uma coisa dessas desde o dia em que os israelitas saíram do Egito. Pensem! Reflitam! Digam o que se deve fazer! "