And behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at evening, who was also from Mount Ephraim. And he lived in Gibeah, but the men of the place were of Benjamin.

And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a traveler in the streets of the city. And the old man said, Where do you go, and where do you come from?

And he said to him, We are passing from Bethlehem-judah to the side of mount Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem-judah, but I am going to the house of Jehovah. And there is no man who receives me into his house.

Yet here is both straw and food for our asses. And there is bread and wine also for me, and for your slave woman, and for the young man who is with your servants. There is no lack of anything.

And the old man said, Peace be with you. Yet all that you lack shall be on me. Only do not stay in the street.

And he brought him into his house and mixed fodder for the asses. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.

They were making their hearts merry. And, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, set upon the house all around and beat at the door and spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring out the man that came to your house so that we may know him.

And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, No, my brothers, I pray you, do not do evil, since this man has come into my house. Do not do this foolish sin.

But the men would not listen to him. And the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and rolled themselves on her all night until the morning. And they sent her away at the dawning of the day.

And the woman came, in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, until it was light.

And her lord rose up in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way. And behold, the woman, his concubine, had fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.

And he said to her, Up, and let us be going. But there was no answer. Then the man took her on an ass, and the man rose up and went to his place.

And he came into his house, he took a knife and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, with her bones, into twelve pieces and sent her into all the borders of Israel.

And it was so that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the sons of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day. Think of it, take advice and speak.

Then all the sons of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, to Jehovah in Mizpeh.

And the leaders of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.

And the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpeh. And the sons of Israel said, Speak. How did this evil happen?

And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah of Benjamin to stay the night, my concubine and I.

And the men of Gibeah rose against me and set upon the house all around me at night. They intended to kill me. And they raped my concubine, and she is dead.

And I took my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the land of the inheritance of Israel. For they have committed evil and folly in Israel.

And now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah, going against it by lot.

and we will take ten men of a hundred of all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to bring food for the people, so that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, they may do according to all the folly which they have done in Israel.

And every man of Israel was gathered against the city, all together as one man.

And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you?

Now, therefore, deliver the men, the sons of Belial, who are in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and put away evil from Israel. But Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel.

And the sons of Benjamin gathered out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel.

And the sons of Benjamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty-six thousand men who drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

And the men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men who drew sword. All these were men of war.

And the sons of Israel rose and went up to the house of God and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the sons of Benjamin? And Jehovah said, Judah first.

And the sons of Israel rose up early in the morning, and camped against Gibeah.

And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin. And the men of Israel put themselves in order, ready to fight against them at Gibeah.

And the sons of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah and destroyed to the earth twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites that day.

And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves and set their battle in order again in the place where they put themselves in order the first day.

And the sons of Israel went up and wept before Jehovah until evening, and asked counsel from Jehovah saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the sons of Benjamin my brother? And Jehovah said, Go up against him.

And the sons of Israel came near against the sons of Benjamin the second day.

And Benjamin went forth to meet them again from Gibeah the second day and again destroyed to the earth eighteen thousand men of the sons of Israel. All these drew the sword.

And all the sons of Israel, and all the people, went up and came into the house of God, and wept, and sat there before Jehovah and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Jehovah.

And the sons of Israel inquired of Jehovah (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron stood before it in those days) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of Benjamin my brother, or shall I stop? And Jehovah said, Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.

And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in order against Gibeah, as at other times.

And the sons of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. And they began to strike some of the people and to kill, as at other times, in the highways, one of which goes up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

And the sons of Benjamin said, They are beaten before us as at the first. But the sons of Israel said, Let us flee and draw them from the city to the highways.

And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place and marshalled at Baal-tamar. And the ambush of Israel broke forth from their place, from the plains of Gibeah.

And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was heavy. But they did not know that evil was near them.

And Jehovah struck Benjamin before Israel. And the sons of Israel destroyed in Benjamin twenty-five thousand and a hundred men that day. All these drew the sword.

So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were beaten. For the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin because they trusted to the ambush which they had set against Gibeah.

And the ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah. And the ambush marched and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.

And a sign was set between the men of Israel and the ambush, to cause to go up a great smoke rising up from the city.

And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to strike and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons. For they said, Surely they are stricken down before us as in the first battle.

And the rising of a pillar of smoke began to go up out of the city. And Benjamin turned behind them, and behold, the whole city had gone up toward the heavens.

And the men of Israel turned again, and the men of Benjamin were amazed. For they saw that evil had touched them.

And they turned before the men of Israel, to the way of the wilderness. But the battle overtook them. And those who came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.

They encircled Benjamin and they chased them without rest, and trod them down until they were against Gibeah toward the sunrise.

And they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon. And they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and pursued hard after them to Gidom and killed two thousand men of them.

So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword. All of these were men of war.

But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness, to the rock Rimmon, and they stayed in the rock Rimmon four months.

And the sons of Israel turned again to the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, from the entire city to livestock, to all that was found. Also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

And the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, Not one of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife.

And the people came to the house of God and stayed there until evening before God, and lifted up their voice and wept grievously,

and said, O, Jehovah, the God of Israel, Why has this happened in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?

And it happened on the next day the people rose early and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

And the sons of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that did not come up with the congregation to Jehovah? For they had made a great oath concerning him who did not come up to Jehovah to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.

And the sons of Israel repented themselves for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not come up to Mizpeh to Jehovah? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.

For the people were numbered, and behold, none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead were there.

And the congregation sent there twelve thousand men of the most valiant, and commanded them, saying, Go, and you shall strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the sword, with the women and the sons.

And this is the thing that you shall do. You shall utterly destroy every male and every woman who has lain with man.

And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had known no man by lying with any male. And they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

And the whole congregation sent to speak to the sons of Benjamin who were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably to them.

And Benjamin came again at that time. And they gave them wives whom they had saved alive, of the women of Jabesh-gilead. And yet so they were not enough for them.

And the people repented themselves for Benjamin, because Jehovah had made a break in the tribes of Israel.

And the elders of the congregation said, What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?

And they said, There must be an inheritance for those of Benjamin who have escaped, so that a tribe may not be destroyed out of Israel.

However, we may not give them wives of our daughters. For the sons of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.

Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of Jehovah in Shiloh yearly on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.

And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

and see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then you come out of the vineyards and catch you a wife for every man from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

And it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, we will say to them, Be favorable to them for our sakes, because we did not reserve each man a wife in the war. For if you did not give to them at this time, you would be guilty.

And the sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their number, from those that danced, whom they caught. And they went and returned to their inheritance, and repaired the cities and lived in them.

And the sons of Israel departed from there at that time, each man to his tribe and to his family. And they went out from there every man to his inheritance.

In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did the right in his own eyes.

And it happened in the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem-judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.

And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem-judah. And they came to the fields of Moab and stayed there.

And they took wives for themselves from the women of Moab. The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.

And Mahlon and Chilion also died, both of them. And the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law so that she might return from the fields of Moab. For she had heard in the fields of Moab how Jehovah had visited His people in giving them bread.

And she went out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each one to her mother's house. May Jehovah deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.

May Jehovah grant you that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice and wept.

And they said to her, Surely we will return with you to your people.

And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Are there yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

would you wait for them until they were grown? Will you shut yourselves up, not to have a husband? No, my daughters, for it makes me very sad for your sakes that the hand of Jehovah has gone out against me.

And they lifted up their voice and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law. But Ruth clung to her.

And both of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?

And she said to them, Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara. For the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

I went out full, and Jehovah has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since Jehovah has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?

And Naomi returned; and Ruth, who was of Moab, her daughter-in-law, was with her, returning out of the fields of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech. And his name was Boaz.

And Ruth of Moab said to Naomi, Let me now go to the field and glean ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said to her, Go, my daughter.

And she went. And she came and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come upon a part of the field of Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.