The idolatry of Micah.

and 15 on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

30 And Samson said, Let 16 me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and " buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

CHAPTER XVII.

Spies sent out by Dan.

6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

7 And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8 And the man departed out of the city from Beth-lehem-judah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, 2 as he journeyed.

9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.

k

10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by

3

AND there was a man of mount Ephraim,

whose name was Micah.

2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, a Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son.

3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.

4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.

victuals. So the Levite went in.

11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.

12 And Micah 'consecrated the Levite; and the young man "became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.

y out the land, and to search it; and ey said unto them, Go, search the land: o when they came to mount Ephraim, to e house of Micah, they lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Micah, ey knew the voice of the young man the vite: and they turned in thither, and id unto him, Who brought thee hither? d what makest thou in this place? and at hast thou here?

And he said unto them, Thus and thus aleth Micah with me, and hath hired , and I am his priest.

h

And they said unto him, "Ask counsel, pray thee, of God, that we may know Hiner our way which we go shall be

perous.

And the priest said unto them, 'Go in ace: before the LORD is your way wherein

Then the five men departed, and me to Laish, and saw the people that therein, 'how they dwelt careless, after manner of the Zidonians, quiet and gure; and there was no 2 magistrate in the d. that might put them to shame in any n: and they were far from the Zidonians, had no business with any man.

And they came unto their brethren to eth and Eshtaol: and their brethren unto them, What say ye?

And they said, "Arise, that we may Jp against them for we have seen the i. and, behold, it is very good: and are ill? be not slothful to go, and to enter sess the land.

1 When ye go, ye shall come unto a le secure, and to a large land: for God given it into your hands; a place re there is no want of any thing that is the earth.

And there went from thence of the ly of the Danites, out of Zorah and out Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed weapons of war.

And they went up, and pitched in

8

They rob Micah of his idols.

Kirjath-jearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjath-jearim.

16 And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.

a

17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.

18 And these went into, Micah's house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye?

19 And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, blay thine hand upon thy mouth, and with us, go and be to us a father and. a priest is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?

20 And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people,

21 So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them.

14. 28. 17. 22.

& 40. 4.

y ver. 11. Prov. 30. 32.

z ver. 2, 14. Mic. 7. 16.

a ch. 17. 4, 5.

c ch. 17. 10.

t ver. 2.

u 1 Sam. asked him of peace, Gen. 43. 27. 1 Sam.

b Job 21. 5. & 29. 9.

22 And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.

23 And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?

5

24 And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee?

25 And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.

26 And the children of Dan went their way and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.

h

29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first. 30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

31 And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, 'all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

A Levite goeth to Beth-lehem.

CHAPTER XIX,

A Levite goeth to Beth-lehem to fetch home his concubine. 16 An old man entertaineth him at Gibeah. 22 The men of the city abuse his concubine to death. 29 He divideth her into twelve pieces, and sendeth them to the twelve tribes. [B. C. 1406.]

AND it came to pass in those days, when

there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him 1a concubine out of Beth-lehem-judah.

b

2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Beth-lehem-judah, and was there 2 four whole months.

3 And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak 3 friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

4 And his father in law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.

5 ¶ And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the damsel's father said unto his son in law, Comfort thine heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.

4 c

6 And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the damsel's father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart be merry.

7 And when the man rose up to depart, his father in law urged him: therefore he lodged there again.

8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart: and the damsel's father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat both of them.

9 And when the man rose up to depart,

CHAP. XIX.-a ch. 17. 6. & 18. 1. & 21. 25. 1 Heb. a woman a concYbine, or, a wife a concubine. b ch. 17. 7. *Or, a year and four months. Heb. days four months. Heb. to her heart, Gen. 34. 3. Hleb, strengthen Heb. till the day declined.

c Gen. 18. 5.

he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel's father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, 7the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and to morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.

d

10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him.

11 And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.

e

12. And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.

13 And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in Ramah. 14 And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.

15 And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging.

h

16 And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah but the men of the place were Benjamites.

17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?

18 And he said unto him, We are passing from Beth-lehem-judah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I

His concubine abused to death.

went to Beth-lehem-judah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that 10 receiveth me to house.

19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing.

20 And the old man said, 'Peace be with thee; howsoever, let all thy wants lie upon me: "only lodge not in the street.

21 So he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto the asses: and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.

22 Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, "the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.

S

23 And the man the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.

u

X

24 " Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not "so vile a thing.

25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.

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

27 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 was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.

28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going but none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.

29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.

30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.

The decree of the assembly

2

and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead.

6 And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.

7 Behold, ye are all children of Israel; *give here your advice and counsel.

8 And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house.

9 But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it;

10 And we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victuals for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.

11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man. 12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you?

13 Now therefore deliver us the men, "the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and "put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel:

14 But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.

15 And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

1

16 Among all this people there were seven