Judges 19:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So the two of them sat and ate and drank together. And the girl 's father said to the man, "Be pleased to spend the night, and let your heart be merry."

NIV: So the two of them sat down to eat and drink together. Afterward the woman’s father said, "Please stay tonight and enjoy yourself."

NASB: So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl’s father said to the man, 'Please be so kind as to spend the night, and let your heart be cheerful.'

CSB: So they sat down and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the girl’s father said to the man, "Please agree to stay overnight and enjoy yourself."

NLT: So the two men sat down together and had something to eat and drink. Then the woman’s father said, 'Please stay another night and enjoy yourself.'

KJV: 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.

NKJV: So they sat down, and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man, “Please be content to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.”

Those who travel to see family sometimes experience what's happening to the Levite and his concubine (Judges 19:1–5). Her father seems committed to finding some excuse to keep them longer. The man just does not want to let his daughter and son-in-law leave. Perhaps the Levite man is hesitating, as well. It's possible he isn't sure how to firmly decline without seeming ungrateful. The bounds of customary hospitality in the ancient middle east were taken very seriously. The Levite clearly has no good exit strategy.

The father urged the Levite man to have a quick "morsel of bread" before leaving early in the morning. Now it seems that morsel turned into a leisurely morning of eating and drinking together. Finally, the father said to the Levite, you might as well stay another night and enjoy yourself.

Judges 19:1–10 describes a Levite's journey to retrieve his runaway concubine. For reasons not given, she leaves him and goes back to her father. Months later, the Levite arrives to retrieve her, seemingly with complete forgiveness. The woman and her father are glad, and the father pressures them to stay for several days. Finally, the Levite insists on leaving. He refuses to stay in the then-Gentile-controlled city of Jebus. Instead, they will continue after dark to Gibeah. Ironically, this will lead them into shocking danger.

A Levite man travels to reconcile with his runaway concubine. On their way back home, they spend the night in the city of Gibeah, in the home of an old man. The wicked men of the town form a mob, demanding the Levite be handed over to be raped. Instead, the Levite forces his concubine outside; the mob rapes and beats her until sunrise. The Levite finds her body, carries it home, and cuts it into twelve pieces. He sends these pieces throughout Israel. This shocks the entire nation into demanding some action be taken against Gibeah.

This chapter's stomach-turning depravity provides another example of the great wickedness in Israel, in an era when everyone did whatever they wanted to without regard for law or God (Judges 21:25). A mob of rapists murders a Levite man's concubine. He sends pieces of her body throughout the nation. This shocks the people into demanding justice. In the following chapters, the tribe of Benjamin refuses to hand over their guilty members. Israel is plunged into civil war.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).