A Woman Is Murdered
1 Before kings ruled Israel, a Levite was living deep in the hill country of the Ephraim tribe. He married a woman from Bethlehem in Judah, 2 but she was unfaithful and went back to live with her family in Bethlehem.
Four months later 3 her husband decided to try and talk her into coming back. So he went to Bethlehem, taking along a servant and two donkeys. He talked with his wife, and she invited him into her family's home. Her father was glad to see him 4 and did not want him to leave. So the man stayed three days, eating and drinking with his father-in-law.
5 When everyone got up on the fourth day, the Levite started getting ready to go home. But his father-in-law said, “Don't leave until you have a bite to eat. You'll need strength for your journey.”
6 The two men sat down together and ate a big meal. “Come on,” the man's father-in-law said. “Stay tonight and have a good time.”
7 The Levite tried to leave, but his father-in-law insisted, and he spent one more night there. 8 The fifth day, the man got up early to leave, but his wife's father said, “You need to keep up your strength! Why don't you leave right after lunch?” So the two of them started eating.
9 Finally, the Levite got up from the meal, so he and his wife and servant could leave. “Look,” his father-in-law said, “it's already late afternoon, and if you leave now, you won't get very far before dark. Stay with us one more night and enjoy yourself. Then you can get up early tomorrow morning and start home.”
10 But the Levite decided not to spend the night there again. He had the saddles put on his two donkeys, then he and his wife and servant traveled as far as Jebus, which is now called Jerusalem. 11 It was beginning to get dark, and the man's servant said, “Let's stop and spend the night in this town where the Jebusites live.”
12 “No,” the Levite answered. “They aren't Israelites, and I refuse to spend the night there. We'll stop for the night at Gibeah, 13 or maybe we can even reach Ramah before dark.”
14 They walked on and reached Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin just after sunset. 15 They left the road and went into Gibeah. But the Levite couldn't find a house where anyone would let them spend the night, and they sat down in the open area just inside the town gates.
16 Soon an old man came in through the gates on his way home from working in the fields. Most of the people who lived in Gibeah belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, but this man was originally from the hill country of Ephraim. 17 He noticed that the Levite was just in town to spend the night. “Where are you going?” the old man asked. “Where did you come from?”
18 “We've come from Bethlehem in Judah,” the Levite answered. “We went there on a visit. Now we're going to the place where the Lord is worshiped, and later we will return to our home in the hill country of Ephraim. But no one here will let us spend the night in their home. 19 We brought food for our donkeys and bread and wine for ourselves, so we don't need anything except a place to sleep.”
20 The old man said, “You are welcome to spend the night in my home and to be my guest, but don't stay out here!”
21 The old man brought them into his house and fed their donkeys. Then he and his guests washed their feet and began eating and drinking. 22 They were having a good time, when some worthless men of that town surrounded the house and started banging on the door and shouting, “A man came to your house tonight. Send him out, so we can have sex with him!”
23 The old man went outside and said, “My friends, please don't commit such a horrible crime against a man who is a guest in my house. 24 Let me send out my daughter instead. She's a virgin. And I'll even send out the man's wife. You can rape them or do whatever else you want, but please don't do such a horrible thing to this man.”
25 The men refused to listen, so the Levite grabbed his wife and shoved her outside. The men raped her and abused her all night long. Finally, they let her go just before sunrise, 26 and it was almost daybreak when she went back to the house where her husband was staying. She collapsed at the door and lay there until sunrise.
27 About that time, her husband woke up and got ready to leave. He opened the door and went outside, where he found his wife lying at the door with her hands on the doorstep. 28 “Get up!” he said. “It's time to leave.”
But his wife didn't move.
He lifted her body onto his donkey and left. 29 When he got home, he took a butcher knife and cut her body into twelve pieces. Then he told some messengers, “Take one piece to each tribe of Israel 30 and ask everyone if anything like this has ever happened since Israel left Egypt. Tell them to think about it, talk it over, and tell us what should be done.”
Everyone who saw a piece of the body said, “This is horrible! Nothing like this has ever happened since the day Israel left Egypt.”
Leviǁîb tsî ǁîb di xōǀkhātaras
1 Israeli ge noxopa gao-ao-e ūhâ tama hâ i ǁaeb ǃnâb ge Leviǁîba ǃnūse Efraimmi di ǃnâuxa ǃhūb ǃnâ ge ǁan hâ i. ǁÎb ge Betlehems Judab disa xu xōǀkhātarasa ge ūbasen, 2 xawes ge ǁîsa ǁîb ǀkha ǁaixa tsî Betlehems ǃoa ǁîs îb di oms ǁga oa tsî haka ǁkhâga sī ǁnāpa ge hâ. 3 Ob ge aob âsa ge mîǁgui ǁîs ǁga ǃgû tsî ǁîsa sī nî ǃhoa-ūsa, îs ǁîb ǁga oaǀkhī. ǁÎb ge ǁîb di ǃgāb tsî ǀgam dâukikha tsîna ge ūsao. ǁÎs îb di oms ǃnâs ge ǂgâ-ū bi tsîb ge ǁgûba mû bio, ob ge khoexaǃnâse ge ǁkhoreǁhare bi. 4 ǁÎb di ǀuiǁgûb ge hâb nîsa ge ǂgaoǀkhā bi, tsîb ge ǃnona tsēde ǁnāpa ge hâ. ǁÎra ge ǂû, ā tsî tsuxuba ǁnāpa ge hâ. 5 Hakaǁî tsēs ai ra ge ǃnauǁgoaga khâimâ tsî ǃgû ra nîse ge ǂhomisen. Xaweb ge khoes di dadaba Leviǁîb ǃoa ge mî: “Aibe xūro-e ǂû re, daob ǃaroma; ǁnās khaoǃgâts ge a ǃgû ǁkhā.”
6 ǁÎ ǀgamkha ge ǀguipa ǂnû tsî ǂû tsî ge ā. Ob ge khoes di dadaba ge mî: “Nē tsuxub tsîna nēpa hâ, î ǃgâiaǂgao re.”
7 Leviǁîb ge ǃgûb nîseb ge khâimâ, xawe ǀuiǁgûb âb ge hâb nîsa a ǂgaoǀkhā bi, o ǁkhawa ǀnî tsuxuba ǁnāpa ge hâ. 8 Koroǁî tsēs aib ge ǃnauǁgoaga ǃgûb nîse a ǂhomisen, xaweb ge khoes di dadaba ge mî: “Aibe xūro-e ǂû re, daob ǃaroma, î ega ǀgui ǃgû.” Tsî kha ge ge ǂûǀhao.
9 Khoeb, ǁîb di xōǀkhātaras tsî ǁîb di ǃgāb tsîn ǃgûn nîse ra ǂhomisen, hîab ge ǁgûba ge mî: “Kō re, sores ge ǀnai ra ǂgâ tsî i ge ra ǃuiǁga, xuige tsuxuba nēpa hâǁgoa re. ǁAri du ge ǃnauǁgoaga daob ǃaroma ǂhomisen tsî oms ǁga a ǁaru ǁkhā.”
10-11 Xaweb ge khoeba noxopa ǀnî tsuxuba ǁnāpa hâǁgoa ǂgao tama ge i, tsî ra ge ǁîb tsî ǁîb xōǀkhātaras tsîra, ǁîra di ǃgāb tsî ǃgaeǃgâsa dâukikha tsîn ǀkha ge ǃgû. ǁÎn ge Jebus (ǁnās ge Jerusalemsa) ǀgūse ǀnai i ra ǃuiǁga hîa ge sī, ob ge ǃgāba ǀhonkhoeb âb ǃoa ge mî: “Tare-i ǃaroma da nēpa hâ tsî nē ǃās Jebusǁîn dis ǃnâ ǁomǂkhai tama?”
12-13 Ob ge ǀhonkhoeb âba ǁîb ǃoa ge mî: “Sada ge nē ǃhao ǃās, ǁîs di ǁanǂgāsaben Israelǁî tamas ǃnâ a hâ ǁoa. A da ǃkharu tsî Gibeas tamas ka io Ramas ǃnâ sī ǁom.” 14 On ge Jebusa ǃkharu tsî aiǃâ ge ǃgû; tsîn ge sores ra ǂgâ hîa Gibeas, Benjaminni ǃhaos di ǀkharib ǃnâ ǂnôas tawa ge sī. 15 On ge ǁnāpan sī nî ǁomǂkhaise ǃās ǃnâ ge ǂgâ. Tsî ǃās di ǂgāb tawan ge sī a ǂnû, xawe i ge ǀgui khoe-i tsîna ǁîna oms â-i ǁga, ǁnāpan sī nî ǁomse ǁkhau tama ge i.
16 ǁNāpan hâ hîab ge kaira aoba ǁnā ǃoe ǃhanab aib gere dī sîsenna xu ge hā. ǁÎb ge ǂguro Efraimmi di ǃnâuxa ǃhūb tawa gere hâ, xawe nēsi Gibeas ǃnâ ge ǁan hâ i. (Nau khoen ǃās din ge ge Benjaminni ǃhaos di i.) 17 Kaira aob ge ǃās di ǂgāb aib ge ǃgûkhoeba a mûo, ǁîba ge dî: “Mâpa xuts ra hā? Mâǀîts ra ǃgû?”
18 Ob ge Leviǁîba ge ǃeream: “Sida ge Judab ǃnâ ǂnôa ǃās Betlehems ǁga ge ǃgû hâ i, tsî da ge nēsi ǁnāpa xu sida oms ǁga ǃnūse Efraimmi di ǃnâuxa ǃhūb ǁga ra oa. Xawe i ge ǀgui khoe-i tsîna oms â-i ǁga ǁkhau da tama hâ. 19 Sida ge ǂâu hâ ǂûxūn tsî ǃhoroǀgân tsîna dâukin ǃaroma ūhâ, tsî ǁkhāti ǂauxûi-i tsî pere-i tsîna tita, ti xōǀkhātaras tsî ti ǃgāb tsîda ǃaroma. ǂHâbasa xūn hoana da ge ūhâ.”
20 Ob ge kaira aoba ge mî: “Ti oms ǃnâts ge hā a hâ ǁkhā, tita ge nî ǃkhōǂhomi tsi. ǃĀs di ǂgāb aits nî hâǂkhai ǃkhais ge ǂhâbasa tide.” 21 Tsîb ge ǁîna oms âb tawa sī-ū tsî ǁîn di dâukikha ge ǂûmā. Khoen ge ǂaidi âna ǁā, tsî ǁnās khaoǃgâ ǂû tsî ge ā.
22 ǁNātin ra ǃgâiaǂgao hîa gu ge ǀnî ǂūǁoa khoegu ǃās diga ǃnapetamase omsa hā mâǂnami tsî dao-ams ai ge ǃgubutsoatsoa. ǁÎgu ge kaira aob ǃoa ge mî: “ǁNā khoeb sa oms ǃnâ go hāba ǂoaxa-ū. Sige ge ǁîba ra ǁgoe-ū ǂgao.”
23 Xaweb ge kaira aoba ǁîga ǃoa ǂoa tsî ge mî: “Hî-î, ti khoego. Tā toxopa ǁnāti i tsū, taotaosa xū-e dī re. Nē aob ge a ti ǃhaokhoe. 24 Kō, nēpa ra ge ti ôas hîa a oaxaes tsî ǁîb di xōǀkhātaras tsîra hâ. Tita ge ǁîra sago nî ǂoaxa-ūba. ǁÎra ǀkha sago ra ǂgao khami dī, xawe nē aoba tā nēti i ǁgaisi xū-e dī-ū re.” 25 Xawe gu ge nē khoega ǁîba ǃgâ ǂgao tama ge i. Ob ge Leviǁîba xōǀkhātaras âba ǃkhō tsî ǁîga ǃoa ge ǂhāǂui. O gu ge ǁîsa ǀgaiǃkhō tsî hoaraga tsuxuba ǁgoas kōse ge ǁore.
26 ǃNauǁgoagas ge nē khoesa, kaira aob di oms, ǁîs ǃnâb ge aob âsa hâ is di dao-ams tawa hā ge ǁnāǁgoe. ǁÎs ge ǃnâǃā i ges kōse ǁnāpa ge ǁgoe i. 27 ǁÎs aob ge ǁgoagab ge khâimâ tsî aiǃâb nî ǃgûga dao-amsa a ǁkhowa-amo, ǁîb xōǀkhātarasa oms ais ais, dao-ams ǃnaob ai ǃkhōbasen hâse ǁgoese ge hō. 28 “Khâima, î da ǃgû” tib ge ǁîs ǃoa a mî, xawe i ge ǃeream-e ǀkhī tama ge i. Ob ge ǁîs di sorosa dâukib ai ǃnao tsî oms âb ǁga ge ǃgû. 29 ǁÎb oms tawab ge sī, ob ge gôasa ū tsî xōǀkhātaras âb di sorosa disiǀgamǀa ǃâdi ǃnâ ǃgaoǃā tsî ǀgui ǃâsa, mâs Israelǁîn di disiǀgamǀa ǃhaodi dis hoasa ge sîba. 30 O i ge ǁnāsa ge mû khoe-i hoa-i gere mî: “Nēti i xū-e da ge noxopa mû tama hâ. Israelǁîn ge Egipteba xu a doeǂoasa xu i ge nēti i xū-e noxopa ī tama hâ. Nē ǃkhais ǂama da ge xū-e nî dī. Tare-e da nî dī?”
