Ovitjitwa oviyaukise vyovature va Gibea
1 Momayuva ngena kamwa ri ombara mOisrael. Nu pa ri omurumendu Omulevi ngwa turire otja owozonganda kokure tjinene mehi rozondundu ra Efraim. Eye we ripahera omukazendu wa Betlehem mehi ra Juda a rire omukazendu we omumbanda. 2 Nungwari omukazendu we omumbanda ngwi wa posa kuna ye, a zu po pu ye na yaruka koya ihe kObetlehem, mehi ra Juda. Neye wa kakara ngo oure womieze vine. 3 Nomurumendu ngwi we ritwa mondjira okuteza omukazendu we na karora okumutekura kutja a kotoke. Eye wa twaerera omukarere we nousino uvari. Nomukazendu we we mu urikira ondjuwo ya ihe. Nu ihe yomukazendu tje mu muna we mu tjakanena nenyando. 4 Nu ihe omukwe we mu tjaera kutja a kare; neye wa kara puna wo omayuva yetatu. Nowo va rya nave nu, neye wa rara mbo. 5 Meyuva oritjaine eye nomukazendu we va penduka omuhuka omunene nave rirongere okuyenda. Nu ihe yomukazendu arire tja tja komukwe we: “Rutenga ryee ovikurya, tjazumba a rire tji mwa i.”
6 Nowo va kara novarumendu aveyevari va haama pamwe ave ri nave nu. Tjazumba ihe yomukazendu arire tja ningire komurumendu a tja: “Ngo tji rara muno rukwao, u kare nomutima wondjoroka.”
7 NOmulevi tja sekama okuyenda, omukwe we otje mu kondjisa nga tja rara mo rukwao. 8 Nu meyuva oritjatano, tja vanga okuyenda omuhuka omunene, ihe yomukazendu arire tja tja ku ye: “Ngo tji ri ovikurya rukwao u kare nga komapeta.” Nu aveyevari otji va rya pamwe.
9 Nomurumendu tja sekama okukumuka puna omukazendu we omumbanda nomukarere we, ihe yomukazendu otja tja nai ku ye: “Tara, eyuva ratoko, rara muno ouṱuku mbwi, nu kara nomutima wondjoroka. Tjazumba omuhuka omunene u yende u yaruke koyoye.”
10 Nungwari omurumendu ka vangere okurara mo, notja sekama a kutire ousino we auyevari na ka wondja puna omukazendu we omumbanda nomukarere we, na kavaza ombarakana na Jebus, okutja Jerusalem. 11 Nu tji va kavaza kOjebus eyuva ara toko, omukarere arire tja tja komuhona we: “Arikana, ngatu konde kotjihuro tjOvajebusi tu karare mo.”
12 Nungwari omuhona we wa kotora ku ye a tja: “Ayee, kako, katu nokukonda kotjihuro tjovandu vambangu mbe he ri Ovaisrael, ngatu kapite kOgibea.” 13 Tjazumba a tja nai komukarere we: “Indjo, ngatu rore okuvaza popezu na tjimwe tjovirongo mbyo, tu karare mOgibea poo mOrama.” 14 Nowo arire tji va kapita komurungu, neyuva re ve hitira popezu na Gibea tjomuhoko wa Benjamin. 15 Nowo va konda okukarara mOgibea. Nu ingwi Omulevi wa hita motjihuro na kakara morupare rwomarandero, tjinga ape ha ri omundu ngwe ve ṋanga okukarara mondjuwo ye.
16 Nungwari ongurova kwe ya omurumendu omukururume ngwa za koviungura vye vyotjikunino. Omurumendu ngwi rukuru wa zire kehi rozondundu ra Efraim na kara otja owozonganda mOgibea, novature votjirongo ho va ri Ovabenjamin. 17 Nomukururume ngwi tja taviza wa muna omuyenda porupare rwomarandero wotjihuro, ne mu pura a tja: “Ove mo zu pi, nu mo i pi?”
18 NOmulevi we mu zira a tja: “Oweṱe ovayenda mbu twa za kObetlehem mehi ra Juda, nu matu i kokure tjinene kehi rozondundu ra Efraim ami ku mba za. Ami mba ire kObetlehem kehi ra Juda, nambano me yaruka koyandje, nungwari kape na ngu me ndji sekirisa mondjuwo ye. 19 Nu vari eṱe tu nomahozu novikurya vyousino wetu; neṱe nomukazendu wandje omumbanda tu nomboroto nomavinu; eṱe tu na avihe, mbi twa sokuhepa.”
20 Omukururume opa tjera nai: “Ove waakurwa! Hita mondjuwo yandje! Nu avihe mbi mo hepa me ku ṱunine. Arikana, o rara morupare rwomarandero ouṱuku mbunombwi.”
21 Neye otje ve yakura moye na yandja omahozu kousino. Nu imba ovayenda va koha ozombaze zawo, nave ri nave nu.
22 Nowo ngunda ava ri mondjoroka, ovarumendu votjihuro, mba ri ovapikapike tjinene, va kovera ondjuwo ndji nave kongora omuvero tjinene. Nowo va hungira komukururume ngwi omuini wondjuwo ave tja: “Pitisa omurumendu ngwi ngwa hiti mondjuwo yoye; matu vanga okurara pu ye!”
23 Nomuini wondjuwo otja pita pendje na tja ku wo: “Ayee, kako, vakwetu, amu tjiti ondjito yohoṋi otja indjo. 24 Tareye, omukazona wandje omunene eye ngwi puna omukazendu omumbanda womurumendu ngwi! Owo meve pitisa ku eṋe; tjiteye ku wo otja pu mape tjata ku eṋe. Nungwari komurumendu ngwi amu tjiti ko ondjito yohoṋi otja indji.” 25 Nungwari ovarumendu mbo kave vangere okuzuva ku ye. Ingwi Omulevi opa kamburira omukazendu we omumbanda ne mu pitisa pendje ku wo. Nowo ve mu tjera nokumutatumisa ouṱuku auhe nga komuhuka omunene; nu tji pa tji otji ve mu esa a yende.
26 Nu mokutja kweyuva omukazendu wa kotoka na wire pehi momuvero wondjuwo yomukururume mu mwa ri omurumendu we, na saravara mbo nga tji kwa yere. 27 Nomurumendu we tja penduka omuhuka wa yezurura omuvero wondjuwo na piti pendje kutja a yende; mokamanga otja muna omukazendu we omumbanda a saravara momuvero wondjuwo, nomake we aye ri komuti omutyakaṋa wokehi yomuvero. 28 Eye we mu isana a tja: “Penduka tu kawondje!” Nungwari ka perwe eziriro. Tjazumba otja tyakaṋa orurova romukazendu we kokasino, a kumuka na yaruka komaturiro we. 29 Nu tja kavaza kondjuwo ye arire tja toora oruvyo na kondo orurova romukazendu we omumbanda movindimbu omurongo na vivari ne vi hindi komihoko omurongo na vivari vya Israel. 30 Nu auhe ngwa muna otjiṋa hi, wa tja: “Otjiṋa otja ihi nga mba katjiya tjitwa nu katjiya munika okuza koruveze Ovaisrael ndu va zire mehi ra Engipte okuya nguno nga ku ndinondi. Ripureye na tjo, raerasaneye nu tyasaneye!”
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.”
