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.”
Nlevi ne nkadzi uwe
1 Mu misi iyeyo kusina mambo mu Iziraela, kwakabe kuna Nlevi wakabe egala shule tjose ku shango ye matuthu ye Ifureimi, wakazwitolegwa tjamba kudwa ku Bhetelehema mu Juda. 2 Ngono tjamba tjitje tjikan'siya, tjikayenda ku ng'umba ya tate batjo ku Bhetelehema mu Juda, tjikagala ikweno kwe mimwedzi minna. 3 Ngono nlume uwe kamilika kantobela, kanonkwekweredza kuti abuye ku nzi. Wakabe ana nlanda uwe ne madonki mabili. Nkadzi kantola kanlonga mu ng'umba ya tate babe, ngono tate be nkadzi bakati bembona, bakashatha baka nshanganidza. 4 Ngono tezwale babe, tate be mwanana, bakalamba e yenda, ngono bakagala naye mazhuba matatu, ndizo bakaja bakang'wa belala ikoko. 5 Mu zhuba le bunna kabinduka mangwanana kululwamisila yenda, ngono tate be mwanana bakadwa nkwasha wabo bakati, “Uzwisimise ne tjimwe tjinojiwa, mukoyenda zwenyu.” 6 Ndizo balume bakagala pasi nge bubili gwabo bakaja bakang'wa bose, ngono tate be nkadzi bakadwa nlume bakati, “Ndokumbila ulale kakale moyo uwo ushathe.” 7 Nlume wakati emilika wotjiyenda, tezwale babe bakankumbila kwazo, ndizo kalala kakale. 8 Mu zhuba le bushanu kamuka kutji mangwanana kuti atjiyenda, tate be mwanana bakandwa bakati, “Simisa moyo uwo, gala kuswikila kube masikati.” Ndizo bakaja bose bubili gwabo. 9 Kwakati nlume ne tjamba tjitje ne nlanda uwe bemilika kuti batjiyenda, tezwale babe, tate be mwanana bakandwa bakati, “Bona, kwatjibe madekwana kale. Lala imomu zhuba lamila. Lala ndizo kuti moyo uwo ushathe. Mowobinduka mangwana muwila zila muyenda kanyi.” 10 Koga nlume kalamba lala kakale, kamilika kayenda ngono kaswika kulingisana ne Jebusi iyo Jerusalema. Wakabe ana madonki mabili akabelesiwa ne tjamba tjitje.
11 Bakati batjilinga Jebusi, zhuba lakabe lotjimila, nlanda kadwa tetshi uwe kati, “Buyani tingine mu nzi iwoyu we Bajebusi tilale.”
12 Tetshi uwe kanshandula eti, “Atinga ngine mu nzi we bataya basi bathu be Iziraela, koga towopindila ku Gibiya.” 13 Kadwa nlanda uwe kati, “Buya tisedzele hwunde ye umwe we magalo iyawa, towolala ku Gibiya kene ku Rama.” 14 Ndizo bakapinda bakayenda, ngono zhuba likabamilila bakalinga Gibiya ya Bhenjamini, 15 ngono bakatendebukila ko bakangina kuti balale mu Gibiya. Bakayenda bakanogala pa tjibata tje nzi, koga akuna nthu wakabatolela ku ng'umba iye kuti banolala.
16 Ngono madekwana iyawo kukazha nthutana wakakula edwa kushinga ku minda, wakabe edwa ku shango ye matuthu ye Ifureimi, wakabe egala mu Gibiya, beni be magalo kwakabe kuli Babhenjamini. 17 Kati e milidza mesho awe, kabona nlume pa tjibata tje nzi, ngono nthutana kabhuzwa eti, “Unoyenda ngayi? Unodwa ngayi?”
18 Kandabila eti, “Timu zila topinda, todwa ku Bhetelehema we Juda toyenda ku shango ye matuthu ye Ifureimi kwatinogala. Ndakabendayenda ku Bhetelehema we Juda ngono ngwenu ndoyenda ku Ng'umba ya Yahwe, akuna iye wandiamutjila mu ng'umba iye. 19 Tina mbuba yedu ne zojiwa zwe madonki ne tjiwunga ne nkumbi we zhambi iswi balanda babo, akuna tjatinosheta.” 20 Nthutana kabe eti, “Usidziyidzike, ndowomutjengeta, usilale mu tjibata.” 21 Ndizo kabalonga mu ng'umba iye, kapa madonki zojiwa zwawo, bakan'gula makumbo bakaja bakang'wa.
22 Bakati batjakashatha, balume bamwe be zwilalume bakapoteleka ng'umba bakaloba libati, bakadwa nthutana bakati, “Dusa nlume iwoyo wa walonga mu ng'umba ndizo tinzibe.”
23 Ngono nthutana iye mweni we ng'umba kabhuda kabadwa kati, “Aa, bakanyi kwedu musithame tjithu tjakabipa tjakajali. Mobona kuti nlume iwoyo wazha mu ng'umba yangu, musithame tjithu tjinobhatisa shoni itjetji. 24 Bonani, ndina nkololokadzi wangu we mwanadi ne tjamba tjitje. Ndowomudusila ibo ngwenu. Shingisani ibo, muthame tjamunoshaka mubali. Koga nlume iwoyu musinthame tjithu tjakajali tjinobhatisa shoni.” 25 Koga balume bakasinteedze. Nlume katola tjamba tjitje katjidusila pazhe kubali, bakandzula, bakanshingisa kwakabipa busiku gose kuswikila mazhokuyedza.
26 Kwakati kwatjibe mangwanana nkadzi kabuya kawila pa nkoba we ng'umba ya tetshi uwe, kalala ipapo kuswikila kuyedza.
27 Kwakati tetshi uwe emuka kutji mangwanana, kazhula nkoba we ng'umba eti unobhuda unoyenda, kabona tjamba tjitje tjililele pa nkoba we ng'umba, maboko ali pa itubhu tje ng'umba. 28 Kandwa kati, “Mukatiyende.” Koga kukasheteka dabilo. Kambiga pezhugwi kwe donki ngono nlume kamilika kayenda kanyi kwabo.
29 Wakati eswika ku ng'umba iye, katola mpanga kathubulila tjamba tjitje nge ndungululo dzatjo, kathama zwitho zwili gumi lina kubili (12), kazwitumila mu mituthu yose ye Iziraela. 30 Mmwe ne mmwe wakakubona kati, “Akuthu kukashingikala kene kuka bong'wa tjithu tjakajali kudwa tjose Baiziraela bebhuda mu Egipiti kunoti nasi. Mukubone, mukumbuludze, mulebeleke.”