1 I de dager da det ikke var noen konge i Israel, bodde en levitt innerst i fjellområdet i Efraim, og han hadde skaffet seg en medhustru fra Betlehem i Juda.

Now in those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was living in the inmost parts of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he got for himself a servant-wife from Beth-lehem-judah.

2 Men medhustruen hans ble sint på ham og dro hjem til sin fars hus i Betlehem i Juda, og der ble hun i fire måneder.

And his servant-wife was angry with him, and went away from him to her father's house at Beth-lehem-judah, and was there for four months.

3 Da reiste mannen hennes seg for å hente henne igjen, med det formål å snakke vennlig med henne og ta henne med tilbake; han hadde med seg sin tjener og to esler. Hun tok ham inn i sin fars hus, og da faren hennes så ham, kom han ham gledelig i møte.

Then her husband got up and went after her, with the purpose of talking kindly to her, and taking her back with him; he had with him his young man and two asses: and she took him into her father's house, and her father, when he saw him, came forward to him with joy.

4 Og svigerfaren, jentas far, holdt ham hos seg i tre dager; de spiste og drakk og hvilte der.

And his father-in-law, the girl's father, kept him there for three days; and they had food and drink and took their rest there.

5 Den fjerde dagen sto de opp tidlig om morgenen for å dra av sted, men jentas far sa til svigersønnen: Ta litt mat for å styrke deg, og dra deretter på veien din.

Now on the fourth day they got up early in the morning and he made ready to go away; but the girl's father said to his son-in-law, Take a little food to keep up your strength, and then go on your way.

6 Så satte de seg til bords og spiste og drakk sammen; og jentas far sa til mannen: Hvis du vil, bli her i natt og la ditt hjerte glede seg.

So seating themselves they had food and drink, the two of them together; and the girl's father said to the man, If it is your pleasure, take your rest here tonight, and let your heart be glad.

7 Mannen sto opp for å gå, men hans svigerfar lot ham ikke gå, så han ble der for natten.

And the man got up to go away, but his father-in-law would not let him go, so he took his rest there again for the night.

8 Tidlig om morgenen, den femte dagen, sto han opp for å dra, men jentas far sa: Styrk deg først; så de spiste sammen, og mannen og kvinnen hans og tjeneren dro ikke før langt ut på dagen.

Then early on the morning of the fifth day he got up to go away; but the girl's father said, Keep up your strength; so the two of them had a meal, and the man and his woman and his servant did not go till after the middle of the day.

9 Da de skulle dra, sa svigerfaren, jentas far, til ham: Nå kommer kvelden, så bli her i natt; dagen er snart over; hvil her, og la ditt hjerte glede seg, og i morgen tidlig kan du dra hjemover.

And when they got up to go away, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said to him, Now evening is coming on, so do not go tonight; see, the day is almost gone; take your rest here and let your heart be glad, and tomorrow early, go on your way back to your house.

10 Men mannen ville ikke tilbringe mer tid der, så han gjorde seg klar og dro sin vei, og kom overfor Jebus (som er Jerusalem); han hadde med seg de to eslene, klare for reise, og kvinnen hans.

But the man would not be kept there that night, and he got up and went away and came opposite to Jebus (which is Jerusalem); and he had with him the two asses, ready for travelling, and his woman.

11 Da de nærmet seg Jebus og dagen var nesten over, sa tjeneren til sin herre: La oss dra inn i denne byen til jebusittene og overnatte der.

When they got near Jebus the day was far gone; and the servant said to his master, Now let us go from our road into this town of the Jebusites and take our night's rest there.

12 Men herren hans sa til ham: Vi vil ikke gå bort fra veien inn til en fremmed by, der folkene ikke er av Israels barn; vi vil gå videre til Gibea.

But his master said to him, We will not go out of our way into a strange town, whose people are not of the children of Israel; but we will go on to Gibeah.

13 Og han sa til tjeneren sin: Kom, la oss dra videre til en av disse byene og overnatte i Gibea eller Rama.

And he said to his servant, Come, let us go on to one of these places, stopping for the night in Gibeah or Ramah.

14 Så fortsatte de på veien; og solen gikk ned da de nærmet seg Gibea i Benjamins land.

So they went on their way; and the sun went down when they were near Gibeah in the land of Benjamin.

15 De forlot veien der for å overnatte i Gibea: de gikk inn og satte seg på torget, for ingen tok dem inn i sitt hus for natten.

And they went off the road there with the purpose of stopping for the night in Gibeah: and he went in, seating himself in the street of the town, for no one took them into his house for the night.

16 Da det ble kveld, kom det en gammel mann tilbake fra arbeidet på markene. Han var fra fjellområdet i Efraim og bodde i Gibea, men folkene der var benjaminitter.

Now when it was evening they saw an old man coming back from his work in the fields; he was from the hill-country of Ephraim and was living in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.

17 Da han så den reisende på torget, sa den gamle mannen: Hvor er dere på vei? Og hvor kommer dere fra?

And when he saw the traveller in the street of the town, the old man said, Where are you going? and where do you come from?

18 Og han sa til ham: Vi er på vei fra Betlehem i Juda til fjellområdet i Efraim: der er jeg fra, og jeg dro til Betlehem i Juda, og nå er jeg på vei tilbake, men ingen vil ta meg inn i sitt hus.

And he said to him, We are on our way from Beth-lehem-judah to the inmost parts of the hill-country of Ephraim: I came from there and went to Beth-lehem-judah: now I am on my way back to my house, but no man will take me into his house.

19 Men vi har tørt gress og mat til eslene våre, samt brød og vin for meg, kvinnen og den unge mannen som er med oss: vi mangler ingenting.

But we have dry grass and food for our asses, as well as bread and wine for me, and for the woman, and for the young man with us: we have no need of anything.

20 Og den gamle mannen sa: Fred være med deg; la alle dine behov være min omsorg; bare ikke tilbring natten på torget.

And the old man said, Peace be with you; let all your needs be my care; only do not take your rest in the street.

21 Så tok han dem inn i sitt hus og ga eslene mat; og etter å ha vasket føttene, spiste og drakk de.

So he took them into his house and gave the asses food; and after washing their feet they took food and drink.

22 Mens de nøt måltidet, kom noen udugelige menn fra byen omkring huset, banket på døren og sa til den gamle mannen, husets herre: Send ut mannen som kom til ditt hus, så vi kan nyte ham.

While they were taking their pleasure at the meal, the good-for-nothing men of the town came round the house, giving blows on the door; and they said to the old man, the master of the house, Send out that man who came to your house, so that we may take our pleasure with him.

23 Husets herre gikk ut til dem og sa: Nei, mine brødre, gjør ikke denne onde gjerning; denne mannen har kommet inn i mitt hus, og dere skal ikke gjøre ham noe slikt.

So the man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said, No, my brothers, do not this evil thing; this man has come into my house, and you are not to do him this wrong.

24 Se, her er datteren min, som er jomfru, og hans medhustru: Jeg vil sende dem ut til dere for å ta dem og gjøre med dem hva dere vil. Men gjør ikke denne skammelige handlingen mot denne mannen.

See, here is my daughter, a virgin, and his servant-wife: I will send them out for you to take them and do with them whatever you will. But do no such thing of shame to this man.

25 Men mennene ville ikke høre på ham, så mannen tok medhustruen sin, sendte henne ut til dem, og de brukte henne natten igjennom til morgenen: da morgenen kom, slapp de henne.

But the men would not give ear to him: so the man took his woman and sent her out to them; and they took her by force, using her for their pleasure all night till the morning; and when dawn came they let her go.

26 Ved gry av dag kom kvinnen tilbake og falt ned ved inngangsdøren til mannens hus der herren hennes var, og hun lå der til det ble lyst.

Then at the dawn of day the woman came, and, falling down at the door of the man's house where her master was, was stretched there till it was light.

27 Om morgenen sto herren hennes opp, åpnet døren til huset for å fortsette reisen, og han så medhustruen ligge på bakken ved inngangsdøren med hendene på terskelen.

In the morning her master got up, and opening the door of the house went out to go on his way; and he saw his servant-wife stretched on the earth at the door of the house with her hands on the step.

28 Han sa til henne: Reis deg, så vi kan dra; men det kom ikke noe svar; så han løftet henne opp på eselet og dro hjem.

And he said to her, Get up and let us be going; but there was no answer; so he took her up and put her on the ass, and went on his way and came to his house.

29 Da han kom hjem, tok han frem kniven og delte kvinnen opp i tolv deler, ledd for ledd, og sendte dem rundt omkring i hele Israel.

And when he had come to his house, he got his knife, and took the woman, cutting her up bone by bone into twelve parts, which he sent through all Israel.

30 Og han ga beskjed til mennene han sendte, og sa: Dette skal dere si til alle Israels menn, Har noen gang en slik handling blitt gjort fra den dagen da Israels barn dro ut av Egypt til i dag? Tenk på det, gransk det, og gi deres mening om det.

And he gave orders to the men whom he sent, saying, This is what you are to say to all the men of Israel, Has ever an act like this been done from the day when the children of Israel came out of Egypt to this day? Give thought to it, turning it over in your minds, and give your opinion of it.