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19 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no melech in Yisroel, that there was a certain Levi sojourning in the remote har Ephrayim country, who took to him a pilegesh out of Beit-Lechem Yehudah.
2 And his pilegesh played the zonah against him, and went away from him unto her bais av to Beit-Lechem Yehudah, and was there four whole months.
3 And her ish arose, and went after her, to speak unto her lev, and to bring her back, having his na’ar (servant) with him, and a couple of donkeys; and she brought him into her bais av; and when the avi hana’arah saw him, he had simcha to welcome him.
4 And his khoten (father-inlaw), the avi hana’arah, held him fast; and he abode with him shloshet yamim; so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.
5 And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the boker, that he rose up to depart; the avi hana’arah said unto his choson (sonin-law), Refresh thine lev with a morsel of lechem, and afterward go your way.
6 And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together; for the avi hana’arah had said unto the ish, Be pleased, and tarry all night, and let thine lev be content.
7 And when the ish rose up to depart, his khoten (fatherin-law) urged him; therefore he lodged there again.
8 And he arose early in the boker on the yom hachamishi to depart; and the avi hana’arah said, Refresh now thine lev. Tarry till the yom turns [past midday], and they did eat both of them.
9 And when the ish rose up to depart, he, and his pilegesh, and his na’ar, his khoten (father-in-law), the avi hana’arah, said unto him, Hinei, now the yom draweth toward erev, tarry the night now; hinei, the yom groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine lev may be content; and makhar (tomorrow) get you early on your derech, that thou mayest go to your ohel.
10 But the ish would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came to nokhach (straight before, in the direction of) Yevus, which is Yerushalayim; and there were with him two donkeys saddled, his pilegesh also was with him.
11 And when they were near Yevus, the yom was far spent; and the na’ar said unto his adon, Come, now, and let us turn in into ir haYevusi, and lodge in it.
12 And his adon said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the ir nochri, that is not of the Bnei Yisroel; we will pass over to Giv’ah.
13 And he said unto his na’ar, Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Giv’ah, or in Ramah.
14 And they passed on and went their way; and the shemesh went down upon them when they were near Giv’ah, which belongeth to Binyamin.
15 And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge the night in Giv’ah; and when he went in, he sat him down in the rechov of the ir; for there was no ish that took them into his bais to lodge the night [T.N. See Iyov 31:32 regarding the sin here, made more shameful in that it was committed against a Levi].
16 And, hinei, there came an ish zaken from his work out of the sadeh at erev, and the ish was also from har Ephrayim; and he sojourned in Giv’ah; but the anashim of the place were Bnei Yemini (Benjamites).
17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw haish haoreach (the wayfaring man, traveling man) in the rechov haIr; and the ish hazaken said, Whither goest thou? And whence comest thou?
18 And he said unto him, We are passing from Beit-Lechem Yehudah toward the remote har Ephrayim country; from thence am I; and I went to Beit-Lechem Yehudah, but I am now going to the Bais Hashem [see 18:31]; but there is no ish that receiveth me into the bais.
19 Yet there is both straw and fodder for our donkeys; and there is lechem and yayin also for me, and for thy amah (maidservant), and for the na’ar which is with thy avadim; there is no machsor (want, need) of any thing.
20 And the ish hazaken said, Shalom lach; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the rechov.
21 So he brought him into his bais, and mixed fodder for the donkeys; and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.
22 Now as they were making their hearts content, hinei, the anshei haIr, anshei bnei Beliya’al, surrounded the bais, and pounded incessantly on the delet, and shouted to the ish, the Ba’al HaBayit, the zaken, saying, Bring out the ish that came into thine bais, that we may know him [T.N. a thin line drawn between homosexual rape and murder].
23 And the ish, the Ba’al HaBayit, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, do not so wickedly; seeing that this ish is come into mine bais, do not this nevalah (outrage).
24 Hinei, here is my bat a betulah, and his pilegesh; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth hatov unto your eyes; but unto this ish do not so devar hanevalah (vile, wicked a thing).
25 But the anashim would not pay heed to him; so the ish took his pilegesh, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her kol halailah until the boker; and when the shachar (dawn) came, they let her go.
26 Then came the isha at the break of haboker, and fell down at the petach bais haish where her adon was, ad haohr (until daylight, sunrise).
27 And her adon rose up in the boker, and opened the daletot habais, and stepped out to go on his derech; and, hinei, the isha, his pilegesh, was fallen at the petach habais! And her hands were upon the sahf (threshold).
28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But there was no answer. Then the ish took [the corpse] upon a donkey, and the ish rose up, and set out for his makom (place, home).
29 And when he was come into his bais, he took a ma’akhelet (knife), and laid hold on his pilegesh, and divided her, together with her atzmot, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the territory of Yisroel.
30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the yom that the Bnei Yisroel came up out of Eretz Mitzrayim unto this day; give ye heed unto it, make up your minds [about the punishment], and speak.
20 Then all the Bnei Yisroel came out, and HaEdah was gathered together as ish echad, from Dan even to Beer-Sheva, including Eretz HaGil`ad, unto Hashem at Mitzpah.
2 And the Pinot (Corner pillars, Leaders, Chiefs) kol HaAm, even of kol Shivtei Yisroel, presented themselves in the Kahal Am HaElohim, four hundred thousand foot soldiers armed with cherev.
3 (Now the Bnei Binyamin heard that the Bnei Yisroel were gone up to Mitzpah.) Then said the Bnei Yisroel, Tell us, how this ra’ah came to be?
4 And the Levi, the ish haisha that was murdered, answered and said, I came into Giv’ah that belongeth to Binyamin, I and my pilegesh, to lodge.
5 And the ba’alei haGiv’ah rose against me, and surrounded the bais upon me by lailah, and intended to have murdered me; and my pilegesh have they raped, that she is dead.
6 And I took my pilegesh, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout kol sedeh nachalat Yisroel; for they have committed zimmah (lewdness) and nevalah (wickedness, outrage, disgrace) in Yisroel.
7 Hinei, ye are all Bnei Yisroel; give here your advice and etzah (counsel, verdict).
8 And kol haAm arose as ish echad, saying, We will not any of us go to his ohel, neither will we any of us return into his bais.
9 But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Giv’ah; we will go up bigoral (by lot) against it;
10 And we will take ten anashim of a hundred throughout kol Shivtei Yisroel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to supply provisions for the troops, that they may do, when they come to Giv’ah of Binyamin, according to all the nevalah that they have wrought in Yisroel.
11 So kol ish Yisroel were gathered against the Ir, k’ish echad chaverim (comrades as one man, united as one).
12 And the Shivtei Yisroel sent anashim through all the shivtei Binyamin, saying, What ra’ah is this that is done among you?
13 Now therefore deliver us the anashim, the Bnei Beliyaal, which are in Giv’ah, that we may put them to death, and purge ra’ah from Yisroel. But the Bnei Binyamin would not pay heed to the voice of their achim the Bnei Yisroel.
14 But the Bnei Binyamin gathered themselves together out of the towns unto Giv’ah, to go out for milchamah against the Bnei Yisroel.
15 And the Bnei Binyamin mustered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men armed with cherev, beside the inhabitants of Giv’ah, which mustered seven hundred ish bachur (chosen men).
16 Among all this people there were seven hundred ish bachur every one could sling stones at the se’ar (the hair), and not miss.
17 And the ish Yisroel, apart from Binyamin, mustered 400,000 men armed with cherev; all these were ish milchamah.
18 And the Bnei Yisroel arose, and went up to Beit-El, and asked counsel of Elohim, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the milchamah against the Bnei Binyamin? And Hashem said, Yehudah shall go up first.
19 And the Bnei Yisroel rose up in the boker, and encamped against Giv’ah.
20 And the Ish Yisroel went out to battle against Binyamin; and the Ish Yisroel put themselves in array to fight against them at Giv’ah.
21 And the Bnei Binyamin came forth out of Giv’ah, and cut down to the ground that day in Yisroel twenty and two thousand men.
22 And the HaAm Ish Yisroel took courage, and formed their battle line again in the place where they put themselves in array the first day.
23 (And the Bnei Yisroel went up and wept before Hashem until erev, and asked counsel of Hashem, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the Bnei Binyamin achi? And Hashem said, Go up against him.)
24 And the Bnei Yisroel came near against the Bnei Binyamin the second day.
25 And Binyamin went forth against them from Giv’ah the second day, and cut down to the ground of the Bnei Yisroel another eighteen thousand men; all these were armed with the cherev.
26 Then kol Bnei Yisroel, and kol haAm, went up, and came unto Beit-El, and wept, and sat there before Hashem, and did a tzom that day until erev, and offered olot and shelamim before Hashem.
27 And the Bnei Yisroel inquired of Hashem, (for the Aron Brit HaElohim was there in those days,
28 And Pinchas ben Eleazar ben Aharon stood ministering before it in those yamim,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the Bnei Binyamin achi, or shall I cease? And Hashem said, Go up; for makhar (tomorrow) I will deliver them into thine yad.
29 And Yisroel set an ambush in wait round about Giv’ah.
30 And the Bnei Yisroel went up against the Bnei Binyamin on the Yom HaShelishi, and put themselves in array against Giv’ah, as before.
31 And the Bnei Binyamin went out against HaAm, and were drawn away from the Ir; and they began to inflict casualties on HaAm, as at other times, in the sadeh and on the roads, of which one road goeth up to Beit-El, and the other road to Giv’ah, killing about sheloshim ish b’Yisroel.
32 And the Bnei Binyamin said, They are defeated before us, as at the first. But the Bnei Yisroel said, Let us retreat, and draw them from the Ir unto the roads.
33 And Kol Ish Yisroel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baal-Tamar; meanwhile the ones of Yisroel waiting in ambush came forth out of their places, at Ma’areh Geva.
34 And there came a frontal assault against Giv’ah by ten thousand ish bachur out of kol Yisroel, and the milchamah was fierce; but they [the Bnei Binyamin] had no da’as that for them ra’ah (evil, disaster) was near.
35 And Hashem defeated Binyamin before Yisroel; and the Bnei Yisroel struck down from Binyamin that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred ish, all these armed with cherev.
36 So the Bnei Binyamin saw that they were defeated; for the Ish Yisroel gave place before Binyamin, because they relied on the ones ambushing which they had positioned against Giv’ah.
37 And the ones ambushing hasted, and rushed upon Giv’ah; and the ones ambushing drew themselves along, and struck kol HaIr with the edge of the cherev.
38 Now there was a mo’ed (appointed agreement) between the Ish Yisroel and the ones ambushing, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the Ir.
39 And when the Ish Yisroel turned in the milchamah, Binyamin began to inflict casualties on the Ish Yisroel about sheloshim ish; for they said, Surely they are defeated before us, as in the milchamah harishonah.
40 But when the smoke cloud began to arise up out of the Ir with an ammud ashan (pillar of smoke), Binyamin looked behind them, and, hinei, the whole Ir ascended up in smoke to Shomayim.
41 And when the Ish Yisroel turned again, the Ish Binyamin were terrified; for they saw that ra’ah was come upon them.
42 Therefore they turned their backs before the Ish Yisroel unto the derech hamidbar; but the milchamah overtook them; and them which came out of the towns [of Binyamin] the ones [the Bnei Yisroel] cutting down him [Binyamin] in the midst of it.
43 Thus surrounding those of Binyamin, they chased them, and trampled them down with ease nokhach Giv’ah (straight before Giv’ah) toward the rising of the shemesh.
44 And there fell of Binyamin eighteen thousand ish; all these were anshei chayil.
45 And they turned and fled toward the midbar unto the Rock of Rimmon; and they cut down of them in the roads five thousand ish; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slaughtered two thousand ish of them.
46 So that all which fell that day of Binyamin were twenty and five thousand ish armed with cherev; all these were anshei chayil.
47 But six hundred ish turned and fled to the midbar unto the Rock of Rimmon, and abode unto the Rock of Rimmon four months.
48 And the Ish Yisroel turned back upon the Bnei Binyamin, and struck them with the edge of the cherev, including every town, the people, the behemah, and all that remained; also they burned with eish all the towns that they came to.
22 After these things Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach and his talmidim came into the land of Yehudah, and there he was staying with them and was giving the mikveh mayim’s tevilah.
23 And Yochanan was also giving the tevilah near Shalem at Einayim, because there was plenty of water there for a mikveh, and the Yehudim were coming and submitting to the tevilah.
24 Yochanan had not yet been incarcerated in the beit hasohar (prison).
25 There was then a discussion of Yochanan’s talmidim with one of the Yehudim about the subject of tohorah (purification).
26 And they came to Yochanan and said to him, Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Yarden, the one to whom you have given solemn edut, hinei, this one gives the mikveh mayim’s tevilah and kol Bnei Adam come to him.
27 In reply, Yochanan said, A man is not able to receive anything, unless it has been given to him from Shomayim.
28 You yourselves stand as eidus (witness) to me, that I said I am not the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, but I have been sent as his foroisgeier (forerunner) [MALACHI 3:1].
29 The one having the Kallah (bride) is the Choson (Bridegroom, i.e., Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach) but the Shoshvin (the Choson’s best man), the one having stood and hearing him with simcha, rejoices because of the kol (voice) of the Choson (Bridegroom). Therefore, this simcha of mine has been made sheleimah (complete).
30 It is necessary for that one [Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach] to increase, but for me to decrease.
31 The one coming from above (Moshiach) is over all; the one being from Olam Hazeh is of Olam Hazeh and of the Olam Hazeh he speaks; Hu Habah (He who comes, i.e., Moshiach) from Shomayim is over all.
32 Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach gives solemn edut (testimony) to that which he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his eidus.
33 The one who is mekabel Moshiach’s eidus has thereby set his chotam of attestation that Hashem is Emes.
34 For he whom Hashem sent speaks the Divrei Hashem, for He gives the Ruach Hakodesh without measure. [YESHAYAH 42:1]
35 Elohim HaAv (the Father) has ahavah (love) for HaBen [MISHLE 30:4; 8:30] and has given all things into his hand.
36 The one with emunah in the Ben [HaElohim] has Chayyei Olam; but the one disobeying the Ben [HaElohim] will not see Chayyim, but the Charon Af Hashem remains on him.
4 Therefore when Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach knew that the Perushim heard that he makes more talmidim and administers the tevilah of teshuva to more talmidim than Yochanan,
2 Although Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach himself did not personally administer the mikveh mayim’s tevilah—this was administered by his talmidim,
3 Then Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach left the land of Yehudah and departed again into the Galil.
24 Hashem, how manifold are Thy ma’asim! In chochmah (wisdom; cf Psa 33:6; Yn 1:1) hast Thou made them all; ha’aretz is full of Thy creatures.
25 So is this gadol (great) and rekhav (wide, spacious) yam (sea), wherein are remes (creeping things), innumerable swarming chayyot (creatures), ketanot and gedolot.
26 There go the oniyyot (ships); there is that Leviathan, whom Thou hast made lesakhek (to play, to sport, to frolic) therein.
27 These wait all upon Thee; that Thou mayest give them their ochel (food) in due season.
28 That Thou givest them they gather; Thou openest Thine yad, they are satisfied with tov.
29 Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled; Thou takest away their ruach, they expire, and return to their aphar.
30 Thou sendest forth Thy Ruach [Hakodesh], they are created; and Thou renewest the face of adamah (earth).
31 The Kavod Hashem shall endure l’olam; Hashem shall rejoice in His ma’asim (works).
32 He looketh on ha’aretz, and it trembleth; He toucheth the harim, and they smoke.
33 I will sing unto Hashem as long as I live; I will sing praise to Elohai while I have my being.
34 May my si’akh (musing, meditation) be acceptable to Him; I will have simchah in Hashem.
35 Let the chatta’im (sinners) be consumed from ha’aretz, and let the resha’im (wicked) be no more. Baruch Hashem, O my nefesh. Praise Hashem!
22 Do they not go astray that plot rah? But chesed and emes shall be to them that plan tov.
23 In all hard work there is profit, but idle chatter of the sfatayim (lips) tendeth only to makhsor (poverty, want).
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