Judges 19 in the early church

Now in those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite who lived in the remote hill country of Ephraim took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.

But she was unfaithful to him and left him to return to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. After she had been there four months,

His father-in-law, the girl’s father, persuaded him to stay, so he remained with him three days, eating, drinking, and lodging there.

When the man got up to depart with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is drawing to a close. Please spend the night. See, the day is almost over. Spend the night here, that your heart may be merry. Then you can get up early tomorrow for your journey home.”

But the man was unwilling to spend the night. He got up and departed, and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.

But his master replied, “We will not turn aside to the city of foreigners, where there are no Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.”

When he looked up and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going, and where have you come from?”

While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house, so we can have relations with him!”

Look, let me bring out my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine, and you can use them and do with them as you wish. But do not do such a vile thing to this man.”

But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go.

Early that morning, the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, collapsed at the doorway, and lay there until it was light.

When he reached his house, he picked up a knife, took hold of his concubine, cut her limb by limb into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel.

And everyone who saw it said, “Nothing like this has been seen or done from the day the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt until this day. Think it over, take counsel, and speak up!”