Family Verses
God's design for family — love, honor, and commitment that reflect His covenant love.
{Now} as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, {and} beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.
Behold, {here is} my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing. {so vile...: Heb. the matter of this folly}
And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak {your minds}.
Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.
(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell {us}, how was this wickedness?
And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that {belongeth} to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. {the Levite: Heb. the man the Levite}
Behold, ye {are} all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel.
Now therefore deliver {us} the men, the children of Belial, which {are} in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel:
But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.
And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.
And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah {shall go up} first.
And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.