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Verse

Judges 19:10

ESV But the man would not spend the night. He rose up and departed and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a couple of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was with him.
NIV But, unwilling to stay another night, the man left and went toward Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.
NASB But the man was unwilling to spend the night, so he got up and left, and came to a place opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). And with him was a pair of saddled donkeys; his concubine also was with him.
CSB But the man was unwilling to spend the night. He got up, departed, and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem ). The man had his two saddled donkeys and his concubine with him.
NLT But this time the man was determined to leave. So he took his two saddled donkeys and his concubine and headed in the direction of Jebus (that is, Jerusalem).
KJV But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him.
NKJV However, the man was not willing to spend that night; so he rose and departed, and came opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). With him were the two saddled donkeys; his concubine was also with him.

What does Judges 19:10 mean?

The Levite man who came to Bethlehem to collect his runaway concubine has reached the end of his patience. He has graciously accepted his father-in-law's hospitality, as expected by the strict rule of ancient middle eastern culture. This meant an initial stay of three days and then another day and night at the father-in-law's insistence. Now he has stayed for most of the fifth day, and his concubine's father is asking them to stay yet another night.

Finally, the Levite stands firm and refuses to remain overnight. He will not stay any longer even though it is nearly evening time already. He may have felt that if he did not leave at once, he'd never find a way to escape. He is urgent to get on the road back to Ephraim, though he knows his company of three people and two donkeys will have to stay the night somewhere.

With that reasoning, the group heads out. The road leads them near Jebus, the city later renamed Jerusalem, in Judah. At the time of these events, non-Israelites controlled the city (Judges 1:21; 19:12). The light is fading, so they are faced with another decision: whether to stay in Jebus for the night or continue after dark to find a Jewish town in which to rest.
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