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Verse

Judges 19:24

ESV Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.”
NIV Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But as for this man, don't do such an outrageous thing.'
NASB Here is my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine. Please let me bring them out, then rape them and do to them whatever you wish. But do not commit this act of vile sin against this man.'
CSB Here, let me bring out my virgin daughter and the man's concubine now. Abuse them and do whatever you want to them. But don't commit this outrageous thing against this man."
NLT Here, take my virgin daughter and this man’s concubine. I will bring them out to you, and you can abuse them and do whatever you like. But don’t do such a shameful thing to this man.'
KJV 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.

What does Judges 19:24 mean?

Full context for this verse means piling outrage upon outrage. None of this should be happening among the people of God (Deuteronomy 12:29–32). Upon hearing there is a traveler in town, a throng of men in Gibeah storm the home where he is staying. They demand the stranger be sent out to be raped (Judges 19:18–22). The host has denounced their attempt as horribly evil (Judges 19:23), and now suggests something just as cruel.

Even small details of this situation add to its horrific moral failure. The event closely mirrors what happened in Sodom just before God annihilated the city for their evil (Genesis 19:2–7). The target is a stranger, whom ancient tradition demanded be protected. Further, the man is a Levite (Numbers 3:5–10), so the mob is targeting one of God's representatives to the people of Israel. The proposed solution is to trade innocence for innocence (Proverbs 6:16–19).

Commentators are split on how to judge this older worker (Judges 19:16–17). On one hand, he likely fears for his life, as well as the lives of everyone in the home. He might see this as the only way to avoid everyone in the house from being killed or attacked. On the other hand, he also seems to think it less depraved for the crowd of men to rape a virgin girl and a concubine, instead of a man. That said, disagreement over the man's actions are all shades of the same basic conclusion: every part of this story is repulsive. That is the very point of this story's inclusion in the book of Judges.

The men in this story demonstrate that their commitment to cultural hospitality and self-preservation is greater than their godly calling as fathers and protectors. Incredibly, the men outside the home are even worse; their actions will so shock Israel that it leads to a civil war (Judges 20:8–10).
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