The XIX. Chapter.
[ A] AT the same tyme was there no kynge in Israel, and there was a man of Le∣ui, which was a straūger besyde moūt Ephraim, and had taken him a cōcubine of Bethleem Iuda to wife: And whā she had played the harlot besyde him, she ranne frō him to hir fathers house vnto Bethleem Iu¦da, & was there foure monethes longe. And hir huszbāde gat him vp, & wente after her, to speake frēdly wt her, & to fetch her againe, & had a seruaunt & a couple of asses wt him. And she led him in to hir fathers house. But whan the damsels father sawe him, he was glad, & receaued him: & his father in lawe, yt the damsels father kepte him, so yt he taried thre dayes wt him: thus they ate and drōke, and remayned there all nighte.
[ B] But on ye fourth daye he gat him vp ear¦ly, & wolde go his waye. Then sayde ye dam∣sels father vnto his sonne in lawe: Refresh thine hert first wt a morsell of bred, and then shal ye go. And they sat them downe, & ate and dronke both together: Then sayde the damsels father vnto the man: Oh tarye all nighte, yt we waie refresh thine hert. But ye mā arose, & wolde nedes go. And his father in lawe constrayned him to tarye all nighte. On the fifth daye in the mornynge he gat him vp, and wolde be gone. Then sayde the damsels father: I praye the comforte thine hert, & let vs tary tyll ye daye be farther past, and so they ate both together.
And the man gat him vp, and wolde go [ C] with his concubyne and with his seruaunt. But his father in lawe the damsels father, saide vnto him agayne: Lo, the daye is spen¦te, & it begynneth to be euen, tary all night: beholde, here is lodginge yet this daye, aby∣de here this night, it shal refresh thine hert: tomorow by times get you vp, and go youre waye vnto thy tent. Neuerttheles the man wolde not tar••, but gat him vp, and wēte his waye▪ and came ouer agaynst Iebus (that is Ierusalem) and his couple of asses ladē, and his concubyne with him.
Now whan they were come nye vnto Ie¦bus, the daye ••••ll fast awaye. And ye seruaūt saide vnto his master: I praie you go on, and let vs turne in to this cite of the Iebusites, and tarye therin allnight. Not withstondin¦ge [ D] his master sayde vnto him: I wil not tur¦ne in to ye cite of the aleauntes, that are not of the children of Israel, but I wyl go ouer vnto Gibea. And he sayde vnto his seruaūt: Go thou before, that we maye come to some place, and tarye at Gibea or at Ramah all∣night. And they wente on and walked, and the Sonne wente downe vpon thē harde by Gibea, which lyeth in the trybe of Ben Ia∣min: and they turned in there, yt they mighte come in, and tarye at Gibea all nighte. But whan he came in, he sat him downe in ye stre¦te of the cite: for there was noman that wol¦de lodge them in his house that night.
And beholde, then came there an olde mā [ E] from his worke out of the felde in the euenin¦ge: and he was also of mount Ephraim, and a straūger at Gibea: but ye mē of that place were ye childrē of Iemini. And whan he lifte vp his eies, & sawe the straunger in the strete he sayde vnto him: Whither wilt thou go? & whence cōmest thou? He answered him: We are goinge on oure iourney from Betleē Iu¦da, vntyll we come besyde mount Ephraim, whēce I am, and wente vnto Bethleem Iu¦da, and now I go vnto ye house of ye LORDE & no mā wil harbarow me. We haue strawe and prouēder for oure asses, and bred and wy¦ne for me and thy handmayden, and for the yonge man which is with thy seruaunt, so yt we wante nothinge.
The olde man sayde: Peace be with the: [ F] what soeuer thou wantest, thou findest it wt me, onely tarye not in the strete all nighte. And he broughte him in to his house, and ga¦ue the asses prouender: and they washed their fete, and ate & dronke. And whā their hert was now ioyfull, the men of the cyte, the children of Belial, came, and compased