Hospitality in Bethlehem

1And it happened in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that a Levite man was dwelling in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, and he took for himself a woman, a concubine, from Bethlehem in Judah.

2But his concubine was unfaithful to him, and she went away from him to her father's house, to Bethlehem in Judah, and was there for four months.

3Then her husband arose and went after her to speak to her heart and bring her back. His young servant was with him, along with a pair of donkeys. She brought him into her father’s house, and when the young woman’s father saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

4And his father-in-law, the young woman's father, urged him to stay, and he remained with him three days; and they ate and drank, and spent the nights there.

5On the fourth day, they rose early in the morning, and he got up to go. But the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward you may go.”

6So the two of them sat down together and ate and drank. Then the young woman's father said to the man, "Please, be willing to stay the night, and let your heart be glad."

7Then the man got up to go, but his father-in-law urged him, so he turned back and spent the night there.

8He got up early in the morning on the fifth day to go, but the young woman's father said, “Please strengthen your heart with a morsel of food, and wait until the day declines.” So the two of them ate.

9When the man rose to leave with his concubine and his attendant, his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is waning toward evening. Please stay the night. Look, the day is nearly over. Spend the night here and let your heart be glad. Then rise early tomorrow for your journey, and go home.”