10. But the Levite did not want to stay another night. He took his two donkeys and his slave woman. He traveled as far as the city of Jebus (that is, Jerusalem).
11. The day was almost over. They were near the city of Jebus. So the servant said to his master, the Levite, “Let’s stop at this Jebusite city. Let’s stay the night here.”
12. But his master, the Levite man, said, “No, we will not go inside a strange city. Those people are not Israelites. We will go to the city of Gibeah.”
13. The Levite said, “Come on. Let’s try to make it to Gibeah or Ramah. We can stay the night in one of those cities.”
14. So the Levite and those with him traveled on. The sun was going down just as they entered the city of Gibeah. Gibeah is in the area that belongs to the tribe of Benjamin.
15. They planned to stop there and stay the night. They came to the city square and sat down, but no one invited them home to stay the night.
16. That evening an old man came into the city from the fields. His home was in the hill country of Ephraim, but now he was living in the city of Gibeah. (The men of Gibeah were from the tribe of Benjamin.)
17. The old man saw the traveler in the public square and asked, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?”
18. The Levite answered, “We have come from Bethlehem in Judah, where I went for a visit. Now I am on my way home, which is a long way into the hill country of Ephraim. I expected that someone here would invite us in for the night, but no one has.
19. We already have straw and food for our donkeys. There is also bread and wine for me, the young woman, and my servant. We don’t need anything.”
20. The old man said, “You are welcome to stay at my house. I will give you anything you need, but don’t stay the night in the public square.”