16 Then behold , an old man was coming out of the field from his work at evening . Now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim , and he was staying in Gibeah , but the men of the place were Benjamites . 17 And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler e in the open square of the city ; and the old man said , "Where are you going , and where do you come from?" 18 He said to him, "We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim , for I am from there , and I went to Bethlehem in Judah . But I am now going to my house , and no man will take me into his house . 19 "Yet there is both straw and fodder for our donkeys , and also bread and wine for me, your maidservant , and the young man who is with your servants ; there is no lack of anything e ." 20 The old man said , " Peace to you. Only let me take care of all your needs ; however , do not spend the night in the open square ." 21 So he took him into his house and gave the donkeys fodder , and they washed their feet and ate and drank .
22 While they were celebrating e , behold , the men of the city , certain worthless fellows , surrounded the house , pounding the door ; and they spoke to the owner of the house , the old man , saying , "Bring out the man who came into your house that we may have relations with him."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Judges 19:16-22
Chapter Contents
The wickedness of the men of Gibeah.
The three remaining chapters of this book contain a very sad history of the wickedness of the men of Gibeah, in Benjamin. The righteous Lord permits sinners to execute just vengeance on one another, and if the scene here described is horrible, what will the discoveries of the day of judgment be! Let each of us consider how to escape from the wrath to come, how to mortify the sins of our own hearts, to resist Satan's temptations, and to avoid the pollutions there are in the world.