What follows is especially shocking. The old man is so horrified by the prospect of this homosexual rape and the shame it will bring him as the Levite’s host, that he is willing to sacrifice his own daughter and the Levite’s concubine to the crowd. The scenes that follow are some of the most horrendous in the entire Old Testament. The moral depravity of the Israelites is clearly demonstrated, including not only the evil and perverse acts of those attacking, but also the callous attitudes of those being attacked as well.

Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine: It is hard to know exactly why the old man acted as he did. His commitment as host to the Levite may have been primary in his mind, or he may have considered a homosexual act as worse than a gang-rape involving a female victim, especially if the victim was a Levite. Whatever his motivation, the old man offers the two young women inside his house, his own daughter and the Levite’s concubine, instead of the Levite. Here the Hebrew word hinneh rendered Behold, here are takes on a demonstrative meaning, so it may be translated “Here, take” (New Living Translation) or “Look, here are” (similarly New International Version). Another way of saying this is “You can have” or “Wait, take.” My virgin daughter is literally “my daughter the virgin,” which may imply that he had other daughters who were already married. This passage recalls Jephthah and his offering up of his own virgin daughter to God (verse 11.35). Here, however, the scene is far more shocking, as the man willingly offers his daughter to a crowd of depraved men. His concubine refers to the Levite’s wife. The fact that he offers not only his own daughter but also another man’s wife shows to what lengths he is willing to go to avoid dishonor. New Jerusalem Bible omits the phrase and his concubine, but there is no justification for doing so.

Raping a married woman was punishable by death, as was the homosexual act that was threatened (Lev 20.10-13). The old man’s offer is shocking, and certainly the narrator meant it to be. As noted above, there are any number of explanations for why the man acted as he did. Today’s readers must consider the context of a culture based on a system of honor and shame. The inclusion of this story in the book of Judges does not mean the narrator condones this kind of behavior. Rather, it is a means of showing how very far these people had strayed from the LORD and from his Law.

Let me bring them out now: There is something terribly wrong in Israel. The old Ephraimite who seemed so dignified now exhibits some very odd behavior. While Let me bring … out renders the same Hebrew verb in verse 19.22, it is followed by the Hebrew politeness marker naʾ, which might be rendered “please.” The audience will wonder, however, why this man is being so polite to this band of ruffians. The pronoun them refers to the two women. The Hebrew verb here is cohortative, but New International Version prefers to use a future, saying “I will bring them out to you now” (similarly Good News Translation).

Ravish them: These words are shocking. Not only does the man offer his own daughter and the Levite’s concubine to the crowd, but he also tells them to Ravish them. The Hebrew verb for Ravish normally means “afflict” or “humiliate” as in Gen 34.2, but here it refers to sexual mistreatment. Several versions try to soften these words by saying “Take them” (Parole de Vie) or “Have your pleasure of them” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), but violent treatment is implied. Contemporary English Version seems to render these words correctly by saying “You can rape them.”

And do with them what seems good to you is literally “and do to them the good in your eyes.” The audience will immediately make the connection between these words and the thematic message in this part of the book: “every man did what was right in his own eyes” (verse 17.6). This statement is extremely ironic, since the old man tells them to do, not just whatever they want, but what is good. What is good and bad seems to have no more meaning. Contemporary English Version proposes “or do whatever else you want,” but if possible translators should try to stay close to the Hebrew text so that the important links between various texts can be seen.

But against this man do not do so vile a thing: The old man willingly offers up the two women and begs the men to not touch the Levite. But is a good rendering of the Hebrew waw conjunction here. In Hebrew the phrase for against this man occurs near the beginning of this sentence for emphasis, once again repeating the word man. In some languages this phrase may be more natural if placed later in the clause. The preposition against may be rendered “to.” This man refers to the Levite. For do not do so vile a thing, see verse 19.23, where the Hebrew word for vile seems to mean “foolish.” Here it seems to refer to something “disgraceful” or morally wrong.

Translation models for this verse are:

• Here! I will give you my own virgin daughter and this man’s concubine. Abuse them and do whatever you want to them. But don’t do anything so evil against this man.”

• Here! Please take my daughter—she’s still a virgin—and take this man’s concubine! Rape them! Do whatever seems good in your eyes. Only don’t do this disgraceful thing to this man.”

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .