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Tuesday in Holy Week

Judges 19:22-30

While they were enjoying themselves, the men of the city, a perverse lot,
surrounded the house, and started pounding on the door.  They said to the
old man, the master of the house, "Bring out the man who came into your
house, so that we may have intercourse with him."  And the man, the master
of the house, went out to them and said to them, "No, my brothers, do not
act so wickedly.  Since this man is my guest, do not do this vile thing.
Here are my virgin daughter and his concubine; let me bring them out now.
Ravish them and do whatever you want to them; but against this man do not
do such a vile thing."  But the men would not listen to him.  So the man
seized his concubine, and put her out to them.  They wantonly raped her,
and abused her all through the night until the morning.  And as the dawn
began to break, they let her go.  As morning appeared, the woman came and
fell down at the door of the man's house where her master was, until it
was light.

In the morning her master got up, opened the doors of the house, and when
he went out to go on his way, there was his concubine lying at the door of
the house, with her hands on the threshold.  "Get up," he said to her, "we
are going."  But there was no answer.  Then he put her on the donkey; and
the man set out for his home.  When he had entered his house, he took a
knife, and grasping his concubine he cut her into twelve pieces, limb by
limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.  Then he
commanded the men whom he sent, saying, "Thus shall you say to all the
Israelites, 'Has such a thing ever happened since the day that the
Israelites came up from the land of Egypt until this day?  Consider it,
take counsel, and speak out.'"