They went over there, to go in to stay in Gibeah. He went in, and sat down in the street of the city; for there was no one who took them into his house to stay.
Parallel Translations
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They went over there, to go in to stay in Gibeah. He went in, and sat down in the street of the city; for there was no one who took them into his house to stay.
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And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging.
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And they turned aside thither, to go in to lodge in Gibeah; and he went in, and sat him down in the broad place of the city; for there was no man that took them into his house to lodge.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Judges 19:15 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Judges 19:18 He said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem Judah to the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem Judah. I am going to Yahweh’s house; and there is no one who has taken me into his house.
- Matthew 25:43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
- Hebrews 13:2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it.
- Genesis 18:2-8 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth, and said, “My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please don’t go away from your servant. Now let a little water be fetched, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. I will get a piece of bread so you can refresh your heart. After that you may go your way, now that you have come to your servant.” They said, “Very well, do as you have said.” Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly prepare three seahs of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.” Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a tender and good calf, and gave it to the servant. He hurried to dress it. He took butter, milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them. He stood by them under the tree, and they ate.
- Genesis 19:2-3 and he said, “See now, my lords, please come into your servant’s house, stay all night, wash your feet, and you can rise up early, and go on your way.” They said, “No, but we will stay in the street all night.” He urged them greatly, and they came in with him, and entered into his house. He made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
- Matthew 25:35 for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Or gathered them.
Or gathered them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jdg 19:15 And they turned aside thither, to go…
Jdg 19:15 And they turned aside thither, to go in [and] to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city: for [there was] no man that took them into his house to lodging.
Ver. 15. He sat him down in a street of the city.] There were not inns and houses of receipt for strangers in those days, as are now: but if no man took them in, they lay in the streets. {Gen 19:2}
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For there was no man that took them into his house.] This their inhospitality and inhumanity was a forerunner of their destruction. The Jews at this day are very hospitable to their own. So were the ancient Protestants the Waldenses. And surely if God had been in any of these Benjamites’ houses, his servant had not been excluded.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Though they were soft and effeminate in other respects,…
Though they were soft and effeminate in other respects, yet they were hard-hearted towards strangers or indigent persons. Either there were no public houses to receive and entertain travellers, as may be gathered from Ge 28; Ge 42; Ge 45; Jos 9 &c.; or, if there were such a one here, they might perceive it to be a very wicked house, as being in so lewd a place, and therefore might decline it, and expect that some private person would exercise hospitality to them, as persons of any worth used to do, as Gen 18:1-4; 19:1,2; Heb 13:2.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And they turned aside thither to go in and…
And they turned aside thither to go in and lodge in Gibeah,.... Instead of going right forward, and passing by Gibeah, over against which they were, they turned out of their road, and went into the city to seek a lodging in it:
and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city; to see whether any person would invite him into any of their houses, as was usual in those hospitable times and countries, and where there were few inns for the entertainment of travellers and strangers, or none at all, and especially in cities; if any where, they were upon the public road:
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for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging; the spirit of hospitality being greatly declined, and even gone from among them; or as some think, those that had such a spirit, and were willing to receive strangers, were afraid, because of their wicked neighbours, who would beset their houses to abuse strangers, as the sequel of this history shows.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain To lodge - Though they were soft and effeminate…
To lodge - Though they were soft and effeminate in other respects, yet they were hard-hearted to strangers, and at that time there were no public-houses in that country.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 15. No man - took them into his…
Verse 15. No man - took them into his house to lodging.] There was probably no inn or house of public entertainment in this place, and therefore they could not have a lodging unless furnished by mere hospitality. To say that there were no inns in those primitive times, is not true; there were such places, though not very frequent. Joseph's brethren found their money in their sacks when they loosed them at an inn, Ge 42:27. The house of Rahab was an inn, Jos 2:1. And the woman whose house Samson frequented at Gaza was a hostess, or one who kept a place of public entertainment.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Jdg 19:15. He sat down in the street of…
Jdg 19:15. He sat down in the street of the city — There being no public inns in that country in those days, this was the general custom. Travellers sat down in the streets till some person invited them into his house. And this was generally readily done by one or other, except in places where there was a great degeneracy of manners. Here, although they were soft and effeminate in other respects, yet they were hard-hearted to strangers, for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging, till a poor labouring man performed that office of hospitality toward them.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain A street - Probably the square or place within…
A street - Probably the square or place within the gates, where courts were held, bargains made, and where the chief men and strangers congregated.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Lodge. No one invited them in. How much had…
Lodge. No one invited them in. How much had these people degenerated from the manners of Abraham and of Lot, to imitate those of the men of Sodom! (Haydock) --- There was no inn it seems at Gabaa, though we read of some at Jericho, Gaza, &c., chap. xvi. 1., Josue ii. 1., and Genesis xlii. 27. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain when he went in, he sat him down in…
when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city--The towns of Palestine at this remote period could not, it seems, furnish any establishment in the shape of an inn or public lodging-house. Hence we conclude that the custom, which is still frequently witnessed in the cities of the East, was then not uncommon, for travellers who were late in arriving and who had no introduction to a private family, to spread their bedding in the streets, or wrapping themselves up in their cloaks, pass the night in the open air. In the Arab towns and villages, however, the sheik, or some other person, usually comes out and urgently invites the strangers to his house. This was done also in ancient Palestine (Gen 18:4; Gen 19:2). That the same hospitality was not shown in Gibeah seems to have been owing to the bad character of the people.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 15. He sat him down in a street of…
15. He sat him down in a street of the city — This, we are told by Orientalists, is a way of making known one’s want of entertainment, and is a custom still existing in the East. Usually one is allowed to wait but a little while in such a place.
For there was no man that took them — Rather, And no man took them. This implies that the inhabitants of that town were wilfully inhospitable. It was a reproach to them that they allowed a wayfaring man to wait so long in a street of their city before entertainment was offered him, and Jdg_19:18 implies that the Levite himself felt misused.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 15. and he went in, and sat him down]…
15. and he went in, and sat him down] The verbs should probably be read as plurals.
the street] Rather broad place (Jdg_19:17; Jdg_19:20), Gen_19:2 b, usually near the gate, 2Ch_32:6, Neh_8:1; Neh_8:3; Neh_8:16 etc. At this point we begin to notice parallels with Genesis 19.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (15) In a street.—Rather, in the open place (Rechob)—i.e.,…
(15) In a street.—Rather, in the open place (Rechob)—i.e., the square or market-place of the city, often a space outside the walls (Deu_13:16). (Comp. Gen_19:1-2; “The stranger did not lodge in the street”—Job_31:32.)
No man that took them into his house.—The same neglect would have been experienced by the angels at Sodom but for the care of Lot. This neglect of the very first duty of the East was sufficient at once to prove the base condition into which Gibeah had fallen (Deu_10:19; Mat_25:35).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain A street of the city. Rather, the broad space…
A street of the city. Rather, the broad space or place near the gate, such as is usual in an Oriental city. (cf. Rth_4:1) There was no man that took them into his house. This absence of the common rites of hospitality toward strangers was a sign of the degraded character of the men of Gibeah. (see Gen_18:3-8 Gen_19:2, 3 Rom_12:13 Heb_13:2 1Pe_4:9)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.