¹ In those days Israel had no king. Now a Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. ² But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her parents` home in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months, <sup>3</sup> her husband went to her to persuade her to return. He had with him his servant and two donkeys. She took him into her parents` home, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him. ⁴ His father-in-law, the woman`s father, prevailed on him to stay; so he remained with him three days, eating and drinking, and sleeping there. <sup>5</sup> On the fourth day they got up early and he prepared to leave, but the woman`s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh yourself with something to eat; then you can go.” ⁶ So the two of them sat down to eat and drink together. Afterward the woman`s father said, “Please stay tonight and enjoy yourself.” <sup>7</sup> And when the man got up to go, his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night. <sup>8</sup> On the morning of the fifth day, when he rose to go, the woman`s father said, “Refresh yourself. Wait till afternoon!” So the two of them ate together.