Bible Strands
Judges 19:9
When the man got up to depart with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is drawing to a close. Please spend the night. See, the day is almost over. Spend the night here, that your heart may be merry. Then you can get up early tomorrow for your journey home.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The girl’s father addresses only his son-in-law at dusk on the fifth day of their stay. He urges the man to delay his departure and remain for the night so his journey home can begin at dawn.
The words — חֹתְנ֣/וֹ (cho.te.N/o) = his father-in-law, and לָ/לֶ֔כֶת (la./Le.khet) = to depart. The text records the father-in-law using these terms when proposing a temporary halt to the man’s journey.
The thread — The father-in-law’s plea to stay as evening approaches mirrors the disciples’ request in Luke 24:29. The man’s refusal to delay and his plan to travel tomorrow directly engage the warnings about human planning in James 4:13 and Proverbs 27:1.
Why it lands — The passage requires readers to observe how hospitality and stubborn independence clash during a journey. It demands attention to the consequences of ignoring timely counsel before nightfall.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel’s father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and to morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
- James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”
- Luke 24:29 But they pleaded with Him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them.