³ Then her husband went to ·ask her [persuade her; ^Lspeak to her heart] to come back to him, taking with him his servant and two donkeys. When the Levite came to her father’s house, she invited him to come in, and her father was happy to ·see [welcome; meet] him. ⁴ The father-in-law, the young woman’s father, ·asked [urged; persuaded] him to stay. So he stayed for three days and ate, drank, and slept there [^Chospitality was (and is) a very high cultural value in the Middle East].

⁵ On the fourth day they got up early in the morning. The Levite was getting ready to leave, but the woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “·Refresh [Strengthen] yourself by eating something. Then go.” ⁶ So the two men sat down to eat and drink together. After that, the father said to him, “Please stay tonight. Relax and enjoy yourself.” ⁷ When the man got up to go, his father-in-law ·asked [urged; persuaded] him to stay. So he stayed again that night. ⁸ On the fifth day the man got up early in the morning to leave. The woman’s father said, “·Refresh [Strengthen] yourself. Wait until this afternoon.” So the two men ate together.

⁹ When the Levite, his ·slave woman [concubine; v. 1], and his servant got up to leave, the father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said, “It’s almost night. The day is almost gone. Spend the night here and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow morning you can get up early and go home.”