The people of Israel have gone deep into sin as the people of Gibeah did. The Lord will remember the evil things they have done, and he will punish their sins.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down from this mountain, because your people, the people you brought out of the land of Egypt, have ruined themselves.
The people of the earth have ruined it, because they do not follow God’s teachings or obey God’s laws or keep their agreement with God that was to last forever.
This is what the Lord says about the people of Judah: “They really love to wander from me; they don’t stop themselves from leaving me. So now the Lord will not accept them. He will now remember the evil they do and will punish them for their sins.”
“And you, human, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord God says about the people of Ammon and their insults: A sword, a sword is pulled out of its holder. It is polished to kill and destroy, to flash like lightning!
“Israel, you have sinned since the time of Gibeah, and the people there have continued sinning. But war will surely overwhelm them in Gibeah, because of the evil they have done there.
The Israelites offer sacrifices to me as gifts and eat the meat, but the Lord is not pleased with them. He remembers the evil they have done, and he will punish them for their sins. They will be slaves again as they were in Egypt.
I said, ‘Surely now Jerusalem will respect me and will accept my teaching.’ Then the place where they lived would not be destroyed, and I would not have to punish them. But they were still eager to do evil in everything they did.
Finally, in the evening an old man came in from his work in the fields. His home was in the mountains of Ephraim, but now he was living in Gibeah. (The people of Gibeah were from the tribe of Benjamin.)
While they were enjoying themselves, some wicked men of the city surrounded the house and beat on the door. They shouted to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house. We want to have sexual relations with him.”