Judges 19
שופטים פרק י״ט
Section: נביאים · נביאים ראשונים | Book: Judges | Chapter: 19 of 21 | Day: 43 of 742
Date: March 26, 2026
קלאוד על הנ״ך
Judges 19 stands as one of the most disturbing chapters in all of Tanakh, a narrative deliberately crafted to demonstrate the depths of moral collapse in a society operating without centralized authority. The chapter opens with the now-familiar refrain “u-melekh ein b’Yisrael” (and there was no king in Israel), a framing device the author deploys at key moments in the epilogue of Judges (chapters 17-21) to underscore that the horrors described are not random but systemic. What follows is a story of failed hospitality, sexual violence, and communal indifference that will ignite the near-annihilation of an entire Israelite tribe in the chapters to come.
The narrative begins with a seemingly domestic matter: a Levite from the remote hill country of Ephraim travels to Bethlehem to reconcile with his concubine (pilegesh) who has left him and returned to her father’s house. The extended hospitality scene at the father-in-law’s home, stretching over five days of eating, drinking, and repeated delays, serves a crucial literary function. Each day the father-in-law presses the Levite to stay longer, and each delay pushes the eventual departure later into the day. The narrator builds tension through repetition — the Levite rises to leave, the father-in-law detains him, the cycle repeats — until the party finally departs so late that they cannot reach home before nightfall. What appears to be generous hospitality (hakhnasat orchim) becomes, through its excess, the very mechanism that delivers the travelers into danger.
The Levite’s fateful decision to bypass Jebus — a non-Israelite city — in favor of lodging among fellow Israelites in Gibeah of Benjamin represents the chapter’s central and most devastating irony. He trusts that his own people will treat him well, yet in Gibeah no one offers the travelers shelter. Only an old man, himself an outsider from Ephraim merely residing among Benjaminites, extends the hospitality that should have been the community’s obligation. The text is careful to note his foreign origin, implying that the native population of Gibeah has abandoned even the most basic norms of decency. When a mob of “anshei b’nei beliya’al” (worthless men) surrounds the house demanding to assault the Levite, the deliberate parallels to the destruction of Sodom in Genesis 19 become unmistakable. The author is making an extraordinary theological claim: an Israelite city has become indistinguishable from the paradigmatic city of evil.
The violence that follows — the Levite thrusting his concubine out to the mob, her gang rape throughout the night, her solitary crawl back to the doorstep at dawn, and her death with her hands on the threshold — is narrated with a restraint that makes it all the more harrowing. The text offers no divine commentary, no prophetic condemnation, no angelic intervention of the kind that saved Lot in Sodom. God is entirely absent from this chapter, and that silence is itself a theological statement about the spiritual condition of Israel. The image of the concubine’s hands on the threshold (yadeiha al ha-saf), reaching for a safety she was denied, is among the most haunting in biblical literature.
The chapter concludes with the Levite’s gruesome act of dismembering his concubine’s body into twelve pieces and distributing them throughout the tribes, a visceral summons to collective action. The people’s horrified response — “Never has such a thing happened or been seen from the day the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt to this day” — frames the atrocity in the broadest possible historical terms. Yet the reader is left to grapple with troubling questions the text raises but does not resolve: the Levite’s own complicity in pushing his concubine out to the mob, the old man’s willingness to offer his virgin daughter, and the communal failure that made such violence possible. Judges 19 functions as the ultimate indictment of the pre-monarchic period, demonstrating that without just governance, even a people consecrated to God can descend into barbarity indistinguishable from — or worse than — the nations around them.
פרק י״ט · Chapter 19
פסוק א׳ · Verse 1
Hebrew:
וַֽיְהִי֙ בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֔ם וּמֶ֖לֶךְ אֵ֣ין בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיְהִ֣י ׀ אִ֣ישׁ לֵוִ֗י גָּ֚ר בְּיַרְכְּתֵ֣י הַר־אֶפְרַ֔יִם וַיִּֽקַּֽח־לוֹ֙ אִשָּׁ֣ה פִילֶ֔גֶשׁ מִבֵּ֥ית לֶ֖חֶם יְהוּדָֽה׃
English:
In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite residing at the other end of the hill country of Ephraim took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2
Hebrew:
וַתִּזְנֶ֤ה עָלָיו֙ פִּֽילַגְשׁ֔וֹ וַתֵּ֤לֶךְ מֵֽאִתּוֹ֙ אֶל־בֵּ֣ית אָבִ֔יהָ אֶל־בֵּ֥ית לֶ֖חֶם יְהוּדָ֑ה וַתְּהִי־שָׁ֕ם יָמִ֖ים אַרְבָּעָ֥ה חֳדָשִֽׁים׃
English:
Once his concubine desertedadeserted Lit. “played the prostitute.” him, leaving him for her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah; and she stayed there a full four months.
▶Commentaries (1)
פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3
Hebrew:
וַיָּ֨קׇם אִישָׁ֜הּ וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ אַחֲרֶ֗יהָ לְדַבֵּ֤ר עַל־לִבָּהּ֙ (להשיבו) [לַהֲשִׁיבָ֔הּ] וְנַעֲר֥וֹ עִמּ֖וֹ וְצֶ֣מֶד חֲמֹרִ֑ים וַתְּבִיאֵ֙הוּ֙ בֵּ֣ית אָבִ֔יהָ וַיִּרְאֵ֙הוּ֙ אֲבִ֣י הַֽנַּעֲרָ֔ה וַיִּשְׂמַ֖ח לִקְרָאתֽוֹ׃
English:
Then her husband set out, with an attendant and a pair of donkeys, and went after her to woo her and to win her back. She admitted him into her father’s house; and when the young woman’s father saw him, he received him warmly.
פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4
Hebrew:
וַיַּחֲזֶק־בּ֤וֹ חֹתְנוֹ֙ אֲבִ֣י הַֽנַּעֲרָ֔ה וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב אִתּ֖וֹ שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֑ים וַיֹּֽאכְלוּ֙ וַיִּשְׁתּ֔וּ וַיָּלִ֖ינוּ שָֽׁם׃
English:
His father-in-law, the young woman’s father, pressed him, and he stayed with him three days; they ate and drank and lodged there.
פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5
Hebrew:
וַֽיְהִי֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הָרְבִיעִ֔י וַיַּשְׁכִּ֥ימוּ בַבֹּ֖קֶר וַיָּ֣קׇם לָלֶ֑כֶת וַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ אֲבִ֨י הַֽנַּעֲרָ֜ה אֶל־חֲתָנ֗וֹ סְעָ֧ד לִבְּךָ֛ פַּת־לֶ֖חֶם וְאַחַ֥ר תֵּלֵֽכוּ׃
English:
Early in the morning of the fourth day, he started to leave; but the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Eat something to give you strength, then you can leave.”
פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6
Hebrew:
וַיֵּשְׁב֗וּ וַיֹּאכְל֧וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֛ם יַחְדָּ֖ו וַיִּשְׁתּ֑וּ וַיֹּ֜אמֶר אֲבִ֤י הַֽנַּעֲרָה֙ אֶל־הָאִ֔ישׁ הוֹאֶל־נָ֥א וְלִ֖ין וְיִיטַ֥ב לִבֶּֽךָ׃
English:
So the two of them sat down and they feasted together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man, “Won’t you stay overnight and enjoy yourself?”
▶Commentaries (1)
פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7
Hebrew:
וַיָּ֥קׇם הָאִ֖ישׁ לָלֶ֑כֶת וַיִּפְצַר־בּוֹ֙ חֹֽתְנ֔וֹ וַיָּ֖שׇׁב וַיָּ֥לֶן שָֽׁם׃
English:
The man started to leave, but his father-in-law kept urging him until he turned back and spent the night there.
פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8
Hebrew:
וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם בַּבֹּ֜קֶר בַּיּ֣וֹם הַחֲמִישִׁי֮ לָלֶ֒כֶת֒ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ׀ אֲבִ֣י הַֽנַּעֲרָ֗ה סְעׇד־נָא֙ לְבָ֣בְךָ֔ וְהִֽתְמַהְמְה֖וּ עַד־נְט֣וֹת ה��יּ֑וֹם וַיֹּאכְל֖וּ שְׁנֵיהֶֽם׃
English:
Early in the morning of the fifth day, he was about to leave, when the young woman’s father said, “Come, have a bite.” The two of them ate, dawdling until past noon.
פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9
Hebrew:
וַיָּ֤קׇם הָאִישׁ֙ לָלֶ֔כֶת ה֥וּא וּפִילַגְשׁ֖וֹ וְנַעֲר֑וֹ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֣וֹ חֹתְנ֣וֹ אֲבִ֣י הַֽנַּעֲרָ֡ה הִנֵּ֣ה נָא֩ רָפָ֨ה הַיּ֜וֹם לַעֲר֗וֹב לִֽינוּ־נָ֞א הִנֵּ֨ה חֲנ֤וֹת הַיּוֹם֙ לִ֥ין פֹּה֙ וְיִיטַ֣ב לְבָבֶ֔ךָ וְהִשְׁכַּמְתֶּ֤ם מָחָר֙ לְדַרְכְּכֶ֔ם וְהָלַכְתָּ֖ לְאֹהָלֶֽךָ׃
English:
Then the man, his concubine, and his attendant started to leave. His father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is waning toward evening; do stop for the night. See, the day is declining; spend the night here and enjoy yourself. You can start early tomorrow on your journey and head for home.”
▶Commentaries (1)
פסוק י״ · Verse 10
Hebrew:
וְלֹֽא־אָבָ֤ה הָאִישׁ֙ לָל֔וּן וַיָּ֣קׇם וַיֵּ֗לֶךְ וַיָּבֹא֙ עַד־נֹ֣כַח יְב֔וּס הִ֖יא יְרוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם וְעִמּ֗וֹ צֶ֤מֶד חֲמוֹרִים֙ חֲבוּשִׁ֔ים וּפִילַגְשׁ֖וֹ עִמּֽוֹ׃
English:
But the man refused to stay for the night. He set out and traveled as far as the vicinity of Jebus—that is, Jerusalem; he had with him a pair of laden donkeys, and his concubine was with him.bwas with him Emendation yields “and his attendant.”
▶Commentaries (1)
פסוק י״א · Verse 11
Hebrew:
הֵ֣ם עִם־יְב֔וּס וְהַיּ֖וֹם רַ֣ד מְאֹ֑ד וַיֹּ֨אמֶר הַנַּ֜עַר אֶל־אֲדֹנָ֗יו לְכָה־נָּ֛א וְנָס֛וּרָה אֶל־עִֽיר־הַיְבוּסִ֥י הַזֹּ֖את וְנָלִ֥ין בָּֽהּ׃
English:
Since they were close to Jebus, and the day was very far spent, the attendant said to his master, “Let us turn aside to this town of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.”
פסוק י״ב · Verse 12
Hebrew:
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ אֲדֹנָ֔יו לֹ֤א נָסוּר֙ אֶל־עִ֣יר נׇכְרִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹא־מִבְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂ��ָאֵ֖ל הֵ֑נָּה וְעָבַ֖רְנוּ עַד־גִּבְעָֽה׃
English:
But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside to a town of aliens who are not of Israel, but will continue to Gibeah.
▶Commentaries (1)
פסוק י״ג · Verse 13
Hebrew:
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְנַֽעֲר֔וֹ לְךָ֥ וְנִקְרְבָ֖ה בְּאַחַ֣ד הַמְּקֹמ֑וֹת וְלַ֥נּוּ בַגִּבְעָ֖ה א֥וֹ בָרָמָֽה׃
English:
Come,” he said to his attendant, “let us approach one of those places and spend the night either in Gibeah or in Ramah.”
▶Commentaries (1)
פסוק י״ד · Verse 14
Hebrew:
וַיַּעַבְר֖וּ וַיֵּלֵ֑כוּ וַתָּבֹ֤א לָהֶם֙ הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ אֵ֥צֶל הַגִּבְעָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר לְבִנְיָמִֽן׃
English:
So they traveled on, and the sun set when they were near Gibeah of Benjamin.
פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15
Hebrew:
וַיָּסֻ֣רוּ שָׁ֔ם לָב֖וֹא לָל֣וּן בַּגִּבְעָ֑ה וַיָּבֹ֗א וַיֵּ֙שֶׁב֙ בִּרְח֣וֹב הָעִ֔יר וְאֵ֥ין אִ֛ישׁ מְאַסֵּֽף־אוֹתָ֥ם הַבַּ֖יְתָה לָלֽוּן׃
English:
They turned off there and went in to spend the night in Gibeah. He went and sat down in the town square, but nobody took them indoors to spend the night.
פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16
Hebrew:
וְהִנֵּ֣ה ׀ אִ֣ישׁ זָקֵ֗ן בָּ֣א מִֽן־מַעֲשֵׂ֤הוּ מִן־הַשָּׂדֶה֙ בָּעֶ֔רֶב וְהָאִישׁ֙ מֵהַ֣ר אֶפְרַ֔יִם וְהוּא־גָ֖ר בַּגִּבְעָ֑ה וְאַנְשֵׁ֥י הַמָּק֖וֹם בְּנֵ֥י יְמִינִֽי׃
English:
In the evening, an old man came along from his property outside the town.coutside the town Lit. “in the field.” (This man hailed from the hill country of Ephraim and resided at Gibeah, where the locals were Benjaminites.)
פסוק י״ז · Verse 17
Hebrew:
וַיִּשָּׂ֣א עֵינָ֗יו וַיַּ֛רְא אֶת־הָאִ֥ישׁ הָאֹרֵ֖חַ בִּרְחֹ֣ב הָעִ֑יר וַיֹּ֨אמֶר הָאִ֧ישׁ הַזָּקֵ֛ן אָ֥נָה תֵלֵ֖ךְ וּמֵאַ֥יִן תָּבֽוֹא׃
English:
He happened to notice the wayfarer in the town square. “Where,” the old man inquired, “are you going to, and where do you come from?”
פסוק י״ח · Verse 18
Hebrew:
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר א��לָ֗יו עֹבְרִ֨ים אֲנַ֜חְנוּ מִבֵּֽית־לֶ֣חֶם יְהוּדָה֮ עַד־יַרְכְּתֵ֣י הַר־אֶפְרַ֒יִם֒ מִשָּׁ֣ם אָנֹ֔כִי וָאֵלֵ֕ךְ עַד־בֵּ֥ית לֶ֖חֶם יְהוּדָ֑ה וְאֶת־בֵּ֤ית יְהֹוָה֙ אֲנִ֣י הֹלֵ֔ךְ וְאֵ֣ין אִ֔ישׁ מְאַסֵּ֥ף אוֹתִ֖י הַבָּֽיְתָה׃
English:
He replied, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the other end of the hill country of Ephraim. That is where I live. I made a journey to Bethlehem of Judah, and now I am on my way to the House of GOD,dto the House of GOD Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “to my home”; cf. v. 29. and nobody has taken me indoors.
▶Commentaries (1)
פסוק י״ט · Verse 19
Hebrew:
וְגַם־תֶּ֤בֶן גַּם־מִסְפּוֹא֙ יֵ֣שׁ לַחֲמוֹרֵ֔ינוּ וְ֠גַ֠ם לֶ֣חֶם וָיַ֤יִן יֶשׁ־לִי֙ וְלַֽאֲמָתֶ֔ךָ וְלַנַּ֖עַר עִם־עֲבָדֶ֑יךָ אֵ֥ין מַחְס֖וֹר כׇּל־דָּבָֽר׃
English:
We have both bruised straw and feed for our donkeys, and bread and wine for me and your handmaid,eyour handmaid I.e., my concubine. and for the attendant with your servants.fyour servants I.e., us. We lack nothing.”
פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20
Hebrew:
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר הָאִ֤ישׁ הַזָּקֵן֙ שָׁל֣וֹם לָ֔ךְ רַ֥ק כׇּל־מַחְסוֹרְךָ֖ עָלָ֑י רַ֥ק בָּרְח֖וֹב אַל־תָּלַֽן׃
English:
“Rest easy,” said the old man. “Let me take care of all your needs. Do not on any account spend the night in the square.”
פסוק כ״א · Verse 21
Hebrew:
וַיְבִיאֵ֣הוּ לְבֵית֔וֹ (ויבול) [וַיָּ֖בׇל] לַחֲמוֹרִ֑ים וַֽיִּרְחֲצוּ֙ רַגְלֵיהֶ֔ם וַיֹּאכְל֖וּ וַיִּשְׁתּֽוּ׃
English:
And he took him into his house. He mixed fodder for the donkeys; then they bathed their feet and ate and drank.
▶Commentaries (1)
פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22
Hebrew:
הֵ֘מָּה֮ מֵיטִיבִ֣ים אֶת־לִבָּם֒ וְהִנֵּה֩ אַנְשֵׁ֨י הָעִ֜יר אַנְשֵׁ֣י בְנֵי־בְלִיַּ֗עַל נָסַ֙בּוּ֙ אֶת־הַבַּ֔יִת מִֽתְדַּפְּקִ֖ים עַל־הַדָּ֑לֶת וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ אֶל־הָ֠אִ֠ישׁ בַּ֣עַל הַבַּ֤יִת הַזָּקֵן֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר הוֹצֵ֗א אֶת־הָאִ֛ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֥א אֶל־בֵּיתְךָ֖ וְנֵדָעֶֽנּוּ׃
English:
While they were enjoying themselves, the townsmen, a depraved lot, had gathered about the house and were pounding on the door. They called to the aged owner of the house, “Bring out that man who’s come into your house, so that we can be intimate with him.”gbe intimate with him In order to humiliate him; lit. “know him.”
▶Commentaries (1)
פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23
Hebrew:
וַיֵּצֵ֣א אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם הָאִישׁ֙ בַּ֣עַל הַבַּ֔יִת וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֔ם אַל־אַחַ֖י אַל־תָּרֵ֣עוּ נָ֑א אַ֠חֲרֵי אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֞א הָאִ֤ישׁ הַזֶּה֙ אֶל־בֵּיתִ֔י אַֽל־תַּעֲשׂ֖וּ אֶת־הַנְּבָלָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת׃
English:
The owner of the house went out and said to them, “Please, my friends, do not commit such a wrong. Since this fellow has entered my house, do not perpetrate this outrage.
פסוק כ״ד · Verse 24
Hebrew:
הִנֵּה֩ בִתִּ֨י הַבְּתוּלָ֜ה וּפִילַגְשֵׁ֗הוּ אֽוֹצִיאָה־נָּ֤א אוֹתָם֙ וְעַנּ֣וּ אוֹתָ֔ם וַעֲשׂ֣וּ לָהֶ֔ם הַטּ֖וֹב בְּעֵינֵיכֶ֑ם וְלָאִ֤ישׁ הַזֶּה֙ לֹ֣א תַֽעֲשׂ֔וּ דְּבַ֖ר הַנְּבָלָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת׃
English:
Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. Let me bring them out to you. Use them, do what you like with them; but don’t do that outrageous thing to this fellow.”
פסוק כ״ה · Verse 25
Hebrew:
וְלֹֽא־אָב֤וּ הָֽאֲנָשִׁים֙ לִשְׁמֹ֣עַֽ ל֔וֹ וַיַּחֲזֵ֤ק הָאִישׁ֙ בְּפִ֣ילַגְשׁ֔וֹ וַיֹּצֵ֥א אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם הַח֑וּץ וַיֵּדְע֣וּ ��֠וֹתָ֠הּ וַיִּֽתְעַלְּלוּ־בָ֤הּ כׇּל־הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙ עַד־הַבֹּ֔קֶר וַֽיְשַׁלְּח֖וּהָ (בעלות) [כַּעֲל֥וֹת] הַשָּֽׁחַר׃
English:
But the others would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and pushed her out to them. They rapedhraped Lit. “knew”; cf. v. 22. her and abused her all night long until morning; and they let her go when dawn broke.
פסוק כ״ו · Verse 26
Hebrew:
וַתָּבֹ֥א הָאִשָּׁ֖ה לִפְנ֣וֹת הַבֹּ֑קֶר וַתִּפֹּ֞ל פֶּ֧תַח בֵּית־הָאִ֛ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־אֲדוֹנֶ֥יהָ שָּׁ֖ם עַד־הָאֽוֹר׃
English:
Toward morning the woman came back; and as it was growing light, she collapsed at the entrance of the very house where her husband was.
פסוק כ״ז · Verse 27
Hebrew:
וַיָּ֨קׇם אֲדֹנֶ֜יהָ בַּבֹּ֗קֶר וַיִּפְתַּח֙ דַּלְת֣וֹת הַבַּ֔יִת וַיֵּצֵ֖א לָלֶ֣כֶת לְדַרְכּ֑וֹ וְהִנֵּ֧ה הָאִשָּׁ֣ה פִֽילַגְשׁ֗וֹ נֹפֶ֙לֶת֙ פֶּ֣תַח הַבַּ֔יִת וְיָדֶ֖יהָ עַל־הַסַּֽף׃
English:
When her husband arose in the morning, he opened the doors of the house and went out to continue his journey; and there was the woman, his concubine, lying at the entrance of the house, with her hands on the threshold.
פסוק כ״ח · Verse 28
Hebrew:
וַיֹּ֧אמֶר אֵלֶ֛יהָ ק֥וּמִי וְנֵלֵ֖כָה וְאֵ֣ין עֹנֶ֑ה וַיִּקָּחֶ֙הָ֙ עַֽל־הַחֲמ֔וֹר וַיָּ֣קׇם הָאִ֔ישׁ וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ לִמְקֹמֽוֹ׃
English:
“Get up,” he said to her, “let us go.” But there was no reply. So the man placed her on the donkey and set out for home.
▶Commentaries (1)
פסוק כ״ט · Verse 29
Hebrew:
וַיָּבֹ֣א אֶל־בֵּית֗וֹ וַיִּקַּ֤ח אֶת־הַֽמַּאֲכֶ֙לֶת֙ וַיַּחֲזֵ֣ק בְּפִֽילַגְשׁ֔וֹ וַֽיְנַתְּחֶ֙הָ֙ לַעֲצָמֶ֔יהָ לִשְׁנֵ֥��ם עָשָׂ֖ר נְתָחִ֑ים וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֶ֔הָ בְּכֹ֖ל גְּב֥וּל יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
English:
When he came home, he picked up a knife, and took hold of his concubine and cut her up limb by limb into twelve parts. He sent them throughout the territory of Israel.
פסוק ל׳ · Verse 30
Hebrew:
וְהָיָ֣ה כׇל־הָרֹאֶ֗ה וְאָמַר֙ לֹֽא־נִהְיְתָ֤ה וְלֹֽא־נִרְאֲתָה֙ כָּזֹ֔את לְמִיּ֞וֹם עֲל֤וֹת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם עַ֖ד הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה שִׂימוּ־לָכֶ֥ם עָלֶ֖יהָ עֻ֥צוּ וְדַבֵּֽרוּ׃ {פ}
English:
And everyone who saw it cried out, “Never has such a thing happened or been seen from the day the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt to this day! Put your mind to this; take counsel and decide.”