Genesis 34

1 And Dina, the daughter of Lea, whom she bore to Jacob, went forth to observe the daughters of the inhabitants.

Dinah, Jacob and Leah's daughter, went to visit some of the local women.

2 And Sychem the son of Emmor the Evite, the ruler of the land, saw her, and took her and lay with her, and humbled her.

Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her. He grabbed hold of her and raped her.

3 And he was attached to the soul of Dina the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and he spoke kindly to the damsel.

However, then he fell deeply in love with Dinah and tried to get her to love him too.

4 Sychem spoke to Emmor his father, saying, Take for me this damsel to wife.

He went and asked his father, “Get this young girl for me so I can marry her.”

5 And Jacob heard that the son of Emmor had defiled Dina his daughter (now his sons were with his cattle in the plain). And Jacob was silent until they came.

Jacob found out that Shechem had violated his daughter Dinah, but as his sons were away looking after the flocks in the fields he didn't say anything until they came home.

6 And Emmor the father of Sychem went forth to Jacob, to speak to him.

In the meantime Hamor, Shechem's father, arrived to talk with Jacob.

7 And the sons of Jacob came from the plain; and when they heard, the men were deeply pained, and it was very grievous to them, because [the man] wrought folly in Israel, having lain with the daughter of Jacob, and so it must not be.

When Jacob's sons returned from the fields they were very upset when they heard the news and became extremely angry because Shechem had done something outrageous in Israel by having sex with Jacob's daughter—something that should never be done.

8 And Emmor spoke to them, saying, Sychem my son has chosen in his heart your daughter; give her therefore to him for a wife,

Hamor told them, “My son Shechem is very much in love with your daughter and your sister Dinah. Please allow him to marry her.

9 and intermarry with us. Give us your daughters, and take our daughters for your sons.

In fact we can have more marriages—you can give us your daughters and you can have our daughters.

10 And dwell in the midst of us; and, behold, the land is spacious before you, dwell in it, and trade, and get possessions in it.

You can live among us and settle down wherever you like. You can go where you want and buy land for yourselves.”

11 And Sychem said to her father and to her brothers, I would find grace before you, and we will give whatever you shall name.

Then Shechem himself spoke up, and said to Dinah's father and brothers, “Please accept me and my proposal, and I'll do whatever you ask.

12 Multiply [your demand of] dowry very much, and I will give accordingly as you shall say to me, only you shall give me this damsel for a wife.

You can set the bride price as high as you like, and I'll pay it along with all the gifts I'll give. Just let me have the girl so I can marry her.”

13 And the sons of Jacob answered to Sychem and Emmor his father craftily, and spoke to them, because they had defiled Dina their sister.

Jacob's sons weren't honest when they answered him and his father Hamor because Shechem had violated their sister Dinah.

14 And Symeon and Levi, the brothers of Dina, said to them, We shall not be able to do this thing, to give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for it is a reproach to us.

They told them, “We can't do this! We can't allow our sister to marry a man who's not circumcised. That would bring disgrace on us.

15 Only on these terms will we conform to you, and dwell amongst you, if you also will be as we are, in that every male of you be circumcised.

We will only agree to it with this condition: all of you must be circumcised like us.

16 And we will give our daughters to you, and we will take of your daughters for wives to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will be as one race.

Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters, and we will live among you and become one family.

17 But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, we will take our daughter and depart.

But if you don't agree with us that you should be circumcised, then we'll take our sister and leave.”

18 And the words pleased Emmor, and Sychem the son of Emmor.

Hamor and his son Shechem agreed to what was proposed.

19 And the young man delayed not to do this thing, for he was much attached to Jacob's daughter, and he was the most honourable of all in his father's house.

The young man Shechem didn't waste any time in arranging this because he was infatuated with Jacob's daughter, and he was viewed as the most important person in his father's family.

20 And Emmor and Sychem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke to the men of their city, saying,

Hamor and Shechem went to the town gate and spoke to the other leaders there.

21 These men are peaceful, let them dwell with us upon the land, and let them trade in it, and behold the land is extensive before them; we will take their daughters to us for wives, and we will give them our daughters.

“These men are our friends,” they told them. “Let's have them live here in our country and allow them to go wherever they want—it's big enough for all of them too. We can take their daughters as wives, and we can give our daughters to them to marry.

22 Only on these terms will the men conform to us to dwell with us so as to be one people, if every male of us be circumcised, as they also are circumcised.

But they will only agree to this on one condition: they will only join us and become one family if every male among us is circumcised like they are.

23 And shall not their cattle and their herds, and their possessions, be ours? only in this let us conform to them, and they will dwell with us.

If that happens, won't all their livestock and property—all their animals—end up belonging to us? We just have to agree to this and they will come and live among us.”

24 And all that went in at the gate of their city listened to Emmor and Sychem his son, and they were circumcised in the flesh of their foreskin every male.

Everyone there at the town gate agreed with Hamor and Shechem so every male in the town was circumcised.

25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, the two sons of Jacob, Symeon and Levi, Dina's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city securely, and killed every male.

Three days later while they were still suffering pain, Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob's sons and Dinah's brothers, came with their swords into the town. Unopposed, they slaughtered every male.

26 And they killed Emmor and Sychem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dina out of the house of Sychem, and went forth.

They killed Hamor and Shechem with their swords, took Dinah from Shechem's house, and left.

27 But the sons of Jacob came upon the wounded, and ravaged the city wherein they had defiled Dina their sister.

Jacob's other sons arrived, robbed the dead bodies, and looted the town where their sister had been violated.

28 And their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses they took, and all things whatever were in the city, and whatever were in the plain.

They took their sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. They took whatever was in the town, and in the fields—

29 And they took captive all the persons of them, and all their store, and their wives, and plundered both whatever things there were in the city, and whatever things there were in the houses.

all their possessions. They captured all their women and children, and plundered everything in their homes.

30 And Jacob said to Symeon and Levi, You have made me hateful so that I should be evil to all the inhabitants of the land, both amongst the Chananites and the Pherezites, and I am few in number; they will gather themselves against me and cut me in pieces, and I shall be utterly destroyed, and my house.

But Jacob criticized Simeon and Levi, telling them, “You've just caused me a lot of trouble! You've made me like a bad smell among the people in this country, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I only have a few men, and if these people gather to attack me, I and my whole family will be wiped out.”

31 And they said, Nay, but shall they treat our sister as an harlot?

But they replied, “Should we have let him treat our sister like a prostitute?”