Judges 21
1 The sons of Israel had also taken an oath at Mizpah, and they said, “None of us shall give his daughters as a wife to the sons of Benjamin.”
The men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, “None of us will allow our daughters to marry a Benjamite.”
2 And they all went to the house of God at Shiloh. And sitting in his sight until evening, they lifted up their voice, and they began to weep, with a great wailing, saying,
The Israelites went to Bethel and sat there before God until the evening, crying loudly in distress.
3 “Why, O Lord, God of Israel, has this evil happened among your people, so that this day one tribe would be taken away from us?”
“Lord, God of Israel, why has this happened to Israel?” they asked. “Today one of our tribes is missing from Israel.”
4 Then, rising at first light on the next day, they built an altar. And they offered holocausts and victims of peace offerings there, and they said,
The next day they got up early, built an altar, and brought burnt offerings and friendship offerings.
5 “Who, out of all the tribes of Israel, did not ascend with the army of the Lord?” For they had bound themselves with a great oath, when they were at Mizpah, that whoever was not present would be slain.
“Which of all the tribes of Israel didn't attend the assembly we held before the Lord?” they asked. For they had sworn a sacred oath that anyone who did not come before the Lord at Mizpah would without exception be executed.
6 And the sons of Israel, having been led to repentance over their brother Benjamin, began to say: “One tribe has been taken away from Israel.
The Israelites felt sorry for their brother Benjamin, saying, “Today one tribe has been hacked off from Israel!
7 From where shall they receive wives? For we have all sworn in common that we will not give our daughters to them.”
What shall we do about wives for those who are left, since we have sworn an oath before the Lord that we will not allow any of our daughters to marry them?”
8 For this reason, they said, “Who is there, out of all the tribes of Israel, that did not ascend to the Lord at Mizpah?” And behold, the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead were found not to have been among that army.
Then they asked, “Which one of all the tribes of Israel didn't attend the assembly we held before the Lord at Mizpah?” They found out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly,
9 (Likewise, in the time when they had been at Shiloh, not one of them was found to be there.)
for once they had done a head count, there was nobody there from Jabesh-gilead.
10 And so they sent ten thousand very robust men, and they instructed them, saying, “Go and strike down the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead with the edge of the sword, including their wives and little ones.”
So the assembly sent twelve thousand of their best warriors there. They gave them orders, saying, “Go and kill the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with your swords, even the women and children.
11 And this shall be what you ought to do: “Every one of the male gender, as well as all the women who have known men, shall be put to death. But the virgins you shall reserve.”
This is what you have to do: Destroy every male and every woman who has had sex with a man.”
12 And four hundred virgins, who had not known the bed of a man, were found from Jabesh-Gilead. And they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, in the land of Canaan.
They managed to find among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred virgins who had not had sex with a man. They took them to the camp in Shiloh, in the land of Canaan.
13 And they sent messengers to the sons of Benjamin, who were at the rock of Rimmon, and they instructed them, so that they would receive them in peace.
Then the whole assembly sent a message to the Benjamites at Pomegranate Rock to tell them, “Peace!”
14 And the sons of Benjamin went, at that time, and wives were given to them from the daughters of Jabesh-Gilead. But others were not found, whom they might give in a similar manner.
So the men of Benjamin went back home, and gave to them the four hundred women from Jabesh-gilead who had been spared as wives. However, there wasn't enough for all of them.
15 And all of Israel was very saddened, and they did penance for destroying one tribe out of Israel.
The people felt sorry for the Benjamites because the Lord had made this empty hole among the Israelite tribes.
16 And those greater by birth said: “What shall we do with the remainder, those who have not received wives? For all the females of Benjamin have been cut down,
The elders of the assembly asked, “What shall we do to supply the remaining wives because all the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?”
17 and we must take great care, and make provision with a very great diligence, so that one tribe may not be wiped away from Israel.
They added, “There have to be heirs for the Benjamite survivors—an Israelite tribe of Israel can't be wiped out.
18 As for our own daughters, we are not able to give them, being bound by an oath and a curse, when we said, ‘Accursed is he who will give any of his daughters to Benjamin as a wife.’”
But we can't let them have our daughters as wives, since we as the people of Israel swore a sacred oath, saying, ‘Anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite is cursed!’”
19 And they took counsel, and they said, “Behold, there is a yearly solemnity of the Lord at Shiloh, which is situated to the north of the city of Bethel, and on the eastern side of the way that one takes from Bethel to Shechem, and to the south of the town of Lebonah.”
Then they said, “Look! Every year there's the Lord's festival in Shiloh. It's held north of Bethel, and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, south of Lebonah.”
20 And they instructed the sons of Benjamin, and they said: “Go, and hide in the vineyards.
So they ordered the Benjamites, “Go and hide in the vineyards.
21 And when you will have seen daughters of Shiloh being led out to dance, according to custom, go forth suddenly from the vineyards, and let each one seize one wife from among them, and travel into the land of Benjamin.
Keep a lookout, and when you see the young women from Shiloh come out to perform their dances, run out from the vineyards, and each of you abduct a wife for yourself and go back home to the land of Benjamin.
22 And when their fathers and brothers arrive, and they begin to complain against you and to argue, we will say to them: ‘Take pity on them. For they have not seized them by right of war or conquest. Instead, begging to receive them, you did not give them, and so the sin was on your part.’”
If their fathers or brothers come complaining to us, we'll tell them, ‘Please do us a favor, because we couldn't find enough wives for them in the war. And it's not as if you're guilty of breaking the oath since you didn't give them in marriage.”
23 And so the sons of Benjamin did just as they had been ordered. And according to their number, they seized for themselves one wife each, out of those who were led out dancing. And they went into their own possession, and they built up their cities, and they lived in them.
The Benjaminites did as they were ordered. Each man grabbed one of the women dancers up to the total needed and carried her off to be his wife. Then they went back to their own land, where they rebuilt their towns and lived in them.
24 The sons of Israel also returned, according to their tribes and families, to their tents.
Then the Israelites left and went home to their tribes and families, each one going to the land they owned.
25 In those days, there was no king in Israel. Instead, each one did what seemed right to himself.
At that time Israel didn't have a king—everyone did what they themselves thought was the right thing to do.
