Judges 21
1 The men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, “None of us will allow our daughters to marry a Benjamite.”
Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us will give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”
2 The Israelites went to Bethel and sat there before God until the evening, crying loudly in distress.
The people came to Bethel and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept severely.
3 “Lord, God of Israel, why has this happened to Israel?” they asked. “Today one of our tribes is missing from Israel.”
They said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that there should be one tribe lacking in Israel today?”
4 The next day they got up early, built an altar, and brought burnt offerings and friendship offerings.
On the next day, the people rose early and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5 “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.
The children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up in the assembly to the LORD?” For they had made a great oath concerning him who did not come up to the LORD to Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.”
6 The Israelites felt sorry for their brother Benjamin, saying, “Today one tribe has been hacked off from Israel!
The children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “There is one tribe cut off from Israel today.
7 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?”
How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?”
8 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,
They said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel who did not come up to the LORD to Mizpah?” Behold, no one came from Jabesh Gilead to the camp to the assembly.
9 for once they had done a head count, there was nobody there from Jabesh-gilead.
For when the people were counted, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead there.
10 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.
The congregation sent twelve thousand of the most valiant men there, and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.
11 This is what you have to do: Destroy every male and every woman who has had sex with a man.”
This is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has lain with a man.”
12 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.
They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13 Then the whole assembly sent a message to the Benjamites at Pomegranate Rock to tell them, “Peace!”
The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.
14 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.
Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead. There still were not enough for them.
15 The people felt sorry for the Benjamites because the Lord had made this empty hole among the Israelite tribes.
The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
16 The elders of the assembly asked, “What shall we do to supply the remaining wives because all the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?”
Then the elders of the congregation said, “How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?”
17 They added, “There have to be heirs for the Benjamite survivors—an Israelite tribe of Israel can't be wiped out.
They said, “There must be an inheritance for those who are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel.
18 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!’”
However, we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, ‘Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.’”
19 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.”
They said, “Behold, there is a feast of the LORD from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.”
20 So they ordered the Benjamites, “Go and hide in the vineyards.
They commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,
21 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.
and see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards, and each man catch his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
22 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.”
It shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we will say to them, ‘Grant them graciously to us, because we did not take for each man his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them; otherwise you would now be guilty.’”
23 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.
The children of Benjamin did so, and took wives for themselves according to their number, of those who danced, whom they carried off. They went and returned to their inheritance, built the cities, and lived in them.
24 Then the Israelites left and went home to their tribes and families, each one going to the land they owned.
The children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they each went out from there to his own inheritance.
25 At that time Israel didn't have a king—everyone did what they themselves thought was the right thing to do.
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.
