Judges 21
1 The men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, “None of us will allow our daughters to marry a Benjamite.”
And the men of Israel have sworn in Mizpeh, saying, “None of us gives his daughter to Benjamin for a wife.”
2 The Israelites went to Bethel and sat there before God until the evening, crying loudly in distress.
And the people come to Beth-El, and sit there until the evening before God, and lift up their voice, and weep [with] a great weeping,
3 “Lord, God of Israel, why has this happened to Israel?” they asked. “Today one of our tribes is missing from Israel.”
and say, “Why, O YHWH, God of Israel, has this been in Israel—to be lacking one tribe from Israel today?”
4 The next day they got up early, built an altar, and brought burnt offerings and friendship offerings.
And it comes to pass on the next day, that the people rise early, and build an altar there, and cause burnt-offerings and peace-offerings to ascend.
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.
And the sons of Israel say, “Who [is] he that has not come up in the assembly to YHWH out of all the tribes of Israel?” For the great oath has been concerning him who has not come up to YHWH to Mizpeh, saying, “He is surely put to death.”
6 The Israelites felt sorry for their brother Benjamin, saying, “Today one tribe has been hacked off from Israel!
And the sons of Israel sigh concerning their brother Benjamin, and say, “Today there has been one tribe cut off from Israel,
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?”
what do we do for them—for those who are left—for wives, since we have sworn by YHWH not to give to them from our daughters for 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,
And they say, “Who is [that] one out of the tribes of Israel who has not come up to YHWH to Mizpeh?” And behold, none has come to the camp from Jabesh-Gilead—to the assembly.
9 for once they had done a head count, there was nobody there from Jabesh-gilead.
And the people numbered themselves, and behold, there is no man from the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead.
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.
And the congregation sends twelve thousand men of the sons of valor there, and commands them, saying, “Go—and you have struck the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead by the mouth of the sword, even the women and the infants.
11 This is what you have to do: Destroy every male and every woman who has had sex with a man.”
And this [is] the thing which you do; every male, and every woman knowing the lying of a male, you devote.”
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.
And they find four hundred young women, virgins, out of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead, who have not known man by the lying of a male, and they bring them to the camp at 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!”
And all the congregation sends [word] and speaks to the sons of Benjamin who [are] in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaims 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.
and Benjamin turns back at that time, and they give to them the women whom they have kept alive of the women of Jabesh-Gilead, and they have not found for [all of] them so.
15 The people felt sorry for the Benjamites because the Lord had made this empty hole among the Israelite tribes.
And the people sighed concerning Benjamin, for YHWH had made a breach among 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?”
And [the] elderly of the congregation say, “What do we do to the remnant for wives—for the women have been 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.
And they say, “A possession of an escaped party [is] to Benjamin, and a tribe is not 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!’”
and we are not able to give wives to them out of our daughters, for the sons of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed [is] he who is giving 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.”
And they say, “Behold, a festival of YHWH [is] in Shiloh, from time to time, which [is] on the north of Beth-El, at the rising of the sun, by the highway which is going up from Beth-El to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.”
20 So they ordered the Benjamites, “Go and hide in the vineyards.
And they command the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go—and you have laid 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 have seen, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances—then you have gone out from the vineyards, and each caught his wife out of the daughters of Shiloh for yourselves, and have gone 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.”
and it has been, when their fathers or their brothers come in to plead to us, that we have said to them, Favor us [by] them, for we have not each taken his wife in battle, for you have not given [wives] to them at this time, [so] you are [not] 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.
And the sons of Benjamin do so, and take women according to their number, out of the dancers whom they have seized; and they go, and return to their inheritance, and build the cities, and dwell in them.
24 Then the Israelites left and went home to their tribes and families, each one going to the land they owned.
And the sons of Israel go up and down there at that time, each to his tribe, and to his family; and they each go out there to his 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 is no king in Israel; each does that which is right in his own eyes.
