Judges 21
1 The men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, “None of us will allow our daughters to marry a Benjamite.”
Juraverunt quoque filii Israël in Maspha, et dixerunt: Nullus nostrum dabit filiis Benjamin de filiabus suis uxorem.
2 The Israelites went to Bethel and sat there before God until the evening, crying loudly in distress.
Veneruntque omnes ad domum Dei in Silo, et in conspectu ejus sedentes usque ad vesperam, levaverunt vocem, et magno ululatu cœperunt flere, dicentes:
3 “Lord, God of Israel, why has this happened to Israel?” they asked. “Today one of our tribes is missing from Israel.”
Quare, Domine Deus Israël, factum est hoc malum in populo tuo, ut hodie una tribus auferretur ex nobis?
4 The next day they got up early, built an altar, and brought burnt offerings and friendship offerings.
Altera autem die diluculo consurgentes, exstruxerunt altare: obtuleruntque ibi holocausta, et pacificas victimas, et dixerunt:
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.
Quis non ascendit in exercitu Domini de universis tribubus Israël? grandi enim juramento se constrinxerant, cum essent in Maspha, interfici eos qui defuissent.
6 The Israelites felt sorry for their brother Benjamin, saying, “Today one tribe has been hacked off from Israel!
Ductique pœnitentia filii Israël super fratre suo Benjamin, cœperunt dicere: Ablata est tribus una de Israël:
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?”
unde uxores accipient? omnes enim in commune juravimus, non daturos nos his filias nostras.
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,
Idcirco dixerunt: Quis est de universis tribubus Israël, qui non ascendit ad Dominum in Maspha? Et ecce inventi sunt habitatores Jabes Galaad in illo exercitu non fuisse.
9 for once they had done a head count, there was nobody there from Jabesh-gilead.
(Eo quoque tempore cum essent in Silo, nullus ex eis ibi repertus est.)
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.
Miserunt itaque decem millia viros robustissimos, et præceperunt eis: Ite, et percutite habitatores Jabes Galaad in ore gladii, tam uxores quam parvulos eorum.
11 This is what you have to do: Destroy every male and every woman who has had sex with a man.”
Et hoc erit quod observare debebitis: omne generis masculini, et mulieres quæ cognoverunt viros, interficite; virgines autem reservate.
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.
Inventæque sunt de Jabes Galaad quadringentæ virgines, quæ nescierunt viri thorum: et adduxerunt eas ad castra in Silo, in terram Chanaan.
13 Then the whole assembly sent a message to the Benjamites at Pomegranate Rock to tell them, “Peace!”
Miseruntque nuntios ad filios Benjamin, qui erant in petra Remmon, et præceperunt eis, ut eos susciperent in pace.
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.
Veneruntque filii Benjamin in illo tempore, et datæ sunt eis uxores de filiabus Jabes Galaad: alias autem non repererunt, quas simili modo traderent.
15 The people felt sorry for the Benjamites because the Lord had made this empty hole among the Israelite tribes.
Universusque Israël valde doluit, et egit pœnitentiam super interfectione unius tribus ex Israël.
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?”
Dixeruntque majores natu: Quid faciemus reliquis, qui non acceperunt uxores? omnes in Benjamin feminæ conciderunt,
17 They added, “There have to be heirs for the Benjamite survivors—an Israelite tribe of Israel can't be wiped out.
et magna nobis cura, ingentique studio providendum est, ne una tribus deleatur ex Israël.
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!’”
Filias enim nostras eis dare non possumus, constricti juramento et maledictione qua diximus: Maledictus qui dederit de filiabus suis uxorem 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.”
Ceperuntque consilium, atque dixerunt: Ecce solemnitas Domini est in Silo anniversaria, quæ sita est ad septentrionem urbis Bethel, et ad orientalem plagam viæ, quæ de Bethel tendit ad Sichimam, et ad meridiem oppidi Lebona.
20 So they ordered the Benjamites, “Go and hide in the vineyards.
Præceperuntque filiis Benjamin, atque dixerunt: Ite, et latitate in vineis.
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.
Cumque videritis filias Silo ad ducendos choros ex more procedere, exite repente de vineis, et rapite ex eis singuli uxores singulas, et pergite in terram 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.”
Cumque venerint patres earum, ac fratres, et adversum vos queri cœperint atque jurgari, dicemus eis: Miseremini eorum: non enim rapuerunt eas jure bellantium atque victorum: sed rogantibus ut acciperent, non dedistis, et a vestra parte peccatum est.
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.
Feceruntque filii Benjamin ut sibi fuerat imperatum: et juxta numerum suum, rapuerunt sibi de his quæ ducebant choros, uxores singulas: abieruntque in possessionem suam ædificantes urbes, et habitantes in eis.
24 Then the Israelites left and went home to their tribes and families, each one going to the land they owned.
Filii quoque Israël reversi sunt per tribus et familias in tabernacula sua.
25 At that time Israel didn't have a king—everyone did what they themselves thought was the right thing to do.
In diebus illis non erat rex in Israël: sed unusquisque quod sibi rectum videbatur, hoc faciebat.
