< Genesis 34 >

1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
And Dina the daughter of Lia went out to see the women of that country.
2 And Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her; and he took her, and lay with her, and humbled her.
And when Sichem the son of Hemor the Hevite, the prince of that land, saw her, he was in love with her: and took her away, and lay with her, ravishing the virgin.
3 And his soul did cleave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spoke comfortingly unto the damsel.
And his soul was fast knit unto her, and whereas she was sad, he comforted her with sweet words.
4 And Shechem spoke unto his father Hamor, saying: 'Get me this damsel to wife.'
And going to Hemor his father, he said: Get me this damsel to wife.
5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; and his sons were with his cattle in the field; and Jacob held his peace until they came.
But when Jacob had heard this, his sons being absent, and employed in feeding the cattle, he held his peace till they came back.
6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to speak with him.
And when Hemor the father of Sichem was come out to speak to Jacob,
7 And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought a vile deed in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done.
Behold his sons came from the field: and hearing what had passed, they were exceeding angry, because he had done a foul thing in Israel, and committed an unlawful act, in ravishing Jacob’s daughter,
8 And Hamor spoke with them, saying 'The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter. I pray you give her unto him to wife.
And Hemor spoke to them: The soul of my son Sichem has a longing for your daughter: give her him to wife:
9 And make ye marriages with us; give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.
And let us contract marriages one with another: give us your daughters and take you our daughters,
10 And ye shall dwell with us; and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.'
And dwell with us: the land is at your command, till, trade, and possess it.
11 And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren: 'Let me find favour in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.
Sichem also said to her father and to her brethren: Let me find favour in your sight: and whatsoever you shall appoint I will give.
12 Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me; but give me the damsel to wife.'
Raise the dowry, and ask gifts, and I will gladly give what you shall demand: only give me this damsel to wife.
13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with guile, and spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister,
The sons of Jacob answered Sichem and his father deceitfully, being enraged at the deflowering of their sister:
14 and said unto them: 'We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us.
We cannot do what you demand, nor give our sister to one that is uncircumcised, which with us is unlawful and abominable.
15 Only on this condition will we consent unto you: if ye will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised;
But in this we may be allied with you, if you will be like us, and all the male sex among you be circumcised:
16 then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.
Then will we mutually give and take your daughters, and ours: and we will dwell with you, and will be one people:
17 But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.'
But if you will not be circumcised, we will take our daughter and depart:
18 And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.
Their offer pleased Hemor, and Sichem his son:
19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter. And he was honoured above all the house of his father.
And the young man made no delay, but forthwith fulfilled what was required, for he loved the damsel exceedingly, and he was the greatest man in all his father’s house.
20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying:
And going into the gate of the city they spoke to the people:
21 'These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for, behold, the land is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.
These men are peaceable and willing to dwell with us: let them trade in the land, and till it, which being large and wide wanteth men to till it: we shall take their daughters for wives, and we will give them ours.
22 Only on this condition will the men consent unto us to dwell with us, to become one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.
One thing there is for which so great a good is deferred: We must circumcise every male among us, following the manner of the nation.
23 Shall not their cattle and their substance and all their beasts be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.'
And their substance, and cattle, and all that they possess, shall be ours: only in this let us condescend, and by dwelling together, we shall make one people.
24 And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
And they all agreed, and circumcised all the males.
25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city unawares, and slew all the males.
And behold the third day, when the pain of the wound was greatest, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dina, taking their swords, entered boldly into the city, and slew all the men:
26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went forth.
And they killed also Hemor and Sichem, and took away their sister Dina, out of Sichem’s house.
27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
And when they were gone out, the other sons of Jacob came upon the slain; and plundered the city in revenge of the rape.
28 They took their flocks and their herds and their asses, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field;
And they took their sheep and their herds and their asses, wasting all they had in their houses and in the fields.
29 and all their wealth, and all their little ones and their wives, took they captive and spoiled, even all that was in the house.
And their children and wives they took captive,
30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: 'Ye have troubled me, to make me odious unto the inhabitants of the land, even unto the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and, I being few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and smite me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.'
And when they had boldly perpetrated these things, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: You have troubled me, and made me hateful to the Chanaanites and Pherezites, the inhabitants of this land: we are few: they will gather themselves together and kill me; and both I, and my house, shall be destroyed.
31 And they said: 'Should one deal with our sister as with a harlot?'
They answered: Should they abuse our sister as a strumpet?

< Genesis 34 >