Genesis 34

1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

Then Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out to see the women of that region.

2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the leader of that land, had seen her, he fell in love with her. And so he seized her and slept with her, overwhelming the virgin by force.

3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.

And his soul was closely bound to her, and, since she was sorrowful, he soothed her with flattery.

4 And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.

And going on to Hamor, his father, he said, “Obtain this girl for me as a mate.”

5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.

But when Jacob had heard this, since his sons were absent and he was occupied in pasturing the cattle, he remained silent until they came back.

6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.

Then, when Hamor, the father of Shechem, had gone out to speak to Jacob,

7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard [it: ] and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter; which thing ought not to be done.

behold, his sons arrived from the field. And hearing what had happened, they were very angry, because he had done a filthy thing in Israel and, in violating a daughter of Jacob, had perpetrated an unlawful act.

8 And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.

And so Hamor spoke to them: “The soul of my son Shechem has become attached to your daughter. Give her to him as a wife.

9 And make ye marriages with us, [and] give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.

And let us celebrate marriages with one with another. Give us your daughters, and receive 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 live with us. The land is in your power: cultivate, trade, and possess it.”

11 And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.

And Shechem even said to her father and to her brothers: “May I find favor in your sight, and whatever you will 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.

Increase the dowry, and request gifts, and I will freely bestow what you will ask. Only give me this girl as a wife.”

13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:

The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father with deceit, being enraged at the rape of their sister:

14 And they 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 are not able to do what you ask, nor to give our sister to an uncircumcised man. For us, this is unlawful and abominable.

15 But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we [be], that every male of you be circumcised;

But we may succeed in this, so as to be allied with you, if you are willing to become like us, and if all the male sex among you will 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 we will mutually give and receive your daughters as well as ours; and we will live with you, and we will become 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 withdraw.”

18 And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor’s son.

Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem.

19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter: and he [was] more honourable than all the house of his father.

Neither did the young man cause any delay; in fact he immediately fulfilled what was requested. For he loved the girl very much, and he was well-known throughout his father’s house.

20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,

And entering at 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 the land, behold, [it is] large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.

“These men are peaceful, and they want to live among us. Let them trade in the land and cultivate it, for, being spacious and broad, it is in need of cultivation. We will receive their daughters as wives, and we will give them ours.

22 Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they [are] circumcised.

There is one thing that prevents so great a good: whether we will circumcise our males, imitating the ritual of their nation.

23 [Shall] not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs [be] ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.

And their substance, and cattle, and all that they possess, will be ours, if only we will acquiesce to this, and so, in living together, will form 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 to circumcise every one of the males.

25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.

And behold, on the third day, when the pain of the wound was greatest, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, boldly entered the city with swords. And they put to death all of the males.

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 out.

They killed Hamor and Shechem together, taking their sister Dinah from the house of Shechem.

27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.

And when they had departed, the other sons of Jacob rushed over the slain, and they plundered the city in vengeance for the rape.

28 They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which [was] in the city, and that which [was] in the field,

Taking their sheep, and herds, and donkeys, and laying waste to everything else that was in their houses and in their 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.

they also took their little ones and their wives captive.

30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I [being] few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.

When they had boldly completed these acts, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: “You have troubled me, and you have made me hateful to the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the inhabitants of this land. We are few. They, gathering themselves together, may strike me down, and then both I and my house will be wiped away.”

31 And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?

They responded, “Should they abuse our sister like a prostitute?”