Judges 21
1 And the men of Israel have sworn in Mizpeh, saying, “None of us gives his daughter to Benjamin for a wife.”
NOW the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
2 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,
And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
3 and say, “Why, O YHWH, God of Israel, has this been in Israel—to be lacking one tribe from Israel today?”
And said, O Lord God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?
4 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.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5 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.”
And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the Lord? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the Lord to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
6 And the sons of Israel sigh concerning their brother Benjamin, and say, “Today there has been one tribe cut off from Israel,
And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
7 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?”
How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
8 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.
And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the Lord? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.
9 And the people numbered themselves, and behold, there is no man from the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead.
For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there.
10 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.
And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.
11 And this [is] the thing which you do; every male, and every woman knowing the lying of a male, you devote.”
And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.
12 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.
And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13 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;
And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.
14 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.
And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
15 And the people sighed concerning Benjamin, for YHWH had made a breach among the tribes of Israel.
And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
16 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?”
Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?
17 And they say, “A possession of an escaped party [is] to Benjamin, and a tribe is not blotted out from Israel;
And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
18 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.”
Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
19 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.”
Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the Lord in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
20 And they command the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go—and you have laid wait in the vineyards,
Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
21 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;
And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
22 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.”
And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty.
23 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.
And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
24 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.
And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.
25 In those days there is no king in Israel; each does that which is right in his own eyes.
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
