Judges 21
1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
The sons of Israel had also taken an oath at Mizpah, and they said, “None of us shall give his daughters as a wife to the sons of Benjamin.”
2 And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.
And they all went to the house of God at Shiloh. And sitting in his sight until evening, they lifted up their voice, and they began to weep, with a great wailing, saying,
3 And they said, O LORD, the God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?
“Why, O Lord, God of Israel, has this evil happened among your people, so that this day one tribe would be taken away from us?”
4 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.
Then, rising at first light on the next day, they built an altar. And they offered holocausts and victims of peace offerings there, and they said,
5 And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up in the assembly unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up unto the LORD to Mizpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
“Who, out of all the tribes of Israel, did not ascend with the army of the Lord?” For they had bound themselves with a great oath, when they were at Mizpah, that whoever was not present would be slain.
6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
And the sons of Israel, having been led to repentance over their brother Benjamin, began to say: “One tribe has been taken away from Israel.
7 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?
From where shall they receive wives? For we have all sworn in common that we will not give our daughters to them.”
8 And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up unto the LORD to Mizpah? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.
For this reason, they said, “Who is there, out of all the tribes of Israel, that did not ascend to the Lord at Mizpah?” And behold, the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead were found not to have been among that army.
9 For when the people were numbered, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there.
(Likewise, in the time when they had been at Shiloh, not one of them was found to be there.)
10 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 little ones.
And so they sent ten thousand very robust men, and they instructed them, saying, “Go and strike down the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead with the edge of the sword, including their wives and little ones.”
11 And this is the thing that ye shall do; ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.
And this shall be what you ought to do: “Every one of the male gender, as well as all the women who have known men, shall be put to death. But the virgins you shall reserve.”
12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had not known man by lying with him: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
And four hundred virgins, who had not known the bed of a man, were found from Jabesh-Gilead. And they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, in the land of Canaan.
13 And the whole congregation sent and spake to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace unto them.
And they sent messengers to the sons of Benjamin, who were at the rock of Rimmon, and they instructed them, so that they would receive them in peace.
14 And Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
And the sons of Benjamin went, at that time, and wives were given to them from the daughters of Jabesh-Gilead. But others were not found, whom they might give in a similar manner.
15 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
And all of Israel was very saddened, and they did penance for destroying one tribe out of Israel.
16 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?
And those greater by birth said: “What shall we do with the remainder, those who have not received wives? For all the females of Benjamin have been cut down,
17 And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not blotted out from Israel.
and we must take great care, and make provision with a very great diligence, so that one tribe may not be wiped away from Israel.
18 Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
As for our own daughters, we are not able to give them, being bound by an oath and a curse, when we said, ‘Accursed is he who will give any of his daughters to Benjamin as a wife.’”
19 And they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
And they took counsel, and they said, “Behold, there is a yearly solemnity of the Lord at Shiloh, which is situated to the north of the city of Bethel, and on the eastern side of the way that one takes from Bethel to Shechem, and to the south of the town of Lebonah.”
20 And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
And they instructed the sons of Benjamin, and they said: “Go, and hide in the vineyards.
21 and see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the 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.
And when you will have seen daughters of Shiloh being led out to dance, according to custom, go forth suddenly from the vineyards, and let each one seize one wife from among them, and travel into the land of Benjamin.
22 And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come to complain unto us, that we will say unto them, Grant them graciously unto us: because we took not for each man [of them] his wife in battle: neither did ye give them unto them; else would ye now be guilty.
And when their fathers and brothers arrive, and they begin to complain against you and to argue, we will say to them: ‘Take pity on them. For they have not seized them by right of war or conquest. Instead, begging to receive them, you did not give them, and so the sin was on your part.’”
23 And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they carried off: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them.
And so the sons of Benjamin did just as they had been ordered. And according to their number, they seized for themselves one wife each, out of those who were led out dancing. And they went into their own possession, and they built up their cities, and they lived in them.
24 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.
The sons of Israel also returned, according to their tribes and families, to their tents.
25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
In those days, there was no king in Israel. Instead, each one did what seemed right to himself.
