Genesis 34

1 One day Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, went to visit some of the women in that area.

And Dina, the daughter of Lea, whom she bore to Jacob, went forth to observe the daughters of the inhabitants.

2 Shechem, one of the sons of Hamor, the ruler of that area who was descended from the Hiv people-group, saw her. He wanted her. So he grabbed her and forced her to have sex [EUP] with him.

And Sychem the son of Emmor the Evite, the ruler of the land, saw her, and took her and lay with her, and humbled her.

3 He [SYN] was very much attracted to her, and fell in love with her, and he tried to get her to love him.

And he was attached to the soul of Dina the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and he spoke kindly to the damsel.

4 So Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Please get this girl for me. I want her to become my wife!”

Sychem spoke to Emmor his father, saying, Take for me this damsel to wife.

5 Jacob very soon found out that his daughter Dinah had been disgraced/defiled. But his sons were in the fields with his livestock, so he did nothing about it until they returned home.

And Jacob heard that the son of Emmor had defiled Dina his daughter (now his sons were with his cattle in the plain). And Jacob was silent until they came.

6 In the meantime, Shechem’s father Hamor went to talk with Jacob.

And Emmor the father of Sychem went forth to Jacob, to speak to him.

7 While they were still talking, Jacob’s sons came in from the field. When they found out what had happened, they were shocked and very angry. They said, “Shechem has done something that is very disgraceful among us Israeli people, something that never should be done!”

And the sons of Jacob came from the plain; and when they heard, the men were deeply pained, and it was very grievous to them, because [the man] wrought folly in Israel, having lain with the daughter of Jacob, and so it must not be.

8 But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem really likes this girl. Please allow him to marry her.

And Emmor spoke to them, saying, Sychem my son has chosen in his heart your daughter; give her therefore to him for a wife,

9 Let’s make an agreement: You will give your daughters to our young men to be their wives, and we will give our daughters to your young men to be their wives.

and intermarry with us. Give us your daughters, and take our daughters for your sons.

10 You can live among us, and live anywhere in our land that you wish. You can buy and sell things (OR, travel around) and if you find land that you want, then you can buy it.”

And dwell in the midst of us; and, behold, the land is spacious before you, dwell in it, and trade, and get possessions in it.

11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “If you feel good toward me and do what I am asking for, I will give you whatever you ask for.

And Sychem said to her father and to her brothers, I would find grace before you, and we will give whatever ye shall name.

12 Tell me what gifts you want and what bride price you want, and I will give you what you ask for. I just want you to give the girl to me to be my wife.”

Multiply [your demand of] dowry very much, and I will give accordingly as ye shall say to me, only ye shall give me this damsel for a wife.

13 But because Shechem had done a shameful thing to their sister Dinah, the sons of Jacob deceived Shechem and his father Hamor

And the sons of Jacob answered to Sychem and Emmor his father craftily, and spoke to them, because they had defiled Dina their sister.

14 by saying to them, “No, we cannot do that. We cannot give our sister to be the wife of a man who is not circumcised, because that would be a shameful thing for us to do.

And Symeon and Levi, the brothers of Dina, said to them, We shall not be able to do this thing, to give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for it is a reproach to us.

15 We will do that only if you do one thing: You must become like us by circumcising all the males that are among you.

Only on these terms will we conform to you, and dwell among you, if ye also will be as we are, in that every male of you be circumcised.

16 Then we will give our daughters to your young men to be your wives, and we will take your daughters to be the wives of our young men. We will live among you, and we will become one people-group.

And we will give our daughters to you, and we will take of your daughters for wives to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will be as one race.

17 But if you will not agree to being circumcised, we will take our sister and go back to our land.”

But if ye will not hearken to us to be circumcised, we will take our daughter and depart.

18 What they said pleased Hamor and his son Shechem.

And the words pleased Emmor, and Sychem the son of Emmor.

19 Shechem was very much in love with Jacob’s daughter, so he quickly agreed to do what they suggested.

And the young man delayed not to do this thing, for he was much attached to Jacob's daughter, and he was the most honourable of all in his father's house.

20 Shechem went with Hamor to the meeting place near the city gate, and they spoke to the city leaders, saying,

And Emmor and Sychem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke to the men of their city, saying,

21 “These men are friendly toward us. We should let them live here and travel around (OR, buy and sell things) and if they find land that they want, they can buy it. There is plenty of land for them to live here. Our young men can marry their daughters, and their young men can marry our daughters.

These men are peaceable, let them dwell with us upon the land, and let them trade in it, and behold the land is extensive before them; we will take their daughters to us for wives, and we will give them our daughters.

22 But these men will agree to live among us and become one people-group with us only if all our males are circumcised, as they are.

Only on these terms will the men conform to us to dwell with us so as to be one people, if every male of us be circumcised, as they also are circumcised.

23 But if we do that, just think! Their livestock and their possessions and their other animals will become ours [RHQ]! So we should agree to do what they suggest, and then they will live among us!”

And shall not their cattle and their herds, and their possessions, be ours? only in this let us conform to them, and they will dwell with us.

24 Shechem was the most respected person in his father’s household, so all the men who were there at the city gate agreed to what Hamor and Shechem suggested. So every male in the city was circumcised.

And all that went in at the gate of their city hearkened to Emmor and Sychem his son, and they were circumcised in the flesh of their foreskin every male.

25 On the third day after that, when the men of the city were still sore because of being circumcised, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and entered the city without anyone opposing them, and killed all the men.

And it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, the two sons of Jacob, Symeon and Levi, Dina's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city securely, and slew every male.

26 They even killed Hamor and his son Shechem. Then they took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and left the city.

And they slew Emmor and Sychem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dina out of the house of Sychem, and went forth.

27 Then the other sons of Jacob went into the city where all those dead bodies were. They (looted/took everything in) the city to get revenge for the shameful thing that had been done to their sister.

But the sons of Jacob came upon the wounded, and ravaged the city wherein they had defiled Dina their sister.

28 They took away the people’s sheep and goats, their cattle, their donkeys, and everything else that they wanted from inside the city and from out in the countryside.

And their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses they took, and all things whatsoever were in the city, and whatsoever were in the plain.

29 They took away everything that was valuable, even the children and the women. They seized and took away everything that was in the houses.

And they took captive all the persons of them, and all their store, and their wives, and plundered both whatever things there were in the city, and whatever things there were in the houses.

30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have caused a lot of trouble for me! Now the Canaan people-group and the Perizzi people-group and everyone else who lives in this land will (hate me/say my name stinks)! I do not have many men to fight for us, so if they all gather together and come to me and attack us, they will destroy us and all our household!”

And Jacob said to Symeon and Levi, Ye have made me hateful so that I should be evil to all the inhabitants of the land, both among the Chananites and the Pherezites, and I am few in number; they will gather themselves against me and cut me in pieces, and I shall be utterly destroyed, and my house.

31 But they replied, “(Should we have allowed Shechem to treat our sister like a prostitute?/We could not just let Shechem treat our sister like a prostitute!)” [RHQ]

And they said, Nay, but shall they treat our sister as an harlot?