Judges 21
1 When the Israeli men gathered at Mizpah [before the battle started], they vowed, “None of us will ever allow one of our daughters to marry any man from the tribe of Benjamin!”
Juraverunt quoque filii Israël in Maspha, et dixerunt: Nullus nostrum dabit filiis Benjamin de filiabus suis uxorem.
2 But now the Israelis went to Bethel and they cried loudly to Yahweh all day, until the sun went down.
Veneruntque omnes ad domum Dei in Silo, et in conspectu ejus sedentes usque ad vesperam, levaverunt vocem, et magno ululatu cœperunt flere, dicentes:
3 They kept saying, “Yahweh, God of us Israeli people, [it is as though] one of the tribes of us Israelis does not exist any more! (Why has this happened to us?/It is terrible that this has happened to us!)” [RHQ]
Quare, Domine Deus Israël, factum est hoc malum in populo tuo, ut hodie una tribus auferretur ex nobis?
4 Early the next morning the people built an altar. Then they completely burned some sacrifices [on the altar], and also offered other sacrifices to maintain fellowship with God.
Altera autem die diluculo consurgentes, exstruxerunt altare: obtuleruntque ibi holocausta, et pacificas victimas, et dixerunt:
5 Then, because they had vowed that anyone who did not meet with them at Mizpah [to help fight the men of the tribe of Benjamin] would be killed, they asked among themselves, “Were there any of the tribes of Israel who did not come to Mizpah to meet with us in the presence of Yahweh?”
Quis non ascendit in exercitu Domini de universis tribubus Israël? grandi enim juramento se constrinxerant, cum essent in Maspha, interfici eos qui defuissent.
6 The Israelis felt sorry for their fellow Israelis from the tribe of Benjamin. They said, “Today one of our Israeli tribes (has disappeared/no longer exists).
Ductique pœnitentia filii Israël super fratre suo Benjamin, cœperunt dicere: Ablata est tribus una de Israël:
7 Yahweh heard us solemnly declare that we would not allow any of our daughters to marry any man from the tribe of Benjamin. What can we do to make certain that the men of the tribe of Benjamin who were not killed will have wives?”
unde uxores accipient? omnes enim in commune juravimus, non daturos nos his filias nostras.
8 Then [one of] them asked, “What group from any of the tribes of Israel did not send any men here to Mizpah?”
Idcirco dixerunt: Quis est de universis tribubus Israël, qui non ascendit ad Dominum in Maspha? Et ecce inventi sunt habitatores Jabes Galaad in illo exercitu non fuisse.
9 [They realized that] when the soldiers were counted, there was no one from Jabesh-Gilead [city] who had come there.
(Eo quoque tempore cum essent in Silo, nullus ex eis ibi repertus est.)
10 So all the Israelis decided to send 12,000 very good soldiers to Jabesh-Gilead to kill the people there with their swords, even to kill the married women and children.
Miserunt itaque decem millia viros robustissimos, et præceperunt eis: Ite, et percutite habitatores Jabes Galaad in ore gladii, tam uxores quam parvulos eorum.
11 [They told this to those men]: “This is what you must do: You must kill every man in Jabesh-Gilead. You must also kill every married woman. [But do not kill the unmarried women].”
Et hoc erit quod observare debebitis: omne generis masculini, et mulieres quæ cognoverunt viros, interficite; virgines autem reservate.
12 So those soldiers [went to Jabesh-Gilead and killed all the men, married women, and children. But they] found 400 unmarried young women there. So they brought them to their camp at Shiloh, in Canaan, [across the river from the Gilead area that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin].
Inventæque sunt de Jabes Galaad quadringentæ virgines, quæ nescierunt viri thorum: et adduxerunt eas ad castra in Silo, in terram Chanaan.
13 Then all the Israelis [who had gathered] sent a message to the 600 men who were at Rimmon Rock. They said that they would like to make peace with them.
Miseruntque nuntios ad filios Benjamin, qui erant in petra Remmon, et præceperunt eis, ut eos susciperent in pace.
14 So the men came back from Rimmon Rock. The Israelis gave to them the women from Jabesh-Gilead whom they had not killed. But there were [only 400 women. But there were] not enough women [for those 600 men].
Veneruntque filii Benjamin in illo tempore, et datæ sunt eis uxores de filiabus Jabes Galaad: alias autem non repererunt, quas simili modo traderent.
15 The Israelis [still] felt sorry for the men of the tribe of Benjamin, because Yahweh had (decimated/almost wiped out) one of the Israeli tribes.
Universusque Israël valde doluit, et egit pœnitentiam super interfectione unius tribus ex Israël.
16 The Israeli leaders said, “We have killed all the married women of the tribe of Benjamin. Where can we get women to be wives of the men who are still alive?
Dixeruntque majores natu: Quid faciemus reliquis, qui non acceperunt uxores? omnes in Benjamin feminæ conciderunt,
17 These men must have wives to give birth to children, in order that their families will continue. If that does not happen, all the people of one of the tribes of Israel will die.
et magna nobis cura, ingentique studio providendum est, ne una tribus deleatur ex Israël.
18 But we cannot allow our daughters to marry these men, because we vowed that Yahweh will curse anyone who gives one of his daughters to become a wife of any man of the tribe of Benjamin.”
Filias enim nostras eis dare non possumus, constricti juramento et maledictione qua diximus: Maledictus qui dederit de filiabus suis uxorem Benjamin.
19 Then [one of] them (had an idea/thought of something that they could do). He said, “Every year there is a festival to honor Yahweh at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel and east of the road that extends from Bethel to Shechem, and it is south of Lebonah [city].”
Ceperuntque consilium, atque dixerunt: Ecce solemnitas Domini est in Silo anniversaria, quæ sita est ad septentrionem urbis Bethel, et ad orientalem plagam viæ, quæ de Bethel tendit ad Sichimam, et ad meridiem oppidi Lebona.
20 So the Israeli leaders told the men of the tribe of Benjamin, “[When it is the time for that festival], go to Shiloh and hide in the vineyards.
Præceperuntque filiis Benjamin, atque dixerunt: Ite, ad latitate in vineis.
21 Keep watching for the young women to come out of the city to dance. [When they come out], all of you should run out of the vineyards. Each of you can seize one of the young women of Shiloh. Then you can all return to your homes [with those women].
Cumque videritis filias Silo ad ducendos choros ex more procedere, exite repente de vineis, et rapite ex eis singuli uxores singulas, et pergite in terram Benjamin.
22 If their fathers or brothers come to us and complain [about what you have done], we will say to them, ‘Be kind to the men of the tribe of Benjamin. When we fought them, we did not leave any women alive to become their wives, and you did not give those young women to the men from the tribe of Benjamin. [They stole them]. So you will not be guilty, [even though you said that you would not allow any of your daughters to marry one of them].’”
Cumque venerint patres earum, ac fratres, et adversum vos queri cœperint atque jurgari, dicemus eis: Miseremini eorum: non enim rapuerunt eas jure bellantium atque victorum: sed rogantibus ut acciperent, non dedistis, et a vestra parte peccatum est.
23 So that is what the men of the tribe of Benjamin did. [They went to Shiloh at the time of the festival]. And when the young women were dancing, each man caught one of them and took her away and married her. Then they took their wives back to the land that God had given to them. They rebuilt their cities [that had been burned down], and they lived there.
Feceruntque filii Benjamin ut sibi fuerat imperatum: et juxta numerum suum, rapuerunt sibi de his quæ ducebant choros, uxores singulas: abieruntque in possessionem suam ædificantes urbes, et habitantes in eis.
24 The other Israelis went to their homes in the areas where their tribes and clans lived, the areas that God had allotted to them.
Filii quoque Israël reversi sunt per tribus et familias in tabernacula sua.
25 At that time, the Israeli people did not have a king. Everyone did what they themselves thought was right.
In diebus illis non erat rex in Israël: sed unusquisque quod sibi rectum videbatur, hoc faciebat.
