Judges 21

¹Now the men of Israel had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, Not one of us will give his daughter as a wife to Benjamin.

²And the people came to Beth-el, waiting there till evening before God, and gave themselves up to bitter weeping.

³And they said, O Lord, the God of Israel, why has this fate come on Israel, that today one tribe has been cut off from Israel?

⁴Then on the day after, the people got up early and made an altar there, offering burned offerings and peace-offerings.

⁵And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel, who did not come up to the Lord at the meeting of all Israel? For they had taken a great oath that whoever did not come up to Mizpah to the Lord was to be put to death.

⁶And the children of Israel were moved with pity for Benjamin their brother, saying, Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel.

⁷What are we to do about wives for those who are still living? For we have taken an oath by the Lord that we will not give them our daughters for wives.

⁸And they said, Which one of the tribes of Israel did not come up to Mizpah to the Lord? And it was seen that no one had come from Jabesh-gilead to the meeting.

⁹For when the people were numbered, not one man of the people of Jabesh-gilead was present.

¹⁰So they (the meeting) sent twelve thousand of the best fighting-men, and gave them orders, saying, Go and put the people of Jabesh-gilead to the sword without mercy, with their women and their little ones.

¹¹And this is what you are to do: every male, and every woman who has had sex relations with a man, you are to put to the curse, but you are to keep safe the virgins. And they did so.

¹²Now there were among the people of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had never had sex relations with a man; these they took to their tents in Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

¹³And all the meeting sent to the men of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, offering them peace.

¹⁴Then Benjamin came back; and they gave them the women whom they had kept from death among the women of Jabesh-gilead: but still there were not enough for them.

¹⁵And the people were moved with pity for Benjamin, because the Lord had let his wrath loose on the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶Then the responsible men of the meeting said, What are we to do about wives for the rest of them, seeing that the women of Benjamin are dead?

¹⁷And they said, How is the rest of Benjamin to be given offspring so that one tribe of Israel may not be put out of existence,

¹⁸Seeing that we may not give them our daughters as wives? For the children of Israel had taken an oath, saying, Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.

¹⁹And they said, See, every year there is a feast of the Lord in Shiloh, which is to the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway which goes up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.

²⁰And they said to the men of Benjamin, Go into the vine-gardens, waiting there secretly,

²¹And watching; and if the daughters of Shiloh come out to take part in the dances, then come from the vine-gardens and take a wife for every one of you from among the daughters of Shiloh, and go back to the land of Benjamin.

²²And when their fathers or their brothers come and make trouble, you are to say to them, Give them to us as an act of grace; for we did not take them as wives for ourselves in war; and if you yourselves had given them to us you would have been responsible for the broken oath.

²³So the men of Benjamin did this, and got wives for themselves for every one of their number, taking them away by force from the dance; then they went back to their heritage, building up their towns and living in them.

²⁴Then the children of Israel went away from there, every man to his tribe and his family, every man went back to his heritage.

²⁵In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did what seemed right to him.

Judges 21

¹Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, "There shall not any of us give his daughter to Benjamin as wife."

²The people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept severely.

³They said, "Lord God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?"

⁴It happened on the next day that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

⁵The children of Israel said, "Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up in the assembly to the Lord?" For they had made a great oath concerning anyone who did not come up to the Lord to Mizpah, saying, "He shall surely be put to death."

⁶The children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, "There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

⁷How shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?"

⁸They said, "What one is there of the tribes of Israel who did not come up to the Lord to Mizpah?" Behold, no one came to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly.

⁹For when the people were numbered, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead there.

¹⁰The congregation sent there twelve thousand men of the most valiant, and commanded them, saying, "Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.

¹¹This is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has slept with a man."

¹²They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man; and they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

¹³The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.

¹⁴Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead: and yet so they weren't enough for them.

¹⁵The people grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a gap in the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶Then the elders of the congregation said, "How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?"

¹⁷They said, "There must be an inheritance for those who are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel.

¹⁸However we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, 'Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.'"

¹⁹They said, "Behold, there is a feast of the Lord from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah."

²⁰They commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, "Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

²¹and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards, and each man catch his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

²²It shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we will say to them, 'Grant them graciously to us, because we didn't take wives for each man in battle, neither did you give them to them, otherwise you would now be guilty.'"

²³The children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of those who danced, whom they carried off. They went and returned to their inheritance, built the cities, and lived in them.

²⁴The children of Israel departed there at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.

²⁵In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.