Judges 21
1 Now the children of Israel swore in Massephath, saying, No man of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife.
Now the men of Israel had made a promise at Mizpah, “None of us will give his daughter to marry a Benjamite.”
2 And the people came to Baethel, and sat there until evening before God: and they lifted up their voice and wept with a great weeping;
Then the people went to Bethel and sat there before God until the evening, and with loud voices they wept bitterly.
3 and said, Wherefore, O Lord God of Israel, has this come to pass, that to-day one tribe should be counted [as missing] from Israel?
They called out, “Why, Yahweh, God of Israel, has this happened to Israel, that one of our tribes should be missing today?”
4 And it came to pass on the morrow that the people rose up early, and built there an altar, and offered up whole-burnt-offerings and peace offerings.
The next day the people got up early and built an altar there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5 And the children of Israel said, Who of all the tribes of Israel, went not up in the congregation to the Lord? for there was a great oath concerning those who went not up to the Lord to Massephath, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
The people of Israel said, “Which of all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to Yahweh?” For they had made an important promise concerning anyone who did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah. They said, “He would certainly be put to death.”
6 And the children of Israel relented toward Benjamin their brother, and said, To-day one tribe is cut off from Israel.
The people of Israel had compassion for their brother Benjamin. They said, “Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel.
7 What shall we do for wives for the rest that remain? whereas we have sworn by the Lord, not to give them of our daughters for wives.
Who will provide wives for those who are left, since we have made a promise to Yahweh that we will not let any of them marry our daughters?”
8 And they said, What one [man is there] of the tribes of Israel, who went not up to the Lord to Massephath? and, behold, no man came to the camp from Jabis Galaad to the assembly.
They said, “Which of the tribes of Israel did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah?” It was found that no one had come to the assembly from Jabesh Gilead.
9 And the people were numbered, and there was not there a man from the inhabitants of Jabis Galaad.
For when the people were set out in an orderly manner, behold, none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were there.
10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the strongest, and they charged them, saying, Go ye and smite the inhabitants of Jabis Galaad with the edge of the sword.
The assembly sent twelve thousand of their bravest men with instructions to go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, including the women and children.
11 And this shall ye do: every male and every woman that has known the lying with man ye shall devote [to destruction], but the virgins ye shall save alive: and they did so.
“Do this: You must kill every male and every woman who has slept with a man.”
12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabis Galaad four hundred young virgins, who had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them to Selom in the land of Chanaan.
The men found among those living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh, in Canaan.
13 And all the congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin in the rock Remmon, and invited them to [make] peace.
The entire assembly sent a message and told the people of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon that they were offering them peace.
14 And Benjamin returned to the children of Israel at that time, and the children of Israel gave them the women whom they [had] save alive of the daughters of Jabis Galaad; and they were content.
The Benjamites returned at that time and they were given the women of Jabesh Gilead, but there were not enough women for all of them.
15 And the people relented for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
The people were sorry for what happened to Benjamin, because Yahweh made a division between the tribes of Israel.
16 And the elders of the congregation said, What shall we do for wives for them that remain? for the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin.
Then the leaders of the assembly said, “How will we arrange wives for the Benjamites who are left, since the women of Benjamin have been killed?”
17 And they said, [There must be] an inheritance of them that are escaped of Benjamin; and [so] a tribe shall not be destroyed out of Israel.
They said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe is not destroyed from Israel.
18 For we shall not be able to give them wives of our daughters, because we swore among the children of Israel, saying, Cursed [is] he that gives a wife to Benjamin.
We cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the people of Israel had made a promise, 'Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to Benjamin.'”
19 And they said, Lo! now [there is] a feast of the Lord from year to year in Selom, which is on the north of Baethel, eastward on the way that goes up from Baethel to Sychem, and from the south of Lebona.
So they said, “You know there is a feast for Yahweh every year at Shiloh (which is north of Bethel, east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah).”
20 And they charged the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
They instructed the men of Benjamin, saying, “Go and hide in secret and wait in the vineyards.
21 and ye shall see; and lo! if there come out the daughters of the inhabitants of Selom to dance in dances, then shall ye go out of the vineyards and seize for yourselves every man a wife of the daughters of Selom, and go ye into the land of Benjamin.
Watch for the time when the girls from Shiloh come out to dance, then rush out of the vineyards and each one of you should grab a wife from the girls of Shiloh, then go back to the land of Benjamin.
22 And it shall come to pass, when their fathers or their brethren come to dispute with us, that we will say to them, Grant them freely to us, for we have not taken every man his wife in the battle: because ye did not give to them according to the occasion, ye transgressed.
When their fathers or their brothers come to protest to us, we will say to them, 'Show us favor! Let them remain because we did not get wives for each man during the war. You are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.'”
23 And the children of Benjamin did so; and they took wives according to their number from the dancers whom they seized: and they went and returned to their inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them.
The people of Benjamin did so. They took the number of wives that they needed from the girls who were dancing and they carried them off to be their wives. They went and returned to the place of their inheritance. They rebuilt the towns and lived in them.
24 And the children of Israel went thence at that time every man to his tribe and his kindred; and they went thence every man to his inheritance.
Then the people of Israel left that place and went home, each one to his own tribe and clan, and each one to his own inheritance.
25 And in those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own sight.
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
