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 sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to 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;
So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly.
3 and said, Therefore, O Lord God of Israel, has this come to pass, that today one tribe should be counted [as missing] from Israel?
“Why, O LORD God of Israel,” they cried out, “has this happened in Israel? Today in Israel one tribe is missing!”
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, built an altar there, and presented 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 Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah would surely be put to death.
6 And the children of Israel relented towards Benjamin their brother, and said, To-day one tribe is cut off from Israel.
And the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites, and said, “Today a tribe is 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.
What should we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them our daughters in marriage?”
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.
So they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah?” And, in fact, no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.
9 And the people were numbered, and there was not there a man from the inhabitants of Jabis Galaad.
For when the people were counted, none of the residents of Jabesh-gilead were there.
10 And the congregation sent there twelve thousand men of the strongest, and they charged them, saying, Go you and strike the inhabitants of Jabis Galaad with the edge of the sword.
So the congregation sent 12,000 of their most valiant men and commanded them: “Go and put to the sword those living in Jabesh-gilead, including women and children.
11 And this shall you do: every male and every woman that has known the lying with man you shall devote [to destruction], but the virgins you shall save alive: and they did so.
This is what you are to do: Devote to destruction every male, as well as every female who has had relations with a man.”
12 And they found amongst 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.
So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young women who had not had relations with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
13 And all the congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin in the rock Remmon, and invited them to [make] peace.
Then the whole congregation sent a message of peace to the Benjamites who were at the rock of Rimmon.
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.
And at that time the Benjamites returned and were given the women who were spared from 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 grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a void in 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 elders of the congregation said, “What should we do about wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?”
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 added, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out.
18 For we shall not be able to give them wives of our daughters, because we swore amongst the children of Israel, saying, Cursed [is] he that gives a wife to Benjamin.
But we cannot give them our daughters as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to a Benjamite.”
19 And they said, Behold! 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.
“But look,” they said, “there is a yearly feast to the LORD in 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;
So they commanded the Benjamites: “Go, hide in the vineyards
21 and you shall see; and behold! if there come out the daughters of the inhabitants of Selom to dance in dances, then shall you go out of the vineyards and seize for yourselves every man a wife of the daughters of Selom, and go you into the land of Benjamin.
and watch. When you see the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, each of you is to come out of the vineyards, catch for himself a wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go 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 you did not give to them according to the occasion, you transgressed.
When their fathers or brothers come to us to complain, we will tell them, ‘Do us a favor by helping them, since we did not get wives for each of them in the war. Since you did not actually give them your daughters, you have no guilt.’”
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 lived in them.
The Benjamites did as instructed and carried away the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and settled 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.
And at that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and clan, each 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.
