Genesis 34

1 Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

Dinah, Jacob and Leah's daughter, went to visit some of the local women.

2 Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her.

Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her. He grabbed hold of her and raped her.

3 His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady.

However, then he fell deeply in love with Dinah and tried to get her to love him too.

4 Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, “Get me this young lady as a wife.”

He went and asked his father, “Get this young girl for me so I can marry her.”

5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were with his livestock in the field. Jacob held his peace until they came.

Jacob found out that Shechem had violated his daughter Dinah, but as his sons were away looking after the flocks in the fields he didn't say anything until they came home.

6 Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to talk with him.

In the meantime Hamor, Shechem's father, arrived to talk with Jacob.

7 The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. The men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he had done folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing that ought not to be done.

When Jacob's sons returned from the fields they were very upset when they heard the news and became extremely angry because Shechem had done something outrageous in Israel by having sex with Jacob's daughter—something that should never be done.

8 Hamor talked with them, saying, “The soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.

Hamor told them, “My son Shechem is very much in love with your daughter and your sister Dinah. Please allow him to marry her.

9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.

In fact we can have more marriages—you can give us your daughters and you can have our daughters.

10 You shall dwell with us, and the land will be before you. Live and trade in it, and get possessions in it.”

You can live among us and settle down wherever you like. You can go where you want and buy land for yourselves.”

11 Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you will tell me I will give.

Then Shechem himself spoke up, and said to Dinah's father and brothers, “Please accept me and my proposal, and I'll do whatever you ask.

12 Ask me a great amount for a dowry, and I will give whatever you ask of me, but give me the young lady as a wife.”

You can set the bride price as high as you like, and I'll pay it along with all the gifts I'll give. Just let me have the girl so I can marry her.”

13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit when they spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister,

Jacob's sons weren't honest when they answered him and his father Hamor because Shechem had violated their sister Dinah.

14 and said to them, “We can’t do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised; for that is a reproach to us.

They told them, “We can't do this! We can't allow our sister to marry a man who's not circumcised. That would bring disgrace on us.

15 Only on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised,

We will only agree to it with this condition: all of you must be circumcised like us.

16 then will we give our daughters to you; and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.

Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters, and we will live among you and become one family.

17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our sister, and we will be gone.”

But if you don't agree with us that you should be circumcised, then we'll take our sister and leave.”

18 Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.

Hamor and his son Shechem agreed to what was proposed.

19 The young man didn’t wait to do this thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter, and he was honored above all the house of his father.

The young man Shechem didn't waste any time in arranging this because he was infatuated with Jacob's daughter, and he was viewed as the most important person in his father's family.

20 Hamor and Shechem, his son, came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying,

Hamor and Shechem went to the town gate and spoke to the other leaders there.

21 “These men are peaceful with us. Therefore let them live in the land and trade in it. For behold, the land is large enough for them. Let’s take their daughters to us for wives, and let’s give them our daughters.

“These men are our friends,” they told them. “Let's have them live here in our country and allow them to go wherever they want—it's big enough for all of them too. We can take their daughters as wives, and we can give our daughters to them to marry.

22 Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people, if every male among us is circumcised, as they are circumcised.

But they will only agree to this on one condition: they will only join us and become one family if every male among us is circumcised like they are.

23 Won’t their livestock and their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let’s give our consent to them, and they will dwell with us.”

If that happens, won't all their livestock and property—all their animals—end up belonging to us? We just have to agree to this and they will come and live among us.”

24 All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor, and to Shechem his son; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

Everyone there at the town gate agreed with Hamor and Shechem so every male in the town was circumcised.

25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword, came upon the unsuspecting city, and killed all the males.

Three days later while they were still suffering pain, Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob's sons and Dinah's brothers, came with their swords into the town. Unopposed, they slaughtered every male.

26 They killed Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away.

They killed Hamor and Shechem with their swords, took Dinah from Shechem's house, and left.

27 Jacob’s sons came on the dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.

Jacob's other sons arrived, robbed the dead bodies, and looted the town where their sister had been violated.

28 They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field,

They took their sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. They took whatever was in the town, and in the fields—

29 and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the house.

all their possessions. They captured all their women and children, and plundered everything in their homes.

30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me, to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. They will gather themselves together against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my house.”

But Jacob criticized Simeon and Levi, telling them, “You've just caused me a lot of trouble! You've made me like a bad smell among the people in this country, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I only have a few men, and if these people gather to attack me, I and my whole family will be wiped out.”

31 They said, “Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?”

But they replied, “Should we have let him treat our sister like a prostitute?”