Genesis 34
GOD’S WORD Translation
Dinah Is Raped
34 Dinah, daughter of Leah and Jacob, went out to visit some of the Canaanite women. 2 When Shechem, son of the local ruler Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her. 3 He became very fond of Jacob’s daughter Dinah. He loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.
4 So Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl for my wife.”
5 Jacob heard that Shechem had dishonored his daughter Dinah. His sons were with his livestock out in the open country, so Jacob kept quiet until they came home.
6 So Shechem’s father Hamor came to Jacob to speak with him. 7 Jacob’s sons came in from the open country as soon as they heard the news. The men felt outraged and very angry because Shechem had committed such a godless act against Israel’s family by raping Jacob’s daughter. This shouldn’t have happened.
8 Hamor told them. “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please let her marry him. 9 Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take ours for yourselves. 10 You can live with us, and the land will be yours. Live here, move about freely in this area, and acquire property here.”
11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and her brothers, “Do me this favor. I’ll give you whatever you ask. 12 Set the price I must pay for the bride and the gift I must give her as high as you want. I’ll pay exactly what you tell me. Give me the girl as my wife.”
13 Then Jacob’s sons gave Shechem and his father Hamor a misleading answer because he had dishonored their sister Dinah. 14 They said, “We can’t do this. We can’t give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised. That would be a disgrace to us! 15 We will give our consent to you only on one condition: Every male must be circumcised as we are. 16 Then we’ll give our daughters to you and take yours for ourselves, and we’ll live with you and become one people. 17 If you won’t agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our daughter and go.”
18 Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 The young man didn’t waste any time in doing what they said because he took such pleasure in Jacob’s daughter. He was the most honored person in all his father’s family.
20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to their city gate to speak to the men of their city. They said, 21 “These people are friendly toward us, so let them live in our land and move about freely in the area. Look, there’s plenty of room in this land for them. We can marry their daughters and let them marry ours. 22 These people will consent to live with us and become one nation on one condition: Every male must be circumcised as they are. 23 Won’t their livestock, their personal property, and all their animals be ours? We only need to agree to do this for them. Then they’ll live with us.”
24 All the men who had come out to the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem. So they were all circumcised at the city gate.
25 Two days later, while the men were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and boldly attacked the city. They killed every man 26 including Hamor and his son Shechem. They took Dinah from Shechem’s home and left. 27 Then Jacob’s sons stripped the corpses and looted the city where their sister had been dishonored. 28 They took the sheep and goats, cattle, donkeys, and whatever else was in the city or out in the fields. 29 They carried off all the wealth and all the women and children and looted everything in the houses.
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have caused me a lot of trouble! You’ve made the people living in the area, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, hate me. There are only a few of us. If they join forces against me and attack me, my family and I will be wiped out.”
31 Simeon and Levi asked, “Should Shechem have been allowed to treat our sister like a prostitute?”
Genesis 34
Living Bible
34 One day Dinah, Leah’s daughter, went out to visit some of the neighborhood girls, 2 but when Shechem, son of King Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her. 3 He fell deeply in love with her, and tried to win her affection.
4 Then he spoke to his father about it. “Get this girl for me,” he demanded. “I want to marry her.”
5 Word soon reached Jacob of what had happened, but his sons were out in the fields herding cattle, so he did nothing until their return. 6-7 Meanwhile King Hamor, Shechem’s father, went to talk with Jacob, arriving just as Jacob’s sons came in from the fields, too shocked and angry to overlook the insult, for it was an outrage against all of them.
8 Hamor told Jacob, “My son Shechem is truly in love with your daughter, and longs for her to be his wife. Please let him marry her. 9-10 Moreover, we invite you folks to live here among us and to let your daughters marry our sons, and we will give our daughters as wives for your young men. And you shall live among us wherever you wish and carry on your business among us and become rich!”
11 Then Shechem addressed Dinah’s father and brothers. “Please be kind to me and let me have her as my wife,” he begged. “I will give whatever you require. 12 No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I will pay it—only give me the girl as my wife.”
13 Her brothers then lied to Shechem and Hamor, acting dishonorably because of what Shechem had done to their sister. 14 They said, “We couldn’t possibly. For you are not circumcised. It would be a disgrace for her to marry such a man. 15 I’ll tell you what we’ll do—if every man of you will be circumcised, 16 then we will intermarry with you and live here and unite with you to become one people. 17 Otherwise we will take her and be on our way.”
18-19 Hamor and Shechem gladly agreed, and lost no time in acting upon this request, for Shechem was very much in love with Dinah, and could, he felt sure, sell the idea to the other men of the city—for he was highly respected and very popular. 20 So Hamor and Shechem appeared before the city council[a] and presented their request.
21 “Those men are our friends,” they said. “Let’s invite them to live here among us and ply their trade. For the land is large enough to hold them, and we can intermarry with them. 22 But they will only consider staying here on one condition—that every one of us men be circumcised, the same as they are. 23 But if we do this, then all they have will become ours and the land will be enriched. Come on, let’s agree to this so that they will settle here among us.”
24 So all the men agreed, and all were circumcised. 25 But three days later, when their wounds were sore and sensitive to every move they made, two of Dinah’s brothers, Simeon and Levi, took their swords, entered the city without opposition, and slaughtered every man there, 26 including Hamor and Shechem. They rescued Dinah from Shechem’s house and returned to their camp again. 27 Then all of Jacob’s sons went over and plundered the city because their sister had been dishonored there. 28 They confiscated all the flocks and herds and donkeys—everything they could lay their hands on, both inside the city and outside in the fields, 29 and took all the women and children, and wealth of every kind.
30 Then Jacob said to Levi and Simeon, “You have made me stink among all the people of this land—all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will come and crush us, and we will all be killed.”
31 “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” they retorted.
Footnotes
- Genesis 34:20 appeared before the city council, literally, “came into the gate of their city.”
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