Judges 21
Revised Geneva Translation
21 Moreover, the men of Israel swore in Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to the Benjamites as a wife.”
2 And the people came to the House of God and stayed there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices and wept with great lamentation,
3 and said, “O LORD God of Israel! Why has this come to pass at this time in Israel, that this day one tribe of Israel should be missing?”
4 And the next day, the people rose up and made an Altar there, and offered Burnt Offerings and Peace Offerings.
5 Then, the children of Israel said, “Who is he among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up with the Congregation to the LORD?” For they had made a great oath concerning him who did not come up to the LORD to Mizpah, saying, “Let him die the death.”
6 And the children of Israel were sorry for Benjamin, their brother, and said, “There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
7 “What shall we do about wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them our daughters as wives?”
8 Also they said, “Is there any other tribe of Israel that did not come up to Mizpah to the LORD?” And behold, no one had come from Jabesh Gilead to the camp or to the Congregation.
9 For when the people were reviewed, behold, none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were there.
10 Therefore, the Congregation sent twelve thousand men of the most valiant there and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, both women and children.
11 “And this is what you shall do: you shall utterly destroy all the males and all the women who have lain with men.”
12 And they found four hundred maids among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead, virgins who had known no man by lying with any male. And they brought them to the camp, to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13 Then the whole Congregation sent and spoke with the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon and called peaceably to them.
14 And Benjamin came back at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive from the women of Jabesh Gilead. But they did not have enough for them.
15 And the people were sorry for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
16 Therefore, the elders of the Congregation said, “What shall we do about wives for the remnant? For the women of Benjamin have been destroyed.”
17 And they said, “There must be an inheritance for those of Benjamin that escapes, so that a tribe is not destroyed out of Israel.
18 “However, we may not give them wives from our daughters.” For the children of Israel had sworn, saying, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.”
19 Therefore they said, “Behold, there is a feast of the LORD every year in Shiloh (which is on the northern side of Bethel and on the eastern side of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem and to the south of Lebonah).”
20 Therefore, they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards.
21 “And when you see that the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then every man come out of the vineyards and catch yourself a wife from the daughters of Shiloh and go into the land of Benjamin.
22 “And when their fathers or their brethren come to us to complain, we will say to them, ‘Have pity on them for our sakes, because we did not reserve a wife for each man in the war; and because you have not given to them before now, you have sinned.’”
23 And the children of Benjamin did so, and took wives of those who danced, according to their number. They took them and went away and returned to their inheritance and repaired the cities and dwelt in them.
24 So, the children of Israel departed from there at that time, each man to his tribe and to his family. And each man went out from there to his inheritance.
25 In those days, there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was good in his eyes.
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