Verse
BSB
Berean Standard Bible
ASV
American Standard Version
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
. ”
Now the men of Israel had sworn in
Mizpah, saying, There
shall
not any
of us give his daughter unto
Benjamin
to wife
.
So
the people came to Bethel
and sat there before God until
evening
, lifting
up their voices and weeping
bitterly
.
And
the people came to Beth-el,
and sat there till
even
before God, and
lifted
up their voices ,
and wept
sore
.
“Why
, O LORD
God of Israel, ”
they
cried
out,
“has
this happened
in
Israel?
Today
in Israel one tribe is
missing!”
And
they
said
, O Jehovah,
the
God of Israel, why
is
this come
to
pass
in Israel ,
that
there
should
be
to-day
one tribe lacking
in
Israel?
The next
day
the people got
up
early, built an altar there
, and presented
burnt offerings and peace offerings.
And
it
came
to
pass
on
the morrow,
that
the people rose
early, and
built there
an altar, and offered
burnt -
offerings and peace -
offerings.
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.
And
the children
of
Israel
said
, Who is
there
among all the tribes of Israel that
came
not up
in
the assembly unto
Jehovah
? For they had made
a great
oath concerning
him
that came
not
up unto
Jehovah
to
Mizpah ,
saying,
He
shall
surely be put to death.
And the Israelites
grieved
for their brothers,
the
Benjamites
, and said, “Today
a
tribe
is cut off from Israel.
And the children
of
Israel
repented
them
for Benjamin
their brother
, and said, There
is one
tribe
cut off from Israel this
day
.
What
should
we do about
wives for the
survivors
, since
we have sworn by the
LORD
not to
give them our daughters in
marriage
? ”
How
shall
we do for
wives for them
that
remain
, seeing
we have sworn by Jehovah
that
we
will
not give them of
our daughters to
wives
?
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.
And
they said
, What
one is
there
of the tribes of Israel that
came
not
up unto
Jehovah
to
Mizpah? And, behold
, there
came
none
to
the
camp
from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.
For when the people were counted
, none of the residents
of Jabesh-gilead were
there.
For when the people were numbered
, behold,
there
were
none of the inhabitants
of Jabesh-gilead there.
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
.
And
the congregation sent thither
twelve
thousand
men of
the
valiantest,
and commanded them ,
saying,
Go and smite
the inhabitants
of
Jabesh-gilead with
the
edge
of
the
sword
, with
the
women and the
little
ones
.
This is what
you
are
to
do: Devote
to
destruction
every male, as
well
as
every female
who
has
had
relations
with
a
man. ”
And
this is the
thing
that
ye
shall
do: ye
shall
utterly
destroy
every male, and
every woman
that
hath
lain
by
man.
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.
And
they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins,
that
had not known
man by
lying
with
him;
and they brought them unto
the camp to
Shiloh ,
which
is
in the land of Canaan.
Then
the whole congregation sent a
message
of
peace
to the Benjamites
who
were at
the rock of Rimmon.
And
the whole congregation sent and
spake
to the children
of
Benjamin
that
were in
the rock of Rimmon ,
and
proclaimed
peace
unto
them
.
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.
And Benjamin
returned
at that time ;
and they
gave
them
the women whom
they
had
saved
alive
of
the
women
of
Jabesh-gilead :
and
yet
so
they
sufficed
them not
.
The people grieved
for Benjamin, because the
LORD
had made a void
in the tribes of Israel.
And
the people repented
them
for Benjamin, because that
Jehovah
had made a breach
in the tribes of Israel.
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
? ”
Then the elders of the congregation said, How
shall
we do for
wives for them
that
remain, seeing
the women are
destroyed
out
of Benjamin?
They added
, “
There must be heirs
for the
survivors
of Benjamin, so
that a tribe of
Israel
will
not
be wiped
out.
And
they said
, There must be an
inheritance
for them
that
are
escaped
of Benjamin, that a tribe be not
blotted
out from
Israel
.
But
we cannot
give them our daughters as
wives.”
For the Israelites
had sworn, “
Cursed is
he who
gives
a wife to a
Benjamite
. ”
Howbeit
we may
not
give them wives
of
our daughters ,
for the children
of
Israel
had sworn, saying,
Cursed be
he that
giveth
a wife to Benjamin
.
“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. ”
And
they said, Behold,
there is a feast of
Jehovah
from
year
to year
in Shiloh, which is on
the
north of Beth-el,
on
the
east side
of the highway
that goeth
up from Beth-el
to Shechem, and on
the
south of Lebonah.
So
they commanded the Benjamites:
“Go
, hide
in the vineyards
And
they commanded the children
of
Benjamin
, saying,
Go
and
lie
in wait
in
the vineyards ,
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.
and see ,
and,
behold,
if
the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance
in
the
dances, then
come ye
out of the vineyards, and
catch you
every
man
his
wife of
the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
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
. ’”
And
it
shall
be,
when their fathers or their
brethren
come to complain unto
us
, that
we will say
unto
them, Grant
them graciously
unto
us
, because
we took
not for each man
`
of them '
his
wife
in battle,
neither
did ye
give them unto
them
, else
would
ye
now
be
guilty
.
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.
And
the children
of
Benjamin
did so,
and took
them
wives,
according
to
their
number ,
of them
that
danced,
whom
they carried
off:
and
they went and
returned
unto
their inheritance, and
built
the
cities, and dwelt
in them.
And at that time, each
of
the
Israelites
returned
from
there
to his own
tribe and clan
, each
to his own
inheritance.
And the
children
of
Israel
departed
thence
at that time, every
man
to his tribe and to
his
family
, and
they
went
out
from
thence
every
man
to his inheritance.
In those days there was no king in Israel ;
everyone
did what
was right in his own eyes.
In those days there was no king in Israel :
every
man
did that
which
was right in his own eyes.
Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible and American Standard Version. Public domain; source text distributed by BSB Publishing, LLC.; Public domain..