Verse
WEB
World English Bible
BSB
Berean Standard Bible
Now the men of Israel had sworn in
Mizpah, saying, There
shall
not any
of us give his daughter to Benjamin
as
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
. ”
The people came to Bethel ,
and sat there until
evening
before God, and
lifted
up their voices ,
and wept
sore
.
So
the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until
evening
, lifting
up their voices and weeping
bitterly
.
They
said,
Yahweh
, the
God of Israel, why
has this happened in Israel ,
that
there
should
be
today one
tribe
lacking
in Israel ?
“Why
, O
LORD
God of Israel, ”
they
cried
out,
“
has this happened in Israel ?
Today in Israel one
tribe
is
missing!”
It
happened
on
the next day that
the people rose
early, and
built there
an altar, and offered
burnt offerings and peace -
offerings.
The next day the people got
up
early, built an altar there
, and presented
burnt offerings and peace offerings.
The children
of
Israel
said
, Who is
there
among all the tribes of Israel who
didn't
come up
in
the assembly to
Yahweh
? For they had made
a great
oath concerning
him
who didn't
come up to
Yahweh
to
Mizpah ,
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.
The children
of
Israel
repented
them
for Benjamin
their brother
, and said, There
is
one
tribe cut off from Israel this
day
.
And
the Israelites
grieved
for their brothers
, the
Benjamites,
and said, “Today
a
tribe is
cut off from Israel.
How
shall
we do for
wives for those
who
remain
, seeing
we have sworn by Yahweh
that
we
will
not give them of
our daughters to
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
? ”
They said
, What
one is
there
of the tribes of Israel who
didn't
come up to
Yahweh
to
Mizpah? Behold
, there
came
none
to
the
camp
from Jabesh Gilead 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.
For when the people were numbered,
behold
, there
were
none of the inhabitants
of Jabesh Gilead there.
For when the people were counted
, none of the residents
of Jabesh -
gilead were
there.
The congregation sent there
twelve
thousand
men
of the
most valiant ,
and commanded them ,
saying,
Go and strike
the inhabitants
of
Jabesh Gilead with
the
edge
of
the
sword
, with
the
women and the
little
ones
.
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
.
This is the
thing
that
you shall
do: you
shall
utterly
destroy
every male, and
every woman
who has lain
by
man.
This is what
you are
to
do: Devote
to
destruction
every male, as
well
as
every female
who has had
relations
with
a
man. ”
They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins,
who had not known
man
by
lying
with him;
and they brought them to the camp to
Shiloh ,
which
is
in the land of Canaan.
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.
The whole congregation sent and
spoke
to the children
of
Benjamin
who were in
the rock of Rimmon ,
and
proclaimed
peace
to
them
.
Then
the whole congregation sent a
message
of
peace
to the Benjamites
who were at
the rock of Rimmon.
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
weren't
enough for 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.
The people repented
them
for Benjamin, because that
Yahweh
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.
Then the elders of the congregation said, How
shall
we do for
wives for those who remain, seeing
the women are
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
? ”
They said
, There must be an
inheritance
for those
who
are
escaped
of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted
out from
Israel
.
They added
, “
There must be heirs
for the
survivors
of Benjamin, so
that a tribe of
Israel
will
not be wiped
out.
However
we may
not
give them wives
of
our daughters ,
for the children
of
Israel
had sworn, saying,
Cursed be
he who 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
. ”
They said, Behold,
there is a feast of
Yahweh
from
year
to year
in Shiloh, which is on
the
north of Bethel ,
on
the
east side
of the highway
that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on
the
south of Lebonah.
“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. ”
They commanded the children
of
Benjamin,
saying,
Go and
lie
in
wait
in the vineyards ,
So
they commanded the Benjamites:
“
Go ,
hide
in the vineyards
and see ,
and,
behold,
if
the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance
in
the
dances, then
come
you out of the vineyards, and
catch you
every
man
his
wife of
the daughters of Shiloh, and go to 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.
It
shall
be,
when their fathers or their
brothers come to complain
to
us, that
we will say
to
them, Grant
them
graciously
to
us, because
we didn't
take
for each man
his
wife
in battle,
neither
did
you give them to
them
, else
would
you now
be
guilty
.
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
. ’”
The children
of
Benjamin
did so,
and took
them
wives,
according
to
their
number ,
of those
who
danced,
whom
they carried
off:
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.
The
children
of
Israel
departed
there
at that time, every
man
to his tribe and to
his
family
, and
they
went
out
from
there
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.
In those days there was no king in Israel :
every
man
did that
which
was right in his own eyes.
In those days there was no king in Israel ;
everyone
did what
was right in his own eyes.
Scripture text: World English Bible and Berean Standard Bible. Public domain; “World English Bible” is a trademark of eBible.org.; Public domain; source text distributed by BSB Publishing, LLC..