Judg 21
1
Now the children of Israel swore in Massephath, saying, No man of us shall give his
daughter to Benjamin for a wife.
2
And the people came to Baethel, and sat there until evening before God: and they lifted
up their voice and wept with a great weeping;
3
and said, Wherefore, O Lord God of Israel, has this come to pass, that to-day one
tribe should be counted as missing from Israel?
4
And it came to pass on the morrow that the people rose up early, and built there an
altar, and offered up whole-burnt-offerings and See Jud 20:26 peace offerings.
5
And the children of Israel said, Who of all the tribes of Israel, went not up in the
congregation to the Lord? for there was a great oath concerning those who went not
up to the Lord to Massephath, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
6
And the children of Israel Or, comforted themselves, or, were comforted relented toward Benjamin their brother, and said,
To-day one tribe is cut off from
Israel.
7
What shall we do for wives for the rest that remain? whereas we have sworn by the
Lord, not to give them of our daughters for wives.
8
And they said, What one man is there of the tribes of Israel, who went not up to the
Lord to Massephath? and, behold, no man came to the camp from Jabis Galaad to the
assembly.
9
And the people were numbered, and there was not there a man from the inhabitants of
Jabis Galaad.
10
And the congregation sent there twelve thousand men of the Gr. sons of strength strong, and they charged them, saying, Go
you and smite the inhabitants of Jabis
Galaad with the Gr. mouth edge of the sword.
11
And this shall you do: every male and every woman that has known the lying with man
you shall devote to destruction, but the virgins you shall save alive: and they did
so.
12
And they found Gr. from, out of among the inhabitants of Jabis Galaad four hundred young virgins, who had not known
man by lying with him; and they brought them to Selom in the land of Chanaan.
13
And all the congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin in the rock Remmon,
and invited them to make peace.
14
And Benjamin returned to the children of Israel at that time, and the children of
Israel gave them the women whom they had save alive of the daughters of Jabis Galaad;
and Gr. it pleased them thus they were content.
15
And the people Or, comforted themselves, or, were comforted relented for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a breach in the
tribes of Israel.
16
And the elders of the congregation said, What shall we do for wives for them that
remain? for the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin.
17
And they said, There must be an inheritance of them that are escaped of Benjamin;
and so a tribe shall not be destroyed out of Israel.
18
For we shall not be able to give them wives of our daughters, because we swore among
the children of Israel, saying, Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.
19
And they said, Behold! now there is a feast of the Lord Gr. from days to days; Hebraism from year to year in Selom, which
is on the north of Baethel, eastward on the way
that goes up from Baethel to Sychem, and from the south of Lebona.
20
And they charged the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
21
and you shall see; and behold! if there come out the daughters of the inhabitants
of Selom to dance in dances, then shall you go out of the vineyards and seize for
yourselves every man a wife of the daughters of Selom, and go you into the land of
Benjamin.
22
And it shall come to pass, when their fathers or their brethren come to dispute with
us, that we will say to them, Grant them freely to us, for we have not taken every
man his wife in the battle: because you did not give to them Translated from the Alex. according to the occasion, you transgressed.
23
And the children of Benjamin did so; and they took wives according to their number
from the dancers whom they seized: and they went and returned to their inheritance,
and built the cities, and dwelt in them.
24
And the children of Israel Gr. walked went thence at that time every man to his tribe and his kindred; and they went thence
every man to his inheritance.
25
And in those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right
in his own sight.