Mourning the Tribe of Benjamin
1Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife. 2And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore; 3And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel? 4And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death. 6And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day. 7How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
Provision for Benjamin's Survival
8And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly. 9For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there. 10And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children. 11And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man. 12And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them. 14And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not. 15And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
16Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin? 17And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel. 18Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
19Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah. 20Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; 21And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in 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. 22And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty. 23And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them. 24And 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.
25In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Wives for the Benjamites
1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “There shall not any of us give his daughter to Benjamin as wife.” 2 The people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept severely. 3 They said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?” 4 It happened on the next day that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5 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.” 6 The children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day. 7 How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since we have sworn by Yahweh that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?”
8 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. 9 For when the people were numbered, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead there. 10 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. 11 This is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has lain with a man.” 12 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.
13 The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them. 14 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. 15 The people grieved for Benjamin, because that Yahweh had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
16 Then the elders of the congregation said, “How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?” 17 They said, “There must be an inheritance for those who are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel. 18 However we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, ‘Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.’”
19 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.” 20 They commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, 21 and see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards, and each man catch his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 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, otherwise you would now be guilty.’” 23 The children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of those who danced, whom they carried off. They went and returned to their inheritance, built the cities, and lived in them. 24 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.
25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Wives for the Benjamites
1 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.”
2 So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly. 3 “Why, O LORD God of Israel,” they cried out, “has this happened in Israel? Today in Israel one tribe is missing!”
4 The next day the people got up early, built an altar there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. 5 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.
6 And the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites, and said, “Today a tribe is cut off from Israel. 7 What should we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them our daughters in marriage?”
8 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. 9 For when the people were counted, none of the residents of Jabesh-gilead were there.
10 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. 11 This is what you are to do: Devote to destruction a every male, as well as every female who has had relations with a man.”
12 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.
13 Then the whole congregation sent a message of peace to the Benjamites who were at the rock of Rimmon. 14 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.
15 The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a void in the tribes of Israel.
16 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?” 17 They added, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. 18 But we cannot give them our daughters as wives.”
For the Israelites had sworn, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to a Benjamite.”
19 “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.”
20 So they commanded the Benjamites: “Go, hide in the vineyards 21 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. 22 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.’ ”
23 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. 24 And at that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and clan, each to his own inheritance.
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Footnotes:
11 a Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons to the LORD, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
Mourning the Tribe of Benjamin
1And the men of Israel have sworn in Mizpeh, saying, 'None of us doth give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife.' 2And the people come in to Beth-El, and sit there till the evening before God, and lift up their voice, and weep -- a great weeping, 3and say, 'Why, O Jehovah, God of Israel, hath this been in Israel -- to be lacking to-day, from Israel, one tribe?' 4And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that the people rise early, and build there an altar, and cause to ascend burnt-offerings and peace-offerings.
5And the sons of Israel say, 'Who is he that hath not come up in the assembly out of all the tribes of Israel unto Jehovah?' for the great oath hath been concerning him who hath not come up unto Jehovah to Mizpeh, saying, 'He is surely put to death.' 6And the sons of Israel repent concerning Benjamin their brother, and say, 'There hath been to-day cut off one tribe from Israel, 7what do we do for them -- for those who are left -- for wives, and we -- we have sworn by Jehovah not to give to them of our daughters for wives?'
Provision for Benjamin's Survival
8And they say, 'Who is that one out of the tribes of Israel who hath not come up unto Jehovah to Mizpeh?' and lo, none hath come in unto the camp from Jabesh-Gilead -- unto the assembly. 9And the people numbered themselves, and lo, there is not there a man of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead. 10And the company send there twelve thousand men of the sons of valour, and command them, saying, 'Go -- and ye have smitten the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead by the mouth of the sword, even the women and the infants. 11And this is the thing which ye do; every male, and every woman knowing the lying of a male, ye devote.' 12And they find out of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead four hundred young women, virgins, who have not known man by the lying of a male, and they bring them in unto the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13And all the company send, and speak, unto the sons of Benjamin who are in the rock Rimmon, and proclaim to them peace; 14and Benjamin turneth back at that time, and they give to them the women whom they have kept alive of the women of Jabesh-Gilead, and they have not found for all of them so. 15And the people repented concerning Benjamin, for Jehovah had made a breach among the tribes of Israel.
16And the elders of the company say, 'What do we do to the remnant for wives -- for the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin?' 17And they say, 'A possession of an escaped party is to Benjamin, and a tribe is not blotted out from Israel; 18and we -- we are not able to give to them wives out of our daughters, for the sons of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed is he who is giving a wife to Benjamin.'
19And they say, 'Lo, a festival of Jehovah is in Shiloh, from time to time, which is on the north of Beth-El, at the rising of the sun, by the highway which is going up from Beth-El to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.' 20And they command the sons of Benjamin, saying, 'Go -- and ye have laid wait in the vineyards, 21and have seen, and lo, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances -- then ye have gone out from the vineyards, and caught for you each his wife out of the daughters of Shiloh, and gone to the land of Benjamin; 22and it hath been, when their fathers or their brethren come in to plead unto us, that we have said unto them, Favour us by them, for we have not taken to each his wife in battle, for ye -- ye have not given to them at this time that ye are guilty.' 23And the sons of Benjamin do so, and take women according to their number, out of the dancers whom they have taken violently away; and they go, and turn back unto their inheritance, and build the cities, and dwell in them. 24And the sons of Israel go up and down thence at that time, each to his tribe, and to his family; and they go out thence each to his inheritance.
25In those days there is no king in Israel; each doth that which is right in his own eyes.
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