Judges 21

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?

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 Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.

9For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there.

10And 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 children.

11And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.footnote a

12And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 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.footnote b

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.footnote cfootnote d

14And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead: 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 Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.footnote efootnote ffootnote g

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.footnote h

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.

Wives for the Benjamites

1Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”

2So 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!”

4The next day the people got up early, built an altar there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. 5The 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.

6And the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites, and said, “Today a tribe is cut off from Israel. 7What should we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them our daughters in marriage?”

8So 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. 9For when the people were counted, none of the residents of Jabesh-gilead were there.

10So 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. 11This is what you are to do: Devote to destructionfootnote a every male, as well as every female who has had relations with a man.”

12So 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.

13Then the whole congregation sent a message of peace to the Benjamites who were at the rock of Rimmon. 14And 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.

15The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a void in the tribes of Israel.

16Then the elders of the congregation said, “What should we do about wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” 17They added, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. 18But 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.”

20So they commanded the Benjamites: “Go, hide in the vineyards 21and 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. 22When 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.’”

23The 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. 24And at that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and clan, each to his own inheritance.

25In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.