Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, “No one of us shall
give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.” And the people came to
Bethel and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up
their voices and wept bitterly. And they said, “O LORD, the God of
Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that today there should be
one tribe lacking in Israel?” And the next day the people rose
early and built there an altar and offered burnt offerings and
peace offerings. And the people of Israel said, “Which of all the
tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to the LORD?” For
they had taken a great oath concerning him who did not come up to
the LORD to Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” And
the people of Israel had compassion for Benjamin their brother and
said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel this day. What shall we do
for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the LORD
that we will not give them any of our daughters for wives?”
And they said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel that
did not come up to the LORD to Mizpah?” And behold, no one had come
to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, to the assembly. For when the
people were mustered, behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-
gilead was there. So the congregation sent 12,000 of their bravest
men there and commanded them, “Go and strike the inhabitants of
Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword; also the women and the
little ones. This is what you shall do: every male and every woman
that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction.” And
they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins
who had not known a man by lying with him, and they brought them to
the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
Then the whole congregation sent word to the people of Benjamin
who were at the rock of Rimmon and proclaimed peace to them. And
Benjamin returned at that time. And they gave them the women whom
they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead, but they were
not enough for them. And the people had compassion on Benjamin
because the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for
wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of
Benjamin?” And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the
survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel.
Yet we cannot give them wives from our daughters.” For the people
of Israel had sworn, “Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin.”
So they said, “Behold, there is the yearly feast of the LORD at
Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that
goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” And they
commanded the people of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in ambush in
the vineyards and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to
dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each
man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of
Benjamin. And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain
to us, we will say to them, ‘Grant them graciously to us, because
we did not take for each man of them his wife in battle, neither
did you give them to them, else you would now be guilty.’” And the
people of Benjamin did so and took their wives, according to their
number, from the dancers whom they carried off. Then they went and
returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and lived in
them. And the people of Israel departed from there at that time,
every man to his tribe and family, and they went out from there
every man to his inheritance.
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was
right in his own eyes.
