Genesis 34
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
34 And Dina the daughter of Lia went out to see the women of that country.
2 And when Sichem the son of Hemor the Hevite, the prince of that land, saw her, he was in love with her: and took her away, and lay with her, ravishing the virgin.
3 And his soul was fast knit unto her, and whereas she was sad, he comforted her with sweet words.
4 And going to Hemor his father, he said: Get me this damsel to wife.
5 But when Jacob had heard this, his sons being absent, and employed in feeding the cattle, he held his peace till they came back.
6 And when Hemor the father of Sichem was come out to speak to Jacob,
7 Behold his sons came from the field: and hearing what had passed, they were exceeding angry, because he had done a foul thing in Israel, and committed an unlawful act, in ravishing Jacob's daughter,
8 And Hemor spoke to them: The soul of my son Sichem has a longing for your daughter: give her him to wife:
9 And let us contract marriages one with another: give us your daughters and take you our daughters,
10 And dwell with us: the land is at your command, till, trade, and possess it.
11 Sichem also said to her father and to her brethren: Let me find favour in your sight: and whatsoever you shall appoint I will give.
12 Raise the dowry, and ask gifts, and I will gladly give what you shall demand: only give me this damsel to wife.
13 The sons of Jacob answered Sichem and his father deceitfully, being enraged at the deflowering of their sister:
14 We cannot do what you demand, nor give our sister to one that is uncircumcised, which with us is unlawful and abominable.
15 But in this we may be allied with you, if you will be like us, and all the male sex among you be circumcised:
16 Then will we mutually give and take your daughters, and ours: and we will dwell with you, and will be one people:
17 But if you will not be circumcised, we will take our daughter and depart:
18 Their offer pleased Hemor, and Sichem his son:
19 And the young man made no delay, but forthwith fulfilled what was required, for he loved the damsel exceedingly, and he was the greatest man in all his father's house.
20 And going into the gate of the city they spoke to the people:
21 These men are peaceable and willing to dwell with us: let them trade in the land, and till it, which being large and wide wanteth men to till it: we shall take their daughters for wives, and we will give them ours.
22 One thing there is for which so great a good is deferred: We must circumcise every male among us, following the manner of the nation.
23 And their substance, and cattle, and all that they possess, shall be ours: only in this let us condescend, and by dwelling together, we shall make one people.
24 And they all agreed, and circumcised all the males.
25 And behold the third day, when the pain of the wound was greatest, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dina, taking their swords, entered boldly into the city, and slew all the men:
26 And they killed also Hemor and Sichem, and took away their sister Dina, out of Sichem's house.
27 And when they were gone out, the other sons of Jacob came upon the slain; and plundered the city in revenge of the rape.
28 And they took their sheep and their herds and their asses, wasting all they had in their houses and in the fields.
29 And their children and wives they took captive,
30 And when they had boldly perpetrated these things, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: You have troubled me, and made me hateful to the Chanaanites and Pherezites, the inhabitants of this land: we are few: they will gather themselves together and kill me; and both I, and my house, shall be destroyed.
31 They answered: Should they abuse our sister as a strumpet?
Genesis 34
New Living Translation
Revenge against Shechem
34 One day Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, went to visit some of the young women who lived in the area. 2 But when the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw Dinah, he seized her and raped her. 3 But then he fell in love with her, and he tried to win her affection with tender words. 4 He said to his father, Hamor, “Get me this young girl. I want to marry her.”
5 Soon Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter, Dinah. But since his sons were out in the fields herding his livestock, he said nothing until they returned. 6 Hamor, Shechem’s father, came to discuss the matter with Jacob. 7 Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the field as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob’s family,[a] something that should never be done.
8 Hamor tried to speak with Jacob and his sons. “My son Shechem is truly in love with your daughter,” he said. “Please let him marry her. 9 In fact, let’s arrange other marriages, too. You give us your daughters for our sons, and we will give you our daughters for your sons. 10 And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Settle here and trade with us. And feel free to buy property in the area.”
11 Then Shechem himself spoke to Dinah’s father and brothers. “Please be kind to me, and let me marry her,” he begged. “I will give you whatever you ask. 12 No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I will gladly pay it—just give me the girl as my wife.”
13 But since Shechem had defiled their sister, Dinah, Jacob’s sons responded deceitfully to Shechem and his father, Hamor. 14 They said to them, “We couldn’t possibly allow this, because you’re not circumcised. It would be a disgrace for our sister to marry a man like you! 15 But here is a solution. If every man among you will be circumcised like we are, 16 then we will give you our daughters, and we’ll take your daughters for ourselves. We will live among you and become one people. 17 But if you don’t agree to be circumcised, we will take her and be on our way.”
18 Hamor and his son Shechem agreed to their proposal. 19 Shechem wasted no time in acting on this request, for he wanted Jacob’s daughter desperately. Shechem was a highly respected member of his family, 20 and he went with his father, Hamor, to present this proposal to the leaders at the town gate.
21 “These men are our friends,” they said. “Let’s invite them to live here among us and trade freely. Look, the land is large enough to hold them. We can take their daughters as wives and let them marry ours. 22 But they will consider staying here and becoming one people with us only if all of our men are circumcised, just as they are. 23 But if we do this, all their livestock and possessions will eventually be ours. Come, let’s agree to their terms and let them settle here among us.”
24 So all the men in the town council agreed with Hamor and Shechem, and every male in the town was circumcised. 25 But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah’s full brothers, took their swords and entered the town without opposition. Then they slaughtered every male there, 26 including Hamor and his son Shechem. They killed them with their swords, then took Dinah from Shechem’s house and returned to their camp.
27 Meanwhile, the rest of Jacob’s sons arrived. Finding the men slaughtered, they plundered the town because their sister had been defiled there. 28 They seized all the flocks and herds and donkeys—everything they could lay their hands on, both inside the town and outside in the fields. 29 They looted all their wealth and plundered their houses. They also took all their little children and wives and led them away as captives.
30 Afterward Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have ruined me! You’ve made me stink among all the people of this land—among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will join forces and crush us. I will be ruined, and my entire household will be wiped out!”
31 “But why should we let him treat our sister like a prostitute?” they retorted angrily.
Footnotes
- 34:7 Hebrew a disgraceful thing in Israel.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
