Genesis 34
New American Standard Bible
The Treachery of Jacob’s Sons
34 Now (A)Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to [a]visit the daughters of the land. 2 When Shechem the son of Hamor (B)the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her and raped her. 3 But [b]he was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and [c]spoke tenderly to her. 4 So Shechem (C)spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.” 5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob said nothing until they came in. 6 Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7 Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard about it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a [d](D)disgraceful thing in Israel by [e]sleeping with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.
8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him [f]in marriage. 9 And intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 So you will live with us, and (E)the land shall be [g]open to you; live and (F)trade in it and (G)acquire property in it.” 11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and I will give whatever you tell me. 12 Demand of me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give whatever you tell me; but give me the girl [h]in marriage.”
13 But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, that is, give our sister to a (H)man who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15 Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male of you will be circumcised, 16 then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people. 17 But if you do not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”
18 Now their words seemed [i]reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. 19 The young man did not delay to do [j]this, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the (I)gate of their city and spoke to the people of their city, saying, 21 “These men are [k]friendly to us; therefore let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is [l]large enough for them. We will take their daughters [m]in marriage, and give our daughters to them. 22 Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 23 Will their livestock and their property and all their animals not be ours? Let’s just consent to them, and they will live with us.” 24 (J)All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
25 Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons—(K)Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers—each took his sword and came upon the city undetected, and killed every male. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. 27 Jacob’s sons came upon those killed and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks, their herds, and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; 29 and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even everything that was in the houses. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have (L)brought trouble on me by (M)making me repulsive among the inhabitants of the land, among (N)the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and [n](O)since my men are few in number, they will band together against me and [o]attack me, and I will be destroyed, I and my household!” 31 But they said, “Should he [p]treat our sister like a prostitute?”
Footnotes
- Genesis 34:1 Lit see
- Genesis 34:3 Lit His soul clung
- Genesis 34:3 Lit spoke to the heart of the girl
- Genesis 34:7 Lit senseless
- Genesis 34:7 I.e., violating her
- Genesis 34:8 Lit for a wife
- Genesis 34:10 Lit before you
- Genesis 34:12 Lit for a wife
- Genesis 34:18 Lit good
- Genesis 34:19 Lit the thing
- Genesis 34:21 Lit peaceful
- Genesis 34:21 Lit wide of hands before them
- Genesis 34:21 Lit to us for wives
- Genesis 34:30 Lit I, few in number
- Genesis 34:30 Lit strike
- Genesis 34:31 Or make
Genesis 34
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Rape of Dinah
34 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the region.(A) 2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the region, saw her, he seized her and lay with her by force. 3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl to be my wife.”(B)
5 Now Jacob heard that Shechem[a] had defiled his daughter Dinah, but his sons were with his cattle in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him, 7 just as the sons of Jacob came in from the field. When they heard of it, the men were indignant and very angry, because he had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.(C)
8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The heart of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage. 9 Make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You shall live with us, and the land shall be open to you; live and trade in it and get property in it.”(D) 11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor with you, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12 Put the marriage present and gift as high as you like, and I will give whatever you ask me; only give me the young woman to be my wife.”(E)
13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.(F) 15 Only on this condition will we consent to you: that you will become as we are and every male among you be circumcised. 16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.”
18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his family.(G) 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 “These people are friendly with us; let them live in the land and trade in it, for the land is large enough for them; let us take their daughters in marriage, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will they agree to live among us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property, and all their animals be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will live among us.” 24 And all who went out of the city gate heeded Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.(H)
Dinah’s Brothers Avenge Their Sister
25 On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city unawares and killed all the males.(I) 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. 27 And the other sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city because their sister had been defiled. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and made their prey. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites; my numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.”(J) 31 But they said, “Should our sister be treated like a prostitute?”
Footnotes
- 34.5 Heb he
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.