Genesis 34
World English Bible
34 Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her. 3 His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady. 4 Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, “Get me this young lady as a wife.”
5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were with his livestock in the field. Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to talk with him. 7 The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. The men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he had done folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing that ought not to be done. 8 Hamor talked with them, saying, “The soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. 9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You shall dwell with us, and the land will be before you. Live and trade in it, and get possessions in it.”
11 Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you will tell me I will give. 12 Ask me a great amount for a dowry, and I will give whatever you ask of me, but give me the young lady as a wife.”
13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit when they spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister, 14 and said to them, “We can’t do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised; for that is a reproach to us. 15 Only on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised, 16 then will we give our daughters to you; and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our sister,[a] and we will be gone.”
18 Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. 19 The young man didn’t wait to do this thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter, and he was honored above all the house of his father. 20 Hamor and Shechem, his son, came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are peaceful with us. Therefore let them live in the land and trade in it. For behold, the land is large enough for them. Let’s take their daughters to us for wives, and let’s give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people, if every male among us is circumcised, as they are circumcised. 23 Won’t their livestock and their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let’s give our consent to them, and they will dwell with us.”
24 All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor, and to Shechem his son; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. 25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword, came upon the unsuspecting city, and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away. 27 Jacob’s sons came on the dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field, 29 and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the house. 30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me, to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. They will gather themselves together against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my house.”
31 They said, “Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?”
Footnotes
- 34:17 Hebrew has, literally, “daughter”
Genesis 34
International Standard Version
Jacob’s Daughter Dinah is Raped
34 Some time later, Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women[a] of the land. 2 When Hamor the Hivite’s son Shechem, the regional leader, saw her, he grabbed her and raped her, humiliating her. 3 He was attached to[b] Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, since he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.[c] 4 Then Shechem told his father Hamor, “Get this young woman[d] for me to be my wife.”
5 Because Jacob learned that Shechem had dishonored his daughter Dinah while his sons were still out with their cattle on the open range, he remained silent until they returned. 6 Meanwhile, Shechem’s father Hamor arrived to talk to Jacob. 7 Just then Jacob’s sons arrived from the field. When they heard what had happened, they were distraught with grief and livid with anger toward Shechem,[e] because he had committed a disgraceful deed in Israel by forcing Jacob’s daughter to have sex, an act that never should have happened.
8 But Hamor said this: “My son is deeply attracted to your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. 9 Intermarry with us. Give your daughters to us and take our sons for yourselves. 10 Live with us anywhere you want.[f] Live, trade, and grow rich in it.”
11 Shechem also addressed Dinah’s[g] father and brothers. He told them, “If you’ll just approve me, I’ll give whatever you ask of me. 12 No matter how big or how extensive your demands are for a dowry and wedding presents from me, I’ll provide whatever you ask. Only give me the young lady to be my wife.”
Jacob’s Sons Plot Revenge
13 But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceptively, because Shechem had dishonored their sister Dinah. 14 They told them, “We can’t do this. We can’t give our sister to a man who isn’t circumcised, because that would be insulting to us. 15 But we’ll agree to your request, only if you will become like us by circumcising every male among you. 16 Then we’ll give our daughters to you and take your daughters for ourselves, live among you, and be as a united people. 17 But if you won’t listen to us, then we’re going to take our daughter and leave.” 18 What they said pleased Hamor and his son Shechem, 19 so the young man did not delay the matter any further, since he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter.
Now Shechem was the most important person in his father’s household. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem entered the gate of their city and addressed the men of their city. 21 “These men are at peace with us,” they announced. “Therefore, let them live in the land and trade in it. Look! The land is large enough for them. Let’s take their daughters as wives for ourselves and let’s give our sons to them.
22 “However,” they added, “only on this condition will the men consent to live with us and be united as a single people with us: every male among us will have to be circumcised just as they are. 23 Shouldn’t all their cattle, acquisitions, and animals belong to us? So, let’s give our consent to them, and then they’ll live with us.”
Simeon and Levi Attack Shechem
24 All of the males who heard Hamor and his son Shechem, who had gone out to the city gate, were circumcised. 25 Three days later, while they were still in pain, Jacob’s sons Simeon and Levi, two of Dinah’s brothers, each grabbed a sword and entered the city unannounced, intending to kill all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took back Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. 27 Jacob’s other sons came along afterward and plundered the city where their sister had been defiled, 28 seizing all of their flocks, herds, donkeys, and whatever else was in the city or had been left out in the field. 29 They carried off all their wealth, their children, and their wives as captives, plundering everything that remained in the houses.
30 Then Jacob told Simeon and Levi, “You have certainly stirred up trouble for me! You’ve made me despised by[h] the Canaanites and the Perizzites who live in this territory. Because I have only a few men with me, they’re going to gather themselves together and attack me until I am totally destroyed, along with my entire household!”
31 “Should he have treated our sister like a whore?” they asked in response.
Footnotes
- Genesis 34:1 Lit. daughters
- Genesis 34:3 Lit. His soul clung
- Genesis 34:3 Lit. to the heart of the young lady
- Genesis 34:4 Or girl
- Genesis 34:7 Lit. toward the man
- Genesis 34:10 Lit. us, since the land lays open before you
- Genesis 34:11 Lit. her
- Genesis 34:30 Lit. me stink in the eyes of
by Public Domain. The name "World English Bible" is trademarked.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
