Israel Provides Wives for Benjamin

21 The Israelites had vowed at Mizpah, “We will never give our daughters in marriage to a man from the tribe of Benjamin.”

Israel’s War with Benjamin

20 Then all the Israelites were united as one man, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, including those from across the Jordan in the land of Gilead. The entire community assembled in the presence of the Lord at Mizpah.

²³ He even vowed, “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!”

The Plan to Kill Paul

¹² The next morning a group of Jews^[a] got together and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

^2 [a]Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.

¹⁸ But we cannot give them our own daughters in marriage because we have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this will fall under God’s curse.”

⁸ And all the people rose to their feet in unison and declared, “None of us will return home! No, not even one of us!

² I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal.

²⁸ But one of the men saw him and said, “Your father made the army take a strict oath that anyone who eats food today will be cursed. That is why everyone is weary and faint.”

²⁹ “My father has made trouble for us all!” Jonathan exclaimed. “A command like that only hurts us. See how refreshed I am now that I have eaten this little bit of honey.