Judges 21
Christian Standard Bible
Brides for Benjamin
21 The men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah: “None of us will give his daughter to a Benjaminite in marriage.”(A) 2 So the people went to Bethel and sat there before God(B) until evening. They wept loudly and bitterly, 3 and cried out, “Why, Lord God of Israel, has it occurred[a] that one tribe is missing in Israel today?” 4 The next day the people got up early, built an altar there,(C) and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. 5 The Israelites asked, “Who of all the tribes of Israel didn’t come to the Lord with the assembly?” For a great oath had been taken that anyone who had not come to the Lord at Mizpah would certainly be put to death.
6 But the Israelites had compassion on their brothers, the Benjaminites, and said, “Today a tribe has been cut off from Israel. 7 What should we do about wives for the survivors? We’ve sworn to the Lord not to give them any of our daughters as wives.” 8 They asked, “Which city among the tribes of Israel didn’t come to the Lord at Mizpah?” It turned out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp and the assembly. 9 For when the roll was called, no men were there from the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead.
10 The congregation sent twelve thousand brave warriors there and commanded them, “Go and kill the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the sword,(D) including women and dependents. 11 This is what you should do: Completely destroy every male, as well as every woman who has gone to bed with a man.” 12 They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, who had not been intimate with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
13 The whole congregation sent a message of peace(E) to the Benjaminites who were at Rimmon Rock. 14 Benjamin returned at that time, and Israel gave them the women they had kept alive from Jabesh-gilead. But there were not enough for them.
15 The people had compassion on Benjamin, because the Lord had made this gap in the tribes of Israel. 16 The elders of the congregation said, “What should we do about wives for those who are left, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” 17 They said, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. 18 But we can’t give them our daughters as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Anyone who gives a wife to a Benjaminite is cursed.” 19 They also said, “Look, there’s an annual festival to the Lord in Shiloh,(F) which is north of Bethel, east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”
20 Then they commanded the Benjaminites, “Go and hide in the vineyards. 21 Watch, and when you see the young women of Shiloh come out to perform the dances,(G) each of you leave the vineyards and catch a wife for yourself from the young women of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 When their fathers or brothers come to us and protest, we will tell them, ‘Show favor to them, since we did not get enough wives for each of them in the battle. You didn’t actually give the women to them, so[b] you are not guilty of breaking your oath.’”
23 The Benjaminites did this and took the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities,(H) and lived in them. 24 At that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and family. Each returned from there to his own inheritance.
25 In those days there was no king in Israel;(I) everyone did whatever seemed right to him.
Judges 21
Common English Bible
Wives for the Benjaminites
21 The Israelites had made a pledge at Mizpah, declaring, “None of us will allow his daughter to marry a Benjaminite.” 2 But the people came to Bethel and sat there until evening before God, raising their voices and crying bitterly. 3 “Lord, God of Israel,” they said, “why has this happened among us that as of today one tribe will be missing from Israel?” 4 And the next day, the people got up early and built an altar there. They offered entirely burned offerings and well-being sacrifices.
5 Then the Israelites asked, “Were there any out of all the tribes of Israel who didn’t march up to the assembly before the Lord?” Indeed, they had made a solemn pledge that anyone who didn’t march up before the Lord at Mizpah would be put to death. 6 The Israelites had a change of heart concerning their relatives the Benjaminites. They said, “Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel. 7 What can we do to provide wives for the ones who are left, since we ourselves have made a pledge before the Lord not to allow our daughters to marry them?” 8 So they asked, “Is there anyone from the tribes of Israel who didn’t march up before the Lord at Mizpah?” There was! No one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the assembly at the camp. 9 When the people’s attendance was taken, not one of those who lived in Jabesh-gilead had been there.
10 The community dispatched twelve thousand warriors there with these orders: “Go kill all the people in Jabesh-gilead, including women and children. 11 Here’s what you should do: Exterminate every man and every woman who has slept with a man.” 12 Among the people of Jabesh-gilead, they found four hundred young women who had not known a man intimately or slept with one, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. 13 The whole community then sent word to the Benjaminites who were at the rock of Rimmon and offered them a truce.[a] 14 So the Benjaminites returned at that time, and they gave them the women from Jabesh-gilead that they had allowed to live. Even so, there weren’t enough for them.
15 Since the people had a change of heart concerning the Benjaminites because the Lord had caused a rupture in the tribes of Israel, 16 the community elders said, “What can we do to provide wives for the ones who are left, seeing that the Benjaminite women have been destroyed? 17 There must be a surviving line for those who remain from Benjamin,” they continued, “so that a tribe won’t be erased from Israel. 18 But we can’t allow our daughters to marry them, for we Israelites have made this pledge: ‘Let anyone who provides a wife for Benjamin be cursed!’ 19 However,” they said, “the annual festival of the Lord is under way in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, east of the main road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” 20 So they instructed the Benjaminites, “Go and hide like an ambush in the vineyards 21 and watch. At the moment the women of Shiloh come out to participate in the dances, rush out from the vineyards. Each one of you, capture a wife for yourself from the women of Shiloh and go back to the land of Benjamin. 22 When their fathers or brothers come to us to object, we’ll tell them, ‘Do us a favor for their sake. We didn’t capture enough women for every man during the battle, and this way you are not guilty because you didn’t give them anything willingly.’” 23 And that is what the Benjaminites did. They took wives for their whole group from the dancers whom they abducted. They returned to their territory, rebuilt the cities, and lived in them. 24 Likewise, the Israelites set out from there at that time, heading home to their respective tribes and clans. They all left there for their own territories.
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; each person did what they thought to be right.
Footnotes
- Judges 21:13 Or peace
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