Judges 21
New Living Translation
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.” 2 Now the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly. 3 “O Lord, God of Israel,” they cried out, “why has this happened in Israel? Now one of our tribes is missing from Israel!”
4 Early the next morning the people built an altar and presented their burnt offerings and peace offerings on it. 5 Then they said, “Who among the tribes of Israel did not join us at Mizpah when we held our assembly in the presence of the Lord?” At that time they had taken a solemn oath in the Lord’s presence, vowing that anyone who refused to come would be put to death.
6 The Israelites felt sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, “Today one of the tribes of Israel has been cut off. 7 How can we find wives for the few who remain, since we have sworn by the Lord not to give them our daughters in marriage?”
8 So they asked, “Who among the tribes of Israel did not join us at Mizpah when we assembled in the presence of the Lord?” And they discovered that no one from Jabesh-gilead had attended the assembly. 9 For after they counted all the people, no one from Jabesh-gilead was present.
10 So the assembly sent 12,000 of their best warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children. 11 “This is what you are to do,” they said. “Completely destroy[a] all the males and every woman who is not a virgin.” 12 Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found 400 young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
13 The Israelite assembly sent a peace delegation to the remaining people of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon. 14 Then the men of Benjamin returned to their homes, and the 400 women of Jabesh-gilead who had been spared were given to them as wives. But there were not enough women for all of them.
15 The people felt sorry for Benjamin because the Lord had made this gap among the tribes of Israel. 16 So the elders of the assembly asked, “How can we find wives for the few who remain, since the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead? 17 There must be heirs for the survivors so that an entire tribe of Israel is not wiped out. 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.”
19 Then they thought of the annual festival of the Lord held in Shiloh, south of Lebonah and north of Bethel, along the east side of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem. 20 They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, “Go and hide in the vineyards. 21 When you see the young women of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out from the vineyards, and each of you can take one of them home to the land of Benjamin to be your wife! 22 And when their fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we will tell them, ‘Please be sympathetic. Let them have your daughters, for we didn’t find wives for all of them when we destroyed Jabesh-gilead. And you are not guilty of breaking the vow since you did not actually give your daughters to them in marriage.’”
23 So the men of Benjamin did as they were told. Each man caught one of the women as she danced in the celebration and carried her off to be his wife. They returned to their own land, and they rebuilt their towns and lived in them.
24 Then the people of Israel departed by tribes and families, and they returned to their own homes.
25 In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
Footnotes
- 21:11 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
Judges 21
International Standard Version
The Israelis Mourn the Tribe of Benjamin
21 Now the people of Israel had taken a vow in Mizpah that went like this: “Not even one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a descendant of Benjamin!” 2 So the people went to Bethel, sat before God until dusk, where they cried out loud and wept bitterly. 3 “Why, Lord God of Israel,” they asked him, “is one tribe missing[a] from Israel?”
4 The next day, the people got up early, built an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. 5 The Israelis asked themselves, “Who didn’t come up in our assembly in the Lord’s presence from among all of the tribes of Israel?” They had taken a solemn oath concerning those who didn’t come up to meet with the Lord at Mizpah that “They will certainly be executed.”
6 But the Israelis were mourning for their relatives in the tribe of Benjamin. They announced, “One tribe has been eliminated from Israel today! 7 What can we do to find wives for the survivors who remain, since we’ve already taken an oath in the Lord’s presence not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?”
The Israelis Attempt to Mitigate Their Disaster
8 They asked, “What one group of the tribes of Israel didn’t come up to meet the Lord at Mizpah?” It turned out that no one had come to the encampment from Jabesh-gilead, 9 since when they took a census of the assembly, not even one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was in attendance. 10 So the congregation sent out 12,000 of their valiant soldiers, issuing these orders to them: “Go and attack the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with swords, including the women and little ones. 11 You’re to completely destroy every man and every married woman.”[b]
12 They discovered among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who hadn’t had sex with a man, and they brought them to the encampment at Shiloh in the territory of Canaan. 13 Then the entire congregation sent for the surviving[c] descendants of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon and assured them that their intentions toward them were peaceful.[d] 14 So the survivors of the tribe of Benjamin[e] returned at that time, and the Israelis[f] gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the raid on[g] Jabesh-gilead. Even so, there weren’t enough for them.
15 The people felt sorry for the tribe of Benjamin because the Lord had broken one of the tribes of Israel. 16 So the elders of the congregation asked, “What will we do to obtain wives for the survivors, since the women of Benjamin have been devastated?” 17 They continued, “Let’s make sure that there’s an inheritance for the survivors of the tribe of Benjamin, so that a tribe won’t be blotted out from Israel. 18 But we can’t give them wives from our own daughters, since we’ve[h] taken this vow: ‘May the Lord curse[i] anyone who gives his daughter as[j] a wife to the tribe of Benjamin!’”
19 So they concluded, “Look, there’s a festival to the Lord every year in Shiloh on the north side of Bethel, south of Lebonah and on the east side of the highway that runs from Bethel to Shechem…” 20 So they told the descendants of Benjamin, “Go and hide in the vineyards. 21 Watch when the unmarried women[k] from Shiloh come out to participate in the dances. Then come out of the vineyards and each of you grab a wife from the unmarried women[l] from Shiloh. Then go back home to the territory of Benjamin. 22 If their fathers or brothers come complaining to us, we’ll tell them ‘Be generous! Give them to us voluntarily, because we didn’t take anyone to be a wife for the men of the tribe of Benjamin[m] as a result of the battle. And you haven’t incurred guilt by giving your daughters to them.’”
23 So the descendants of Benjamin did all of this: they chose and carried away just enough wives from those who danced to meet the number needed, then they left to return to their inheritance, to rebuild their cities, and to live there. 24 The Israelis left there at that time, each man to his tribe and family, and each of them went down from there to his territorial allotment.
25 Back in those days, Israel didn’t yet have a king, so each person did whatever seemed right in his own opinion.
Footnotes
- Judges 21:3 The Heb. lacks missing
- Judges 21:11 Lit. woman who has had sexual relations with a man
- Judges 21:13 The Heb. lacks surviving
- Judges 21:13 Lit. and proclaimed peace
- Judges 21:14 The Heb. lacks the survivors of the tribe of
- Judges 21:14 Lit. and they
- Judges 21:14 Lit. the women of
- Judges 21:18 Lit. since the Israelis had
- Judges 21:18 Lit. vow: ‘Cursed be
- Judges 21:18 The Heb. lacks his daughter as
- Judges 21:21 Lit. the daughters
- Judges 21:21 Lit. the daughters
- Judges 21:22 The Heb. lacks of the tribe of Benjamin
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.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
