1
Now the men of Yisra'el had sworn in Mitzpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter to Binyamin as wife.
2
The people came to Beit-El, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.
3
They said, the LORD, the God of Yisra'el, why has this happened in Yisra'el, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Yisra'el?
4
It happened on the next day that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace-offerings.
5
The children of Yisra'el said, Who is there among all the tribes of Yisra'el who didn't come up in the assembly to the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him who didn't come up to the LORD to Mitzpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
6
The children of Yisra'el repented them for Binyamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Yisra'el this day.
7
How shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
8
They said, What one is there of the tribes of Yisra'el who didn't come up to the LORD to Mitzpah? Behold, there came none to the camp from Yavesh-Gil`ad to the assembly.
9
For when the people were numbered, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Yavesh-Gil`ad there.
10
The congregation sent there twelve thousand men of the most valiant, and commanded them, saying, Go and strike the inhabitants of Yavesh-Gil`ad with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.
11
This is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has lain by man.
12
They found among the inhabitants of Yavesh-Gil`ad four hundred young virgins, who had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Kana`an.
13
The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Binyamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed shalom to them.
14
Binyamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Yavesh-Gil`ad: and yet so they weren't enough for them.
15
The people repented them for Binyamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Yisra'el.
16
Then the Zakenim of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Binyamin?
17
They said, There must be an inheritance for those who are escaped of Binyamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Yisra'el.
18
However we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Yisra'el had sworn, saying, Cursed be he who gives a wife to Binyamin.
19
They said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Beit-El, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Beit-El to Shekhem, and on the south of Levonah.
20
They commanded the children of Binyamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,
21
and see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come you out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Binyamin.
22
It shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we will say to them, Grant them graciously to us, because we didn't take for each man his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, else would you now be guilty.
23
The children of Binyamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of those who danced, whom they carried off: and they went and returned to their inheritance, and built the cities, and lived in them.
24
The children of Yisra'el departed there at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.
25
In those days there was no king in Yisra'el: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.