Judges 21

¹ Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah that none of them would give his daughter in marriage to anyone from Benjamin.

² So the people went to Bethel and remained there before God until evening, raising their voices in bitter lament.

³ They said, "LORD, God of Israel, why has it come to pass in Israel that today one tribe of Israel should be lacking?"

⁴ Early the next day the people built an altar there and offered holocausts and peace offerings.

⁵ Then the Israelites asked, "Are there any among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up to the LORD for the assembly?" For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who did not go up to the LORD at Mizpah should be put to death without fail.

⁶ The Israelites were disconsolate over their brother Benjamin and said, "Today one of the tribes of Israel has been cut off.

⁷ What can we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?"

⁸ And when they asked whether anyone among the tribes of Israel had not come up to the LORD in Mizpah, they found that none of the men of Jabesh-gilead had come to the encampment for the assembly.

⁹ A roll call of the army established that none of the inhabitants of that city were present.

¹⁰ The community, therefore, sent twelve thousand warriors with orders to go to Jabesh-gilead and put those who lived there to the sword, including the women and children.

¹¹ They were told to include under the ban all males and every woman who was not still a virgin.

¹² Finding among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, who had had no relations with men, they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

¹³ Then the whole community sent a message to the Benjaminites at the rock Rimmon, offering them peace.

¹⁴ When Benjamin returned at that time, they gave them as wives the women of Jabesh-gilead whom they had spared; but these proved to be not enough for them.

¹⁵ The people were still disconsolate over Benjamin because the LORD had made a breach among the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶ And the elders of the community said, "What shall we do for wives for the survivors? For every woman in Benjamin has been put to death."

¹⁷ They said, "Those of Benjamin who survive must have heirs, else one of the Israelite tribes will be wiped out.

¹⁸ Yet we cannot give them any of our daughters in marriage, because the Israelites have sworn, 'Cursed be he who gives a woman to Benjamin!'"

¹⁹ Then they thought of the yearly feast of the LORD at Shiloh, north of Bethel, east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.

²⁰ And they instructed the Benjaminites, "Go and lie in wait in the vineyards.

²¹ When you see the girls of Shiloh come out to do their dancing, leave the vineyards and each of you seize one of the girls of Shiloh for a wife, and go to the land of Benjamin.

²² When their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we shall say to them, 'Release them to us as a kindness, since we did not take a woman apiece in the war. Had you yourselves given them these wives, you would now be guilty.'"

²³ The Benjaminites did this; they carried off a wife for each of them from their raid on the dancers, and went back to their own territory, where they rebuilt and occupied the cities.

²⁴ Also at that time the Israelites dispersed; each of them left for his own heritage in his own clan and tribe.

²⁵ In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what he thought best.