Genesis 34

CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Then Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out to see the women of that region.	1 Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit some of the women of the land.
2 And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the leader of that land, had seen her, he fell in love with her. And so he seized her and slept with her, overwhelming the virgin by force.	2 When Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, who was chief of the region, saw her, he seized her and lay with her by force.
3 And his soul was closely bound to her, and, since she was sorrowful, he soothed her with flattery.	3 Since he was strongly attracted to Dinah, daughter of Jacob, indeed was really in love with the girl, he endeavored to win her affection.
4 And going on to Hamor, his father, he said, “Obtain this girl for me as a mate.”	4 Shechem also asked his father Hamor, "Get me this girl for a wife."
5 But when Jacob had heard this, since his sons were absent and he was occupied in pasturing the cattle, he remained silent until they came back.	5 Meanwhile, Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah; but since his sons were out in the fields with his livestock, he held his peace until they came home.
6 Then, when Hamor, the father of Shechem, had gone out to speak to Jacob,	6 Now Hamor, the father of Shechem, went out to discuss the matter with Jacob,
7 behold, his sons arrived from the field. And hearing what had happened, they were very angry, because he had done a filthy thing in Israel and, in violating a daughter of Jacob, had perpetrated an unlawful act.	7 just as Jacob's sons were coming in from the fields. When they heard the news, the men were shocked and seethed with indignation. What Shechem had done was an outrage in Israel; such a thing could not be tolerated.
8 And so Hamor spoke to them: “The soul of my son Shechem has become attached to your daughter. Give her to him as a wife.	8 Hamor appealed to them, saying: "My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him in marriage.
9 And let us celebrate marriages with one with another. Give us your daughters, and receive our daughters.	9 Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.
10 And live with us. The land is in your power: cultivate, trade, and possess it.”	10 Thus you can live among us. The land is open before you; you can settle and move about freely in it, and acquire landed property here."
11 And Shechem even said to her father and to her brothers: “May I find favor in your sight, and whatever you will appoint, I will give.	11 Then Shechem, too, appealed to Dinah's father and brothers: "Do me this favor, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.
12 Increase the dowry, and request gifts, and I will freely bestow what you will ask. Only give me this girl as a wife.”	12 No matter how high you set the bridal price, I will pay you whatever you ask; only give me the maiden in marriage."
13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father with deceit, being enraged at the rape of their sister:	13 Jacob's sons replied to Shechem and his father Hamor with guile, speaking as they did because their sister Dinah had been defiled.
14 “We are not able to do what you ask, nor to give our sister to an uncircumcised man. For us, this is unlawful and abominable.	14 "We could not do such a thing," they said, "as to give our sister to an uncircumcised man; that would be a disgrace for us.
15 But we may succeed in this, so as to be allied with you, if you are willing to become like us, and if all the male sex among you will be circumcised.	15 We will agree with you only on this condition, that you become like us by having every male among you circumcised.
16 Then we will mutually give and receive your daughters as well as ours; and we will live with you, and we will become one people.	16 Then we will give you our daughters and take yours in marriage; we will settle among you and become one kindred people with you.
17 But if you will not be circumcised, we will take our daughter and withdraw.”	17 But if you do not comply with our terms regarding circumcision, we will take our daughter and go away."
18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem.	18 Their proposal seemed fair to Hamor and his son Shechem.
19 Neither did the young man cause any delay; in fact he immediately fulfilled what was requested. For he loved the girl very much, and he was well-known throughout his father’s house.	19 The young man lost no time in acting in the matter, since he was deeply in love with Jacob's daughter. Moreover he was more highly respected than anyone else in his clan.
20 And entering at the gate of the city, they spoke to the people:	20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to their town council and thus presented the matter to their fellow townsmen:
21 “These men are peaceful, and they want to live among us. Let them trade in the land and cultivate it, for, being spacious and broad, it is in need of cultivation. We will receive their daughters as wives, and we will give them ours.	21 "These men are friendly toward us. Let them settle in the land and move about in it freely; there is ample room in the country for them. We can marry their daughters and give our daughters to them in marriage.
22 There is one thing that prevents so great a good: whether we will circumcise our males, imitating the ritual of their nation.	22 But the men will agree to live with us and form one kindred people with us only on this condition, that every male among us be circumcised as they themselves are.
23 And their substance, and cattle, and all that they possess, will be ours, if only we will acquiesce to this, and so, in living together, will form one people.”	23 Would not the livestock they have acquired--all their animals--then be ours? Let us, therefore, give in to them, so that they may settle among us."
24 And they all agreed to circumcise every one of the males.	24 All the able-bodied men of the town agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and all the males, including every able-bodied man in the community, were circumcised.
25 And behold, on the third day, when the pain of the wound was greatest, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, boldly entered the city with swords. And they put to death all of the males.	25 On the third day, while they were still in pain, Dinah's full brothers Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob's sons, took their swords, advanced against the city without any trouble, and massacred all the males.
26 They killed Hamor and Shechem together, taking their sister Dinah from the house of Shechem.	26 After they had put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword, they took Dinah from Shechem's house and left.
27 And when they had departed, the other sons of Jacob rushed over the slain, and they plundered the city in vengeance for the rape.	27 Then the other sons of Jacob followed up the slaughter and sacked the city in reprisal for their sister Dinah's defilement.
28 Taking their sheep, and herds, and donkeys, and laying waste to everything else that was in their houses and in their fields,	28 They seized their flocks, herds and asses, whatever was in the city and in the country around.
29 they also took their little ones and their wives captive.	29 They carried off all their wealth, their women, and their children, and took for loot whatever was in the houses.
30 When they had boldly completed these acts, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: “You have troubled me, and you have made me hateful to the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the inhabitants of this land. We are few. They, gathering themselves together, may strike me down, and then both I and my house will be wiped away.”	30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: "You have brought trouble upon me by making me loathsome to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I have so few men that, if these people unite against me and attack me, I and my family will be wiped out."
31 They responded, “Should they abuse our sister like a prostitute?”	31 But they retorted, "Should our sister have been treated like a harlot?"