Wives Provided for the Benjamites
1 Nowthe men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”
2 Then the people cameto the house of God, and remained there before God till evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly,
3 and said, “OLordGod of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribemissingin Israel?”
4 So it was, on the next morning, that the people rose early andbuilt an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5 The children of Israel said, “Whoisthereamong all the tribes of Israel who did not come up with the assembly to theLord?”For they had made a great oath concerning anyone who had not come up to theLordat Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.”
6 And the children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel today.
7 What shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by theLordthat we will not give them our daughters as wives?”
8 And they said, “What oneistherefrom the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Mizpah to theLord?” And, in fact, no one had come to the camp fromJabesh Gilead to the assembly.
9 For when the people were counted, indeed, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gileadwasthere.
10 So the congregation sent out there twelve thousand of their most valiant men, and commanded them, saying,“Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, including the women and children.
11 And thisisthe thing that you shall do:You shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has known a man intimately.”
12 So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man intimately; and they brought them to the camp atShiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13 Then the whole congregation sentwordto the children of Benjaminwhowereat the rock of Rimmon, and announced peace to them.
14 So Benjamin came back at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead; and yet they had not found enough for them.
15 And the peoplegrieved for Benjamin, because theLordhad made a void in the tribes of Israel.
16 Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?”
17 And they said, “Theremustbean inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe may not be destroyed from Israel.
18 However, we cannot give them wives from our daughters,for the children of Israel have sworn an oath, saying, ‘Cursedbethe one who gives a wife to Benjamin.’ ”
19 Then they said, “In fact,thereisa yearlyfeast of theLordinShiloh, whichisnorth of Bethel, on the east side of thehighway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”
20 Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go, lie in wait in the vineyards,
21 and watch; and just when the daughters of Shiloh come outto perform their dances, then come out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh; then go to the land of Benjamin.
22 Then it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, that we will say to them, ‘Be kind to them for our sakes, because we did not take a wife for any of them in the war; foritisnotasthoughyou have given thewomento them at this time, making yourselves guilty of your oath.’ ”
23 And the children of Benjamin did so; they took enough wives for their number from those who danced, whom they caught. Then they went and returned to their inheritance, and theyrebuilt the cities and dwelt in them.
24 So the children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family; they went out from there, every man to his inheritance.
25 In those daystherewasno king in Israel;everyone didwhatwasright in his own eyes.