21:1 Now
the
men
of
Israel
had
sworn
at
Mizpah,
"No
one
of
us
shall
give
his
daughter
in
marriage
to
Benjamin."
21:2 And
the
people
came
to
Bethel
and
sat
there
till
evening
before
God,
and
they
lifted
up
their
voices
and
wept
bitterly.
21:3 And
they
said,
"O
LORD,
the
God
of
Israel,
why
has
this
happened
in
Israel,
that
today
there
should
be
one
tribe
lacking
in
Israel"
21:4 And
the
next
day
the
people
rose
early
and
built
there
an
altar
and
offered
burnt
offerings
and
peace
offerings.
21:5 And
the
people
of
Israel
said,
"Which
of
all
the
tribes
of
Israel
did
not
come
up
in
the
assembly
to
the
LORD"
For
they
had
taken
a
great
oath
concerning
him
who
did
not
come
up
to
the
LORD
to
Mizpah,
saying,
"He
shall
surely
be
put
to
death."
21:6 And
the
people
of
Israel
had
compassion
for
Benjamin
their
brother
and
said,
"One
tribe
is
cut
off
from
Israel
this
day.
21:7 What
shall
we
do
for
wives
for
those
who
are
left,
since
we
have
sworn
by
the
LORD
that
we
will
not
give
them
any
of
our
daughters
for
wives"
21:8 And
they
said,
"What
one
is
there
of
the
tribes
of
Israel
that
did
not
come
up
to
the
LORD
to
Mizpah"
And
behold,
no
one
had
come
to
the
camp
from
Jabesh-gilead,
to
the
assembly.
21:9 For
when
the
people
were
mustered,
behold,
not
one
of
the
inhabitants
of
Jabesh-gilead
was
there.
21:10 So
the
congregation
sent
12,000
of
their
bravest
men
there
and
commanded
them,
"Go
and
strike
the
inhabitants
of
Jabesh-gilead
with
the
edge
of
the
sword;
also
the
women
and
the
little
ones.
21:11 This
is
what
you
shall
do:
every
male
and
every
woman
that
has
lain
with
a
male
you
shall
devote
to
destruction."
21:12 And
they
found
among
the
inhabitants
of
Jabesh-gilead
400
young
virgins
who
had
not
known
a
man
by
lying
with
him,
and
they
brought
them
to
the
camp
at
Shiloh,
which
is
in
the
land
of
Canaan.
21:13 Then
the
whole
congregation
sent
word
to
the
people
of
Benjamin
who
were
at
the
rock
of
Rimmon
and
proclaimed
peace
to
them.
21:14 And
Benjamin
returned
at
that
time.
And
they
gave
them
the
women
whom
they
had
saved
alive
of
the
women
of
Jabesh-gilead,
but
they
were
not
enough
for
them.
21:15 And
the
people
had
compassion
on
Benjamin
because
the
LORD
had
made
a
breach
in
the
tribes
of
Israel.
21:16 Then
the
elders
of
the
congregation
said,
"What
shall
we
do
for
wives
for
those
who
are
left,
since
the
women
are
destroyed
out
of
Benjamin"
21:17 And
they
said,
"There
must
be
an
inheritance
for
the
survivors
of
Benjamin,
that
a
tribe
not
be
blotted
out
from
Israel.
21:18 Yet
we
cannot
give
them
wives
from
our
daughters."
For
the
people
of
Israel
had
sworn,
"Cursed
be
he
who
gives
a
wife
to
Benjamin."
21:19 So
they
said,
"Behold,
there
is
the
yearly
feast
of
the
LORD
at
Shiloh,
which
is
north
of
Bethel,
on
the
east
of
the
highway
that
goes
up
from
Bethel
to
Shechem,
and
south
of
Lebonah."
21:20 And
they
commanded
the
people
of
Benjamin,
saying,
"Go
and
lie
in
ambush
in
the
vineyards
21:21 and
watch.
If
the
daughters
of
Shiloh
come
out
to
dance
in
the
dances,
then
come
out
of
the
vineyards
and
snatch
each
man
his
wife
from
the
daughters
of
Shiloh,
and
go
to
the
land
of
Benjamin.
21:22 And
when
their
fathers
or
their
brothers
come
to
complain
to
us,
we
will
say
to
them,
'Grant
them
graciously
to
us,
because
we
did
not
take
for
each
man
of
them
his
wife
in
battle,
neither
did
you
give
them
to
them,
else
you
would
now
be
guilty.'"
21:23 And
the
people
of
Benjamin
did
so
and
took
their
wives,
according
to
their
number,
from
the
dancers
whom
they
carried
off.
Then
they
went
and
returned
to
their
inheritance
and
rebuilt
the
towns
and
lived
in
them.
21:24 And
the
people
of
Israel
departed
from
there
at
that
time,
every
man
to
his
tribe
and
family,
and
they
went
out
from
there
every
man
to
his
inheritance.
21:25 In
those
days
there
was
no
king
in
Israel.
Everyone
did
what
was
right
in
his
own
eyes.