Judges, Chapter 21:

Verses from Judges, Chapter 21 of the book of Judges in the Bible.

Judges - Old Testament — Judges – Old Testament

Women for the Benjamites

1. The men of Israel had sworn this oath at Mizpah: “None of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”
2. The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly.
3. “O Lord God of Israel,” they lamented, “why did this happen to Israel? Why would there be a tribe missing from Israel today?”
4. The next morning the people got up early, built an altar, and presented burnt offerings and communion offerings.
5. The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel failed to come to the assembly before the Lord?” For they had sworn a solemn oath that whoever failed to gather together before the Lord at Mizpah would be put to death.
6. The Israelites mourned for their Benjamite brothers. “Today a tribe has been eliminated from Israel,” they said.
7. “How can we get wives for the survivors, since we have sworn to the Lord not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?”
8. Then they asked, “Which of the tribes of Israel failed to meet together before the Lord at Mizpah?” It was then discovered that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.
9. When they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh-gilead were there.
10. Then the community sent twelve thousand men of war with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and kill with the sword everyone who lived there, including women and children.
11. “This is what you must do,” they said, “kill all the men and all the women who are not virgins.”
12. Among all the people who lived in Jabesh Gilead they found four hundred virgin girls and took them to the camp of Shiloh in Canaan.
13. Then the whole community sent a communion offering to the Benjamites who were on the rock of Rimmon.
14. The Benjamites returned at that time and received the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there weren't enough women for all of them.
15. The people mourned Benjamin, because the Lord had made a gap in the tribes of Israel.
16. And the leaders of the community said: “Since the women of Benjamin are dead, how can we get wives for the remaining men?
17. The surviving Benjamites must have heirs, so that a tribe of Israel is not destroyed.
18. We cannot give our daughters to them in marriage, for we Israelites have sworn this oath: Cursed be everyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.
19. But there is the annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh, north of Bethel, east of the road from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”
20. Then they sent the Benjamites there, saying, “Go, hide in the vineyards
21. and keep watching. When the young women of Shiloh go to dance, run out of the vineyards and each of you take one of the young women of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin.
22. When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say: Have mercy on them, for we did not get women for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give them your daughters.”
23. That's what the Benjamites did. When the girls were dancing, each man took one to make her his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance, rebuilt the cities and settled in them.
24. At the same time the Israelites left that place and returned to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance.
25. At that time there was no king in Israel; everyone did what seemed right to them.