1 And the men of Israel sware in Mizpeh, saying, A man from us shall not give his daughter to Benjamin for wife. 2 And the people will go to the house of God and will sit there even till evening, before God; and they will lift up their voice and weep a great weeping. 3 And they will say, Wherefore, Jehovah, God of Israel, was this in Israel to miss one tribe this day from Israel? 4 And it will be on the morrow, and the people will rise early and they will build there an altar, and will bring up burnt-offerings and peace. 5 And the sons of Israel will say, Who from all the tribes of Israel that went not up in the gathering to Jehovah? For there was a great oath against him who went not up to Jehovah to Mizpeh, saying, Dying, he shall die.
6 And the sons of Israel will lament for Benjamin their brother, and they will say, There was cut off this day one tribe from Israel. 7 What shall we do for them to those being left for wives, and we sware by Jehovah not to give to them from our daughters for wives? 8 And they will say, What one from the tribes of Israel who came not up to Jehovah to Mizpeh? And behold, not a man came from the camp of Jabesh-Gilead to the gathering. 9 And the people will be reviewed, and behold, not a man there from the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead.
10 And they will send there twelve thousand men from the sons of power, and they will command them, saying, Go and smite them, the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead, with the mouth of the sword, and the women and the little ones 11 And this the word which ye shall do: every male and every woman knowing the bed of a male ye shall exterminate. 12 And they will find of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead four hundred girls, virgins, who knew not man by the bed of a male: and they will bring them to the camp of Shiloh which is in the land of Canaan.
13 And all the assembly will send and speak to the sons of Benjamin who were in the rock Rimmon, and they will call peace to them. 14 And Benjamin will turn back in that time; and they will give them the women which they saved alive from the women of Jabesh-Gilead: and they found for them not thus.
15 And the people lamented for Benjamin, because Jehovah made a breach in the tribes of Israel. 16 And the old men of the assembly will say, What shall we do for those remaining for wives, for the women were destroyed from Benjamin? 17 And they will say, An inheritance for the escaped to Benjamin, and a tribe shall not be destroyed from Israel. 18 And we shall not be able to give to them wives from our daughters, for the sons of Israel sware, saying, Cursed he giving a wife to Benjamin. 19 And they will say, Behold, a festival of Jehovah in Shiloh from days to days, which is from the north to the house of God, from the rising of the sun to the highway going from the house of God to Shechem, and from the south to Lebonah.
20 And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, Go, and lie in wait in the vineyards; 21 And see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh shall come forth to dance in dances, and come ye out from the vineyards and catch for yourselves each his wife from the daughters of Shiloh) and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 And it was when their fathers or brothers shall come to contend against us, and we said to them, Be merciful to us with them, because we took not a man his wife in the battle; for ye gave not to them according to the time, ye shall transgress.
23 And the sons of Benjamin will do so, and they will take wives for their number from those dancing, which they took by force: and they will go and turn back to their inheritance, and they will build cities, and they will dwell in them. 24 And the sons of Israel will go from there in that time, a man to his tribe and to his family, and they will go forth from there, a man to his inheritance.
25 In those days no king in Israel: a man will do the right in his eyes.