| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.” | 1The Israelites had vowed at Mizpah, “We will never give our daughters in marriage to a man from the tribe of Benjamin.” |
| 2So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly. | 2Now the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly. |
| 3“Why, O LORD God of Israel,” they cried out, “has this happened in Israel? Today in Israel one tribe is missing!” | 3“O LORD, God of Israel,” they cried out, “why has this happened in Israel? Now one of our tribes is missing from Israel!” |
| 4The next day the people got up early, built an altar there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. | 4Early the next morning the people built an altar and presented their burnt offerings and peace offerings on it. |
| 5The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah would surely be put to death. | 5Then they said, “Who among the tribes of Israel did not join us at Mizpah when we held our assembly in the presence of the LORD?” At that time they had taken a solemn oath in the LORD’s presence, vowing that anyone who refused to come would be put to death. |
| 6And the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites, and said, “Today a tribe is cut off from Israel. | 6The Israelites felt sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, “Today one of the tribes of Israel has been cut off. |
| 7What should we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them our daughters in marriage?” | 7How can we find wives for the few who remain, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them our daughters in marriage?” |
| 8So they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah?” And, in fact, no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. | 8So they asked, “Who among the tribes of Israel did not join us at Mizpah when we assembled in the presence of the LORD?” And they discovered that no one from Jabesh-gilead had attended the assembly. |
| 9For when the people were counted, none of the residents of Jabesh-gilead were there. | 9For after they counted all the people, no one from Jabesh-gilead was present. |
| 10So the congregation sent 12,000 of their most valiant men and commanded them: “Go and put to the sword those living in Jabesh-gilead, including women and children. | 10So the assembly sent 12,000 of their best warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children. |
| 11This is what you are to do: Devote to destruction every male, as well as every female who has had relations with a man.” | 11“This is what you are to do,” they said. “Completely destroy all the males and every woman who is not a virgin.” |
| 12So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young women who had not had relations with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. | 12Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found 400 young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. |
| 13Then the whole congregation sent a message of peace to the Benjamites who were at the rock of Rimmon. | 13The Israelite assembly sent a peace delegation to the remaining people of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon. |
| 14And at that time the Benjamites returned and were given the women who were spared from Jabesh-gilead. But there were not enough women for all of them. | 14Then the men of Benjamin returned to their homes, and the 400 women of Jabesh-gilead who had been spared were given to them as wives. But there were not enough women for all of them. |
| 15The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a void in the tribes of Israel. | 15The people felt sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had made this gap among the tribes of Israel. |
| 16Then the elders of the congregation said, “What should we do about wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” | 16So the elders of the assembly asked, “How can we find wives for the few who remain, since the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead? |
| 17They added, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. | 17There must be heirs for the survivors so that an entire tribe of Israel is not wiped out. |
| 18But we cannot give them our daughters as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to a Benjamite.” | 18But we cannot give them our own daughters in marriage because we have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this will fall under God’s curse.” |
| 19“But look,” they said, “there is a yearly feast to the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” | 19Then they thought of the annual festival of the LORD held in Shiloh, south of Lebonah and north of Bethel, along the east side of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem. |
| 20So they commanded the Benjamites: “Go, hide in the vineyards | 20They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, “Go and hide in the vineyards. |
| 21and watch. When you see the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, each of you is to come out of the vineyards, catch for himself a wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. | 21When you see the young women of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out from the vineyards, and each of you can take one of them home to the land of Benjamin to be your wife! |
| 22When their fathers or brothers come to us to complain, we will tell them, ‘Do us a favor by helping them, since we did not get wives for each of them in the war. Since you did not actually give them your daughters, you have no guilt.’ ” | 22And when their fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we will tell them, ‘Please be sympathetic. Let them have your daughters, for we didn’t find wives for all of them when we destroyed Jabesh-gilead. And you are not guilty of breaking the vow since you did not actually give your daughters to them in marriage.’” |
| 23The Benjamites did as instructed and carried away the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and settled in them. | 23So the men of Benjamin did as they were told. Each man caught one of the women as she danced in the celebration and carried her off to be his wife. They returned to their own land, and they rebuilt their towns and lived in them. |
| 24And at that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and clan, each to his own inheritance. | 24Then the people of Israel departed by tribes and families, and they returned to their own homes. |
| 25In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. | 25In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. |
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