| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | New Living Translation |
| 1[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 1The Israelites had vowed at Mizpah, “We will never give our daughters in marriage to a man from the tribe of Benjamin.” |
| 2[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 2Now the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly. |
| 3[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 3“O LORD, God of Israel,” they cried out, “why has this happened in Israel? Now one of our tribes is missing from Israel!” |
| 4[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 4Early the next morning the people built an altar and presented their burnt offerings and peace offerings on it. |
| 5[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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. |
| 6[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 6The Israelites felt sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, “Today one of the tribes of Israel has been cut off. |
| 7[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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?” |
| 8[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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. |
| 9[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 9For after they counted all the people, no one from Jabesh-gilead was present. |
| 10[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 10So the assembly sent 12,000 of their best warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children. |
| 11[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 11“This is what you are to do,” they said. “Completely destroy all the males and every woman who is not a virgin.” |
| 12[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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. |
| 13[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 13The Israelite assembly sent a peace delegation to the remaining people of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon. |
| 14[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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. |
| 15[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 15The people felt sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had made this gap among the tribes of Israel. |
| 16[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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? |
| 17[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 17There must be heirs for the survivors so that an entire tribe of Israel is not wiped out. |
| 18[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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. |
| 20[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 20They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, “Go and hide in the vineyards. |
| 21[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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! |
| 22[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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.’” |
| 23[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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. |
| 24[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 24Then the people of Israel departed by tribes and families, and they returned to their own homes. |
| 25[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 25In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. |
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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