Judges 21 Parallel Bible Translations

Judges 21 ▼
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1 And the men of Israel sware in Mizpeh, saying, A man from us shall not give his daughter to Benjamin for wife. Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, “No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.” The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”
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. And the people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly.
3 And they will say, Wherefore, Jehovah, God of Israel, was this in Israel to miss one tribe this day from Israel? 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?” “LORD, God of Israel,” they cried, “why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?”
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. And the next day the people rose early and built there an altar and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.
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. 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.” Then the Israelites asked, “Who from all the tribes of Israel has failed to assemble before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah was to be put to death.
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. And the people of Israel had compassion for Benjamin their brother and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel this day. Now the Israelites grieved for the tribe of Benjamin, their fellow Israelites. “Today one tribe is cut off from Israel,” they said.
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? 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?” “How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the LORD not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?”
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. 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. Then they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah?” They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.
9 And the people will be reviewed, and behold, not a man there from the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead. For when the people were mustered, behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there. For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there.
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. 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. So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children.
11 And this the word which ye shall do: every male and every woman knowing the bed of a male ye shall exterminate. This is what you shall do: every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction.” “This is what you are to do,” they said. “Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin.”
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. 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. They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in 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. Then the whole congregation sent word to the people of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon and proclaimed peace to them. Then the whole assembly sent an offer of peace to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon.
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. 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. So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them.
15 And the people lamented for Benjamin, because Jehovah made a breach in the tribes of Israel. And the people had compassion on Benjamin because the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a gap 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? 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?” And the elders of the assembly said, “With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left?
17 And they will say, An inheritance for the escaped to Benjamin, and a tribe shall not be destroyed from Israel. And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel. The Benjamite survivors must have heirs,” they said, “so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out.
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. 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.” We can’t give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: ‘Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.’
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. 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.” But look, there is the annual festival of the LORD in Shiloh, which lies north of Bethel, east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”
20 And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, Go, and lie in wait in the vineyards; And they commanded the people of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, “Go and hide 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. 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. and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, rush from the vineyards and each of you seize one of them to be your wife. Then return 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. 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.’” When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Do us the favor of helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war. You will not be guilty of breaking your oath because you did not give your daughters to them.’”
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. 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. So that is what the Benjamites did. While the young women were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled 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. 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. At that time the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance.
25 In those days no king in Israel: a man will do the right in his eyes. In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.
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