Wycliffe's Bible 1Forsooth Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out to see the women of that country.
2And when Shechem, the son of Hamor (the) Hivite, the prince of that land, had seen her, he loved her, and he ravished her, and (he) slept with her, and oppressed the virgin by violence (and he oppressed the virgin with violence).
3And his soul was bound fast with her, and he pleased her sorry with flatterings. (But his soul was bound fast to her, and he tried to appease her sorrow with flattery.)
4And he went to Hamor, his father, and said, Take to me this damsel (for) a wife. (And he went to his father Hamor, and said, Get me this young woman for a wife.)
5And when Jacob had heard this thing, while his sons were absent, and occupied in the feeding/in the pasturing of [the] sheep, he was still, till they came again (until they returned home).
6Soothly when Hamor, the father of Shechem, was gone out to speak to Jacob,
7lo! his sons came from the field. And when this thing that befelled was heard, they were wroth greatly; for he had wrought a foul thing in Israel, and he had done a thing unleaveful in the defouling of the daughter of Jacob. (lo! his sons came in from the field. And when they heard what had befallen, they were enraged; for Shechem had done a foul, or a vile, thing in Israel, and he had done an unlawful thing in the defiling of Jacob’s daughter.) 8And so Hamor spake to them (And Hamor said to them), The soul of my son Shechem hath cleaved to your daughter; give ye her (for) a wife to him, 9and (so) join we weddings together; give ye your daughters to us, and take ye our daughters (for yourselves), 10and dwell ye with us; (yea,) the land is in your power; till ye, and make ye merchandise, and wield ye it (work ye it, and make ye merchandise, and possess ye it). 11But also Shechem said to the father and brethren of her, Find I grace before you, and whatever things ye ordain I shall give; (And Shechem said to her father and her brothers, I pray that I find grace before you, and whatever things ye ask for, I shall give you;) 12increase ye the dower, and ask ye (for) gifts, and I shall give willfully that that ye ask; only give ye this damsel (for) a wife to me. (increase ye the dowry, and ask ye for gifts, and I shall willingly give what ye ask; only give ye to me this young woman for a wife.) 13The sons of Jacob answered in guile to Shechem and (to Hamor,) his father, and they were (made) fierce for the defouling of the maidenhood of their sister, (And Jacob’s sons answered guilefully, or deceitfully, to Shechem, and to his father Hamor, for they were enraged by the defiling of their sister’s maidenhood,) 14We may not do this that ye ask, neither we may give our sister to a man uncircumcised, which thing is unleaveful and abominable with us. (and they said, We cannot do this thing that ye ask, for we cannot give our sister to an uncircumcised man, for such a thing is unlawful and abominable with us.) 15But in this we shall be able to be bound in peace, if ye will be like us, and each of male kind be circumcised in you; (But by this we shall make a covenant with thee, if ye will be made like us, and each of your males be circumcised;) 16then we shall give and take together our daughters and yours (then we shall give our daughters to you, and we shall take your daughters for ourselves); and we shall dwell with you, and we shall be one people. 17Forsooth if ye will not be circumcised, (then) we shall take our daughter, and we shall go away. 18The proffering of them pleased Hamor, and Shechem, his son, (And their proffer pleased Hamor, and his son Shechem,) 19and the young waxing man delayed not, that not he fulfilled anon that that was asked; for he loved the damsel greatly, and he was (the most) noble in all the house of his father. (and the young man delayed not, but he fulfilled at once what was asked for; for he greatly loved the young woman, and he was the most noble in all of his father’s household.) 20And they entered into the gate of the city, and spake to the people, (And so they went to the city gate, and said to the people,) 21These men be peaceable, and will dwell with us; make they merchandise in the land, and till they it, which is large and broad, and hath need to tillers; we shall take their daughters to wives, and we shall give our daughters to them. (These men be peaceful, and will live with us; so let them make merchandise in the land, and let them work it, which is large and broad, and hath need of men to work it; and we shall take their daughters for our wives, and we shall give our daughters to them.) 22One thing is, for which so great good is delayed; if we circumcise our males, and follow the custom of the folk, (But before that they will live with us, and we become one people, there is one thing which they require us to do; we must first circumcise all our males, and so follow this folk’s custom,) 23both their substance, and sheep, and all things which they wield, shall be ours; only assent we in this, that we dwell together, and make one people. (then their chattel, and sheep, and all the things which they possess, shall be ours; so let us assent in this matter, so that we can all live together, and be one people.) 24And all (the) men assented, and (so) all [the] males were circumcised. 25And lo! in the third day, when the sorrow of [the] wounds was most grievous, two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, [the] brethren of Dinah, took swords, and entered into the city boldly; and when all [the] males were slain, (And lo! on the third day, when the pain from their wounds was most grievous, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took swords, and boldly entered into the city, and killed all the males;) 26they killed Hamor and Shechem together, and took Dinah, their sister, from the house of Shechem. And when they were gone out, (and they killed Hamor and Shechem, and took away their sister Dinah from Shechem’s house. And when they had left the city,) 27[the] other sons of Jacob felled in on the slain men, and rifled the city, for the vengeance of [the] defouling of the virgin (to take vengeance for their sister’s defiling). 28And they wasted the sheep of those men, and droves of oxen, and asses, and all things that were in the houses and fields, (And they destroyed the sheep of those men, and their herds of oxen, and their donkeys, and all the things that were in their houses and in their fields,) 29and (they) led away (as) prisoners the little children, and [the] wives of those men. And when these things were done hardily (And when these things were fully done), 30Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me, and have made me hateful to (the) Canaanites and Perizzites, [the] dwellers of this land; we be few, [and] they shall be gathered together (against me), and shall slay me, and I shall be done away, and mine house. (Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have brought in trouble on me, and have made me to be hated by the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the inhabitants of this land; yea, we be few, and now they shall be gathered together against me, and shall slay me, and I and all of my household, or all of my family, shall be done away.) 31Simeon and Levi answered, Whether they ought to mis-use our sister as a whore? (And Simeon and Levi answered, Should they be allowed to mis-use our sister like a whore?) WYCLIFFE’S BIBLE Comprising of Wycliffe’s Old Testament and Wycliffe’s New Testament (Revised Edition) Translated by JOHN WYCLIFFE and JOHN PURVEY A modern-spelling edition of their 14TH century Middle English translation, the first complete English vernacular version, with an Introduction by TERENCE P. NOBLE Used by Permission Bible Hub |