New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 One day Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, went to visit some of the young women who lived in the area.
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One day Dinah, the daughter Leah had given Jacob, went to visit some of the women in that country.
2 But when the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw Dinah, he seized her and raped her.
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Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite who was chieftain there, saw her and raped her.
3 But then he fell in love with her, and he tried to win her affection with tender words.
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Then he felt a strong attraction to Dinah, Jacob's daughter, fell in love with her and wooed her.
4 He said to his father, Hamor, “Get me this young girl. I want to marry her.”
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Shechem went to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl for my wife."
5 Soon Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter, Dinah. But since his sons were out in the fields herding his livestock, he said nothing until they returned.
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Jacob heard that Shechem had raped his daughter Dinah, but his sons were out in the fields with the livestock so he didn't say anything until they got home.
6 Hamor, Shechem’s father, came to discuss the matter with Jacob.
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Hamor, Shechem's father, went to Jacob to work out marriage arrangements.
7 Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the field as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob’s family, something that should never be done.
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Meanwhile Jacob's sons on their way back from the fields heard what had happened. They were outraged, explosive with anger. Shechem's rape of Jacob's daughter was intolerable in Israel and not to be put up with.
8 Hamor tried to speak with Jacob and his sons. “My son Shechem is truly in love with your daughter,” he said. “Please let him marry her.
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Hamor spoke with Jacob and his sons, "My son Shechem is head over heels in love with your daughter - give her to him as his wife.
9 In fact, let’s arrange other marriages, too. You give us your daughters for our sons, and we will give you our daughters for your sons.
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Intermarry with us. Give your daughters to us and we'll give our daughters to you.
10 And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Settle here and trade with us. And feel free to buy property in the area.”
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Live together with us as one family. Settle down among us and make yourselves at home. Prosper among us."
11 Then Shechem himself spoke to Dinah’s father and brothers. “Please be kind to me, and let me marry her,” he begged. “I will give you whatever you ask.
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Shechem then spoke for himself, addressing Dinah's father and brothers: "Please, say yes. I'll pay anything.
12 No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I will gladly pay it—just give me the girl as my wife.”
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Set the bridal price as high as you will - the sky's the limit! Only give me this girl for my wife."
13 But since Shechem had defiled their sister, Dinah, Jacob’s sons responded deceitfully to Shechem and his father, Hamor.
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Jacob's sons answered Shechem and his father with cunning. Their sister, after all, had been raped.
14 They said to them, “We couldn’t possibly allow this, because you’re not circumcised. It would be a disgrace for our sister to marry a man like you!
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They said, "This is impossible. We could never give our sister to a man who was uncircumcised. Why, we'd be disgraced.
15 But here is a solution. If every man among you will be circumcised like we are,
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The only condition on which we can talk business is if all your men become circumcised like us.
16 then we will give you our daughters, and we’ll take your daughters for ourselves. We will live among you and become one people.
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Then we will freely exchange daughters in marriage and make ourselves at home among you and become one big, happy family.
17 But if you don’t agree to be circumcised, we will take her and be on our way.”
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But if this is not an acceptable condition, we will take our sister and leave."
18 Hamor and his son Shechem agreed to their proposal.
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That seemed fair enough to Hamor and his son Shechem.
19 Shechem wasted no time in acting on this request, for he wanted Jacob’s daughter desperately. Shechem was a highly respected member of his family,
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The young man was so smitten with Jacob's daughter that he proceeded to do what had been asked. He was also the most admired son in his father's family.
20 and he went with his father, Hamor, to present this proposal to the leaders at the town gate.
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So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the public square and spoke to the town council:
21 “These men are our friends,” they said. “Let’s invite them to live here among us and trade freely. Look, the land is large enough to hold them. We can take their daughters as wives and let them marry ours.
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"These men like us; they are our friends. Let them settle down here and make themselves at home; there's plenty of room in the country for them. And, just think, we can even exchange our daughters in marriage.
22 But they will consider staying here and becoming one people with us only if all of our men are circumcised, just as they are.
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But these men will only accept our invitation to live with us and become one big family on one condition, that all our males become circumcised just as they themselves are.
23 But if we do this, all their livestock and possessions will eventually be ours. Come, let’s agree to their terms and let them settle here among us.”
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This is a very good deal for us - these people are very wealthy with great herds of livestock and we're going to get our hands on it. So let's do what they ask and have them settle down with us."
24 So all the men in the town council agreed with Hamor and Shechem, and every male in the town was circumcised.
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Everyone who was anyone in the city agreed with Hamor and his son, Shechem; every male was circumcised.
25 But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah’s full brothers, took their swords and entered the town without opposition. Then they slaughtered every male there,
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Three days after the circumcision, while all the men were still very sore, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each with his sword in hand, walked into the city as if they owned the place and murdered every man there.
26 including Hamor and his son Shechem. They killed them with their swords, then took Dinah from Shechem’s house and returned to their camp.
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They also killed Hamor and his son Shechem, rescued Dinah from Shechem's house, and left.
27 Meanwhile, the rest of Jacob’s sons arrived. Finding the men slaughtered, they plundered the town because their sister had been defiled there.
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When the rest of Jacob's sons came on the scene of slaughter, they looted the entire city in retaliation for Dinah's rape.
28 They seized all the flocks and herds and donkeys—everything they could lay their hands on, both inside the town and outside in the fields.
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Flocks, herds, donkeys, belongings - everything, whether in the city or the fields - they took.
29 They looted all their wealth and plundered their houses. They also took all their little children and wives and led them away as captives.
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And then they took all the wives and children captive and ransacked their homes for anything valuable.
30 Afterward Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have ruined me! You’ve made me stink among all the people of this land—among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will join forces and crush us. I will be ruined, and my entire household will be wiped out!”
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Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You've made my name stink to high heaven among the people here, these Canaanites and Perizzites. If they decided to gang up on us and attack, as few as we are we wouldn't stand a chance; they'd wipe me and my people right off the map."
31 “But why should we let him treat our sister like a prostitute?” they retorted angrily.
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They said, "Nobody is going to treat our sister like a whore and get by with it."
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Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.