Parallel Bible results for "judges 21"

Judges 21

The Message Bible MSG

1 Back at Mizpah the men of Israel had taken an oath: "No man among us will give his daughter to a Benjaminite in marriage."

2 Now, back in Bethel, the people sat in the presence of God until evening. They cried loudly; there was widespread lamentation.

3 They said, "Why, O God, God of Israel, has this happened? Why do we find ourselves today missing one whole tribe from Israel?"

4 Early the next morning, the people got busy and built an altar. They sacrificed Whole-Burnt-Offerings and Peace-Offerings.

5 Then the Israelites said, "Who from all the tribes of Israel didn't show up as we gathered in the presence of God?" For they had all taken a sacred oath that anyone who had not gathered in the presence of God at Mizpah had to be put to death.

6 But the People of Israel were feeling sorry for Benjamin, their brothers. They said, "Today, one tribe is cut off from Israel.

7 How can we get wives for those who are left? We have sworn by God not to give any of our daughters to them in marriage."

8 They said, "Which one of the tribes of Israel didn't gather before God at Mizpah?"

9 When they took a roll call of the people, not a single person from Jabesh Gilead was there.

10 So the congregation sent twelve divisions of their top men there with the command, "Kill everyone of Jabesh Gilead, including women and children.

11 These are your instructions: Every man and woman who has had sexual intercourse you must kill. But keep the virgins alive." And that's what they did.

12 And they found 400 virgins among those who lived in Jabesh Gilead; they had never had sexual intercourse with a man. And they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

13 Then the congregation sent word to the Benjaminites who were at the Rimmon Rock and offered them peace.

14 And Benjamin came. They gave them the women they had let live at Jabesh Gilead. But even then, there weren't enough for all the men.

15 The people felt bad for Benjamin; God had left out Benjamin - the missing piece from the Israelite tribes.

16 The elders of the congregation said, "How can we get wives for the rest of the men, since all the Benjaminite women have been killed?

17 How can we keep the inheritance alive for the Benjaminite survivors? How can we prevent an entire tribe from extinction?

18 We certainly can't give our own daughters to them as wives." (Remember, the Israelites had taken the oath: "Cursed is anyone who provides a wife to Benjamin.")

19 Then they said, "There is that festival of God held every year in Shiloh. It's north of Bethel, just east of the main road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem and a little south of Lebonah."

20 So they told the Benjaminites, "Go and hide in the vineyards.

21 Stay alert - when you see the Shiloh girls come out to dance the dances, run out of the vineyards, grab one of the Shiloh girls for your wife, and then hightail it back to the country of Benjamin.

22 When their fathers or brothers come to lay charges against us, we'll tell them, 'We did them a favor. After all we didn't go to war and kill to get wives for men. And it wasn't as if you were in on it by giving consent. But if you keep this up, you will incur blame.'"

23 And that's what the Benjaminites did: They carried off girls from the dance, wives enough for their number, got away, and went home to their inheritance. They rebuilt their towns and settled down.

24 From there the People of Israel dispersed, each man heading back to his own tribe and clan, each to his own plot of land.

25 At that time there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing.

New Century Version NCV

1 At Mizpah the men of Israel had sworn, "Not one of us will let his daughter marry a man from the tribe of Benjamin."

2 The people went to the city of Bethel and sat before God until evening, crying loudly.

3 They said, "Lord, God of Israel, why has this terrible thing happened to us so that one tribe of Israel is missing today?"

4 Early the next day the people built an altar and put burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to God on it.

5 Then the Israelites asked, "Did any tribe of Israel not come here to meet with us in the presence of the Lord?" They asked this question because they had sworn that anyone who did not meet with them at Mizpah would be killed.

6 The Israelites felt sorry for their relatives, the Benjaminites. They said, "Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel.

7 We swore before the Lord that we would not allow our daughters to marry a Benjaminite. How can we make sure that the remaining men of Benjamin will have wives?"

8 Then they asked, "Which one of the tribes of Israel did not come here to Mizpah?" They found that no one from the city of Jabesh Gilead had come.

9 The people of Israel counted everyone, but there was no one from Jabesh Gilead.

10 So the whole group of Israelites sent twelve thousand soldiers to Jabesh Gilead to kill the people with their swords, even the women and children.

11 "This is what you must do: Kill every man in Jabesh Gilead and every married woman."

12 The soldiers found four hundred young unmarried women in Jabesh Gilead, so they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.

13 Then the whole group of Israelites sent a message to the men of Benjamin, who were at the rock of Rimmon, offering to make peace with them.

14 So the men of Benjamin came back at that time. The Israelites gave them the women from Jabesh Gilead who had not been killed, but there were not enough women.

15 The people of Israel felt sorry for the Benjaminites because the Lord had separated the tribes of Israel.

16 The older leaders of the Israelites said, "The women of Benjamin have been killed. Where can we get wives for the men of Benjamin who are still alive?

17 These men must have children to continue their families so a tribe in Israel will not die out.

18 But we cannot allow our daughters to marry them, because we swore, 'Anyone who gives a wife to a man of Benjamin is cursed.'

19 We have an idea! There is a yearly festival of the Lord at Shiloh, which is north of the city of Bethel, east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and south of the city of Lebonah."

20 So the older leaders told the men of Benjamin, "Go and hide in the vineyards.

21 Watch for the young women from Shiloh to come out to join the dancing. Then run out from the vineyards and take one of the young Shiloh women and return to the land of Benjamin.

22 If their fathers or brothers come to us and complain, we will say: 'Be kind to the men of Benjamin. We did not get wives for Benjamin during the war, and you did not give the women to the men from Benjamin. So you are not guilty.'"

23 So that is what the Benjaminites did. While the young women were dancing, each man caught one of them, took her away, and married her. Then they went back to the land God had given them and rebuilt their cities and lived there.

24 Then the Israelites went home to their own tribes and family groups, to their own land that God had given them.

25 In those days Israel did not have a king. Everyone did what seemed right.