Parallel Bible results for "judges 21"

Judges 21

New Living Translation NLT

1 The Israelites had vowed at Mizpah, “We will never give our daughters in marriage to a man from the tribe of Benjamin.”

2 Now the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly.

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 Early the next morning the people built an altar and presented their burnt offerings and peace offerings on it.

5 Then 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 The Israelites felt sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, “Today one of the tribes of Israel has been cut off.

7 How 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 So 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 For after they counted all the people, no one from Jabesh-gilead was present.

10 So the assembly sent 12,000 of their best warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children.

11 “This is what you are to do,” they said. “Completely destroy all the males and every woman who is not a virgin.”

12 Among 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 The Israelite assembly sent a peace delegation to the remaining people of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon.

14 Then 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 The people felt sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had made this gap among the tribes of Israel.

16 So 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 There must be heirs for the survivors so that an entire tribe of Israel is not wiped out.

18 But 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 Then 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 They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, “Go and hide in the vineyards.

21 When 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 And 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 So 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 Then the people of Israel departed by tribes and families, and they returned to their own homes.

25 In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

Common English Bible CEB

1 The Israelites had made a pledge at Mizpah, declaring, "None of us will allow his daughter to marry a Benjaminite."

2 But the people came to Bethel and sat there until evening before God, raising their voices and crying bitterly.

3 "LORD, God of Israel," they said, "why has this happened among us that as of today one tribe will be missing from Israel?"

4 And the next day, the people got up early and built an altar there. They offered entirely burned offerings and well-being sacrifices.

5 Then the Israelites asked, "Were there any out of all the tribes of Israel who didn't march up to the assembly before the LORD?" Indeed, they had made a solemn pledge that anyone who didn't march up before the LORD at Mizpah would be put to death.

6 The Israelites had a change of heart concerning their relatives the Benjaminites. They said, "Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel.

7 What can we do to provide wives for the ones who are left, since we ourselves have made a pledge before the LORD not to allow our daughters to marry them?"

8 So they asked, "Is there anyone from the tribes of Israel who didn't march up before the LORD at Mizpah?" There was! No one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the assembly at the camp.

9 When the people's attendance was taken, not one of those who lived in Jabesh-gilead had been there.

10 The community dispatched twelve thousand warriors there with these orders: "Go kill all the people in Jabesh-gilead, including women and children.

11 Here's what you should do: Exterminate every man and every woman who has slept with a man."

12 Among the people of Jabesh-gilead, they found four hundred young women who had not known a man intimately or slept with one, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

13 The whole community then sent word to the Benjaminites who were at the rock of Rimmon and offered them a truce.

14 So the Benjaminites returned at that time, and they gave them the women from Jabesh-gilead that they had allowed to live. Even so, there weren't enough for them.

15 Since the people had a change of heart concerning the Benjaminites because the LORD had caused a rupture in the tribes of Israel,

16 the community elders said, "What can we do to provide wives for the ones who are left, seeing that the Benjaminite women have been destroyed?

17 There must be a surviving line for those who remain from Benjamin," they continued, "so that a tribe won't be erased from Israel.

18 But we can't allow our daughters to marry them, for we Israelites have made this pledge: ‘Let anyone who provides a wife for Benjamin be cursed!'

19 However," they said, "the annual festival of the LORD is under way in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, east of the main road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah."

20 So they instructed the Benjaminites, "Go and hide like an ambush in the vineyards

21 and watch. At the moment the women of Shiloh come out to participate in the dances, rush out from the vineyards. Each one of you, capture a wife for yourself from the women of Shiloh and go back to the land of Benjamin.

22 When their fathers or brothers come to us to object, we'll tell them, ‘Do us a favor for their sake. We didn't capture enough women for every man during the battle, and this way you are not guilty because you didn't give them anything willingly.'"

23 And that is what the Benjaminites did. They took wives for their whole group from the dancers whom they abducted. They returned to their territory, rebuilt the cities, and lived in them.

24 Likewise, the Israelites set out from there at that time, heading home to their respective tribes and clans. They all left there for their own territories.

25 In those days there was no king in Israel; each person did what they thought to be right.