Judges 21

1 Now the children of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “No man of us is to give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.” 2 And the people came to Bethel, and they sat there until evening before God; and they lifted up their voice and wept a great weeping; 3 and they said, “Why, Lord God of Israel, has this happened, that today one tribe is missing from Israel when the count is taken?”

4 And the next day the people got up early and built an altar there, and brought up whole burnt offerings and complete offerings. [a] 5 And the children of Israel said, “Which one out of all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to the Lord?” For a great oath had been sworn about those who did not come up to the Lord at Mizpah: “He will surely be put to death.” 6 And the children of Israel were moved with pity for Benjamin their brother, and they said, “Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel. 7 What are we to do about wives for the rest of them, for those who are left? We ourselves have sworn by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters as wives.”

8 And they said, “Which one man out of the tribes of Israel did not come up to the Lord at Mizpah?” And look — no man had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, to the assembly. 9 And the people were counted, and there was not a man there from those living in Jabesh-gilead. 10 And the gathering sent twelve thousand men of strength there, and charged them, “Go and strike down those living in Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword. 11 And this is what you are to do: every male, and every woman who has known a man's bed, you are to devote to destruction; but the virgins you are to keep alive.” And they did so. [b] 12 And they found among those living in Jabesh-gilead four hundred young women who were virgins, who had never known a man's bed; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

13 And the whole gathering sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin at the rock of Rimmon, and called them to peace. 14 And Benjamin came back to the children of Israel at that time, and the children of Israel gave them the women they had kept alive out of the daughters of Jabesh-gilead; and they were content with that. 15 And the people were moved with pity for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. [c]

16 And the elders of the gathering said, “What are we to do about wives for the rest of them? The women have been wiped out of Benjamin.” 17 And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe is not blotted out of Israel. 18 But we will not be able to give them wives from our own daughters, because we swore among the children of Israel: ‘Cursed is the man who gives a wife to Benjamin.’” 19 And they said, “Look — there is a feast of the Lord at Shiloh from year to year. It is north of Bethel, toward the sunrise, on the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”

20 And they charged the children of Benjamin, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; 21 and watch — and when the daughters of those living in Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards, and each man seize a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 And when their fathers or their brothers come to bring a case against you, we will say to them, ‘Show us mercy over them, because we did not take a wife for each man in the battle; and because you did not give them to them, you did wrong this time.’” [d] 23 And the children of Benjamin did so: they took wives to their own number from the dancing women they had seized, and they went and returned to their inheritance, and built the cities and settled in them.

24 And the children of Israel walked away from there at that time, each man to his tribe and to his kindred; and they went out from there, each man to his own inheritance. 25 And in those days there was no king in Israel; each man did what was right in his own eyes. [e]