Judges 21

Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.

The men of Israel, with deep conviction, made a solemn vow in Mizpeh. They promised, none of them would ever allow their daughters to marry a man from Benjamin.

And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;

The people gathered at God's home, staying there until evening. They cried out to God, their voices heavy with deep sorrow and tears.

And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?

Cried out, "O Divine Lord of Israel, why has this tragedy befallen us? Why must we witness a tribe missing from our beloved Israel today?"

And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

The next day, the people woke up at dawn, constructed a sacred altar, and passionately offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.

The people of Israel questioned, "Who among us didn't join in worshiping the Lord?" They had sworn a serious oath that anyone who didn't come to worship at Mizpeh would certainly be sentenced to death.

And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

The children of Israel felt deep remorse for their brother Benjamin, lamenting, "Today, we've lost one of our own tribes from Israel."

How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?

How can we find spouses for those left, when we've promised God not to offer our daughters as their wives?

And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.

They asked, "Who among Israel's tribes didn't come to worship at Mizpeh?" Surprisingly, no one from Jabeshgilead joined the gathering.

For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.

The count was done, and shockingly, not a single soul from Jabeshgilead was present.

And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.

The assembly sent twelve thousand of their bravest men, instructing them, "Go and put the people of Jabeshgilead to the sword, even the women and children."

And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.

This is what you must do: utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has been intimate with a man.

And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

They discovered in Jabeshgilead, four hundred innocent young women who had never experienced the touch of a man. They were brought to the camp in Shiloh, located in the heart of Canaan.

And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.

The entire community sent messengers to the Benjaminites hiding at Rimmon's rock, extending a peaceful olive branch to them.

And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.

Benjamin returned during that period, and they provided him with wives from the surviving women of Jabeshgilead. Yet, it still wasn't enough for them.

And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

The people felt deep sorrow for Benjamin, as they realized that the Lord had left a gap among the tribes of Israel.

Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?

The leaders of the community asked, "What can we do to find wives for the remaining men, now that the women of Benjamin are gone?"

And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.

They insisted, "Those who survived from Benjamin must have a share of our heritage. We can't let an entire tribe vanish from Israel."

Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.

We can't let our daughters marry them. The people of Israel have made a solemn vow, saying, "Cursed is anyone who gives a wife to a Benjaminite."

Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.

They excitedly shared, "Look, every year, there's a grand celebration for the Lord in Shiloh, located just north of Bethel, east of the main road from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah."

Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;

They instructed the Benjaminites, "Hide in the vineyards with anticipation and patience."

And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

Watch closely, if the girls of Shiloh come out to dance, then rush out from the vineyards. Each man should seize a wife from among these Shiloh girls and carry her off to Benjamin's land.

And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty.

When their families come to us with complaints, we'll ask them to show kindness for our sake, because we didn't keep a wife for each man during the war. And since you didn't give your daughters to them yourselves, you are not guilty of breaking your oath.

And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.

The Benjaminites followed suit, taking one wife for each man from the dancing women they'd captured. They then returned to their ancestral lands, rebuilt their cities, and made their homes there.

And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.

At that moment, each person from Israel left, returning to their own tribe and family, each journeying back to their own cherished home.

In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

In that era, Israel had no ruler; everyone simply followed their own heart's desires.