(KJV) Judges 21¹

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⥃Wives for the Benjamites

[1] Now the men of Israel had sworn² in Mizpeh, saying, There³ shall not any of us give his daughter⁴ unto Benjamin to wife. [2] And the people came to the house⁵ of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted⁶ up their voices, and wept sore; [3] And said, O Lord God of Israel, why is⁷ this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel? [4] And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early⁸, and built there⁹ an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. [5] 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 oath¹⁰ concerning him that came not up to the Lord to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death. [6] And the children of Israel repented them¹¹ for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day. [7] How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn¹² by the Lord that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?

[8] [¶]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 Jabesh–gilead¹³ to the assembly. [9] For the people were numbered, and, behold, [there were] none of the inhabitants of Jabesh–gilead there. [10] And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite¹⁴ the inhabitants of Jabesh–gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children. [11] And this [is] the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male¹⁵, and every woman that hath lain by man¹⁶. [12] And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh–gilead four hundred young virgins¹⁷¹⁸, 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. [13] And the whole congregation sent [some] to speak¹⁹ to the children of Benjamin that [were] in the rock Rimmon²⁰, and to call peaceably²¹ unto them. [14] And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh–gilead: and yet so they sufficed them not²². [15] And the people repented²³ them for Benjamin, because that the Lord had made a breach²⁴ in the tribes of Israel.

[16] 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? [17] And they said, [There must be] an inheritance²⁵ for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel. [18] Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn²⁶, saying, Cursed [be] he that giveth a wife to Benjamin. [19] Then they said, Behold, [there is] a feast²⁷ of the Lord in Shiloh yearly²⁸ [in a place] which [is] on the north side of Beth–el, on the east side²⁹ of the highway³⁰ that goeth up from Beth–el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah³¹. [20] Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; [21] And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance³² 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. [22] And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them³³ for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man³⁴ his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto³⁵ them at this time, [that] ye should be guilty. [23] And the children of Benjamin did so, and took [them] wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went³⁶ and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired³⁷ the cities, and dwelt in them. [24] 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. [25] In those days [there was] no³⁸ king in Israel: every man did [that which was] right³⁹ in his own eyes.