Judges 21:15-25
New American Standard Bible
16Then the elders of the congregation said, 'What are we to do for wives for those who are left, since the women have been eliminated from Benjamin?'
17And they said, 'There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be wiped out from Israel.
18But we cannot give them wives from our daughters.' For the sons of Israel had sworn, saying, 'Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin!'
19So they said, 'Behold, there is a feast of the Lord from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south side of Lebonah.'
20And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, 'Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,
21and watch; and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to take part in the dances, then you shall come out of the vineyards, and each of you shall seize his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
22And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we shall say to them, ‘ Give them to us voluntarily, because we did not take for each man of Benjamin a wife in battle, nor did you give them to them, otherwise you would now be guilty.’?'
23The sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their number from those who danced, whom they seized. And they went and returned to their inheritance, and rebuilt the cities and lived in them.
24And the sons of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one departed from there to his inheritance.
King James Version
Chapter 21
15And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. 16Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin? 17And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel. 18Howbeit 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. 19Then 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. 20Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; 21And 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. 22And 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.
23And 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.
24And 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.
25In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 21
15The people had compassion on Benjamin, because the Lord had made this gap in the tribes of Israel. 16The elders of the congregation said, "What should we do about wives for those who are left, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?" 17They said, "There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. 18But we can’t give them our daughters as wives." For the Israelites had sworn, "Anyone who gives a wife to a Benjaminite is cursed." 19They also said, "Look, there’s an annual festival to the Lord in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah."
20Then they commanded the Benjaminites: "Go and hide in the vineyards.
21Watch, and when you see the young women of Shiloh come out to perform the dances, each of you leave the vineyards and catch a wife for yourself from the young women of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
22When their fathers or brothers come to us and protest, we will tell them, ‘Show favor to them, since we did not get enough wives for each of them in the battle. You didn’t actually give the women to them, so you are not guilty of breaking your oath.’"
23The Benjaminites did this and took the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and lived in them.
24At that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and family. Each returned from there to his own inheritance.
New Living Translation
Chapter 21
15The people felt sorry for Benjamin because the Lord had made this gap among the tribes of Israel. 16So 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? 17There must be heirs for the survivors so that an entire tribe of Israel is not wiped out. 18But 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.'
19Then 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.
20They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, 'Go and hide in the vineyards.
21When 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!
22And 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.’'
English Standard Version
16Then the elders of the congregation said, "What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?"
17And they said, "There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel.
18Yet we cannot give them wives from our daughters." For the people of Israel had sworn, "Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin."
19So they said, "Behold, there is the yearly feast of the Lord at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah."
20And they commanded the people of Benjamin, saying, "Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards
21and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
22And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Grant them graciously to us, because we did not take for each man of them his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, else you would now be guilty.’"
23And the people of Benjamin did so and took their wives, according to their number, from the dancers whom they carried off. Then they went and returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and lived in them.
24And the people of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.
New International Version
Chapter 21
15The people grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a gap in the tribes of Israel. 16And the elders of the assembly said, "With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left? 17The Benjamite survivors must have heirs," they said, "so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. 18We can’t give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: ‘Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.’ 19But look, there is the annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh, which lies north of Bethel, east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah."
20So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, "Go and hide in the vineyards
21and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, rush from the vineyards and each of you seize one of them to be your wife. Then return to the land of Benjamin.
22When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Do us the favor of helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war. You will not be guilty of breaking your oath because you did not give your daughters to them.’ "
New King James Version
Chapter 21
15And the people grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a void in the tribes of Israel.
16Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?”
17And they said, “ There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe may not be destroyed from Israel.
18However, we cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the children of Israel have sworn an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Benjamin.’ ”
19Then they said, “In fact, there is a yearly feast of the Lord in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”
20Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go, lie in wait in the vineyards,
21and watch; and just when the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, then come out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh; then go to the land of Benjamin.
22Then it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, that we will say to them, ‘Be kind to them for our sakes, because we did not take a wife for any of them in the war; for it is not as though you have given the women to them at this time, making yourselves guilty of your oath.’ ”
23And the children of Benjamin did so; they took enough wives for their number from those who danced, whom they caught. Then they went and returned to their inheritance, and they rebuilt the cities and dwelt in them.
24So the children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family; they went out from there, every man to his inheritance.
