Wives for the Benjamites 1 UDB When the Israelite men had gathered at Mizpah before the battle started, they solemnly declared, "None of us will ever allow one of our daughters to marry any man from the tribe of Benjamin!" BSB BSB: Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”
2 UDB But now the Israelites went to Bethel and cried loudly to Yahweh all day until the sun went down. BSB BSB: So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly.
3 UDB They kept saying, "Yahweh, God of us Israelite people, one of the tribes of us Israelites does not exist anymore! Why has this happened to us? BSB BSB: “Why, O LORD God of Israel,” they cried out, “has this happened in Israel? Today in Israel one tribe is missing!”
4 UDB Early the next morning, the people built an altar. Then they completely burned some sacrifices on the altar and also offered other sacrifices to restore fellowship with God. BSB BSB: The next day the people got up early, built an altar there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5 UDB Then, because they had solemnly declared that anyone who did not meet with them at Mizpah to help fight the men of the tribe of Benjamin would be killed, they asked among themselves, "Were there any of the tribes of Israel who did not come to Mizpah to meet with us in the presence of Yahweh?" BSB BSB: The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah would surely be put to death.
6 UDB The Israelites felt sorry for their fellow Israelites from the tribe of Benjamin. They said, "Today one of our Israelite tribes has been cut off from Israel. BSB BSB: And the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites, and said, “Today a tribe is cut off from Israel.
7 UDB What can we do to make certain that the men of the tribe of Benjamin who were not killed will have wives? Yahweh heard us solemnly declare that we would not allow any of our daughters to marry any man from the tribe of Benjamin." BSB BSB: What should we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them our daughters in marriage?”
8 UDB Then one of them asked, "Which of the tribes of Israel did not send any men here to Mizpah?" BSB BSB: So they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah?” And, in fact, no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.
9 UDB They realized that when the soldiers were counted, there was no one who had come from the city of Jabesh Gilead. BSB BSB: For when the people were counted, none of the residents of Jabesh-gilead were there.
10 UDB So all the Israelites decided to send twelve thousand very good soldiers to Jabesh Gilead to kill the people there, even the women and the children. BSB BSB: So the congregation sent 12,000 of their most valiant men and commanded them: “Go and put to the sword those living in Jabesh-gilead, including women and children.
11 UDB They told this to those men: "This is what you must do: You must kill every man in Jabesh Gilead. You must also kill every married woman. But do not kill the unmarried women." BSB BSB: This is what you are to do: Devote to destruction every male, as well as every female who has had relations with a man.”
12 UDB So those soldiers went to Jabesh Gilead and killed all the men, the married women, and the children. But they found four hundred virgin young women there. So they brought them to their camp at Shiloh in Canaan, across the river from the region of Gilead that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. BSB BSB: So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young women who had not had relations with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
13 UDB Then all the Israelites who had gathered sent a message to the six hundred men who were at the rock of Rimmon. They said that they would like to make peace with them. BSB BSB: Then the whole congregation sent a message of peace to the Benjamites who were at the rock of Rimmon.
14 UDB So the men came back from the rock of Rimmon. The Israelites gave to them the young women from Jabesh Gilead. But there were only four hundred women. There were not enough women for those six hundred men. BSB BSB: And at that time the Benjamites returned and were given the women who were spared from Jabesh-gilead. But there were not enough women for all of them.
15 UDB The Israelites still felt sorry for the men of the tribe of Benjamin because Yahweh had set the other tribes against them. BSB BSB: The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a void in the tribes of Israel.
16 UDB The Israelite leaders said, "We have killed all the married women of the tribe of Benjamin. Where can we get women to be wives of the men who are still alive? BSB BSB: Then the elders of the congregation said, “What should we do about wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?”
17 UDB These men must have wives to give birth to children so that their families of Benjamin will continue. If that does not happen, all the people of one of the tribes of Israel will all die out, and the tribe will be destroyed. BSB BSB: They added, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out.
18 UDB But we cannot allow our daughters to marry these men, because we solemnly declared that Yahweh will curse anyone who gives one of his daughters to become a wife of any man of the tribe of Benjamin." BSB BSB: But we cannot give them our daughters as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to a Benjamite.”
19 UDB Then they had an idea. They said, "Every year there is a festival to honor Yahweh at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel and east of the road that extends from Bethel to Shechem, and it is south of the city of Lebonah." BSB BSB: “But look,” they said, “there is a yearly feast to the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”
20 UDB So the Israelite leaders told the men of the tribe of Benjamin, "When it is the time for that festival, go to Shiloh and hide in the vineyards. BSB BSB: So they commanded the Benjamites: “Go, hide in the vineyards
21 UDB Keep watching for the young women to come out of the city to dance. When they come out, run out of the vineyards. Each of you can seize one of the young women of Shiloh. Then you can all return to your homes with those women. BSB BSB: and watch. When you see the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, each of you is to come out of the vineyards, catch for himself a wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
22 UDB If their fathers or brothers come to us and complain about what you have done, we will say to them, 'Act kindly toward the men of the tribe of Benjamin. When we fought them, we did not leave any women alive to become their wives, and you did not give those young women to the men from the tribe of Benjamin. They stole them. So you will not be guilty, even though you said that you would not give any of your daughters to marry one of them.'" BSB BSB: When their fathers or brothers come to us to complain, we will tell them, ‘Do us a favor by helping them, since we did not get wives for each of them in the war. Since you did not actually give them your daughters, you have no guilt.’”
23 UDB So that is what the men of the tribe of Benjamin did. They went to Shiloh at the time of the festival. And when the young women were dancing, each man caught one of them and took her away and married her. Then they took their wives back to the land that God had given to them. They rebuilt their cities that had been burned down, and they lived there. BSB BSB: The Benjamites did as instructed and carried away the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and settled in them.
24 UDB The other Israelites went to their home in the areas where their tribes and clans lived—the areas that God had allotted to them. BSB BSB: And at that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and clan, each to his own inheritance.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.