﻿Judges.
Chapter 21.
The men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, saying, “None of us will give his daughter as a wife to a Benjamite.” 
The people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. 
They said, “LORD, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that one tribe should be missing from Israel this day?” 
The next day the people rose early, built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. 
The people of Israel said, “Who from all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly before the LORD?” For they had made a solemn oath concerning anyone who did not come up before the LORD at Mizpah, saying, “He must surely be put to death.” 
The people of Israel had compassion on Benjamin their brother and said, “One tribe has been cut off from Israel this day. 
What shall we do for wives for those who remain? We have sworn by the LORD not to give them any of our daughters as wives.” 
They said, “Who from the tribes of Israel did not come up before the LORD at Mizpah?” No one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp, to the assembly. 
When the people were counted, no one from the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there. 
The congregation sent twelve thousand valiant men there and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead by the edge of the sword, including the women and little ones. 
This is what you must do: devote to destruction every male and every woman who has had relations with a man.” 
They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had never had relations with a man. They brought them to the camp at Shiloh, in the land of Canaan. 
The whole congregation sent word to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon and proclaimed peace to them. 
Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women they had kept alive from the women of Jabesh-gilead. But they did not find enough for them. 
The people had compassion on Benjamin because the LORD had made a breach among the tribes of Israel. 
The elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin?” 
They said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe may not be wiped out from Israel. 
But we cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the people of Israel have sworn, saying, ‘Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.’” 
They said, “There is a yearly feast of the LORD at Shiloh, north of Bethel, east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” 
They commanded the Benjamites, saying, “Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards. 
Watch, and when the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance, come out of the vineyards and seize a wife for yourselves, each man from among the daughters of Shiloh. Then go to the land of Benjamin. 
When their fathers or brothers come to contend with us, we will say to them, ‘Favor us with them, for we did not take a wife for each man in the war. You did not give wives to them; otherwise you would now be guilty.’” 
The Benjamites did so and took wives according to their number from the dancers they abducted. They went and returned to their inheritance, rebuilt the cities, and lived in them. 
At that time the people of Israel departed from there, each to his tribe and clan. Each went out from there to his inheritance. 
In those days there was no king in Israel. Each man did what was right in his own eyes. 
