Judges 21 - GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Israel Provides Wives for the Surviving Men of Benjamin

21 The men of Israel had taken this oath in Mizpah: “None of us will ever let our daughters marry anyone from Benjamin.”

2 The people went to Bethel and sat there in the presence of God until evening. They cried very loudly, 3 Lord God of Israel, why has this happened among us? Why should one tribe be missing today in Israel?”

4 The next day the people got up early. They built an altar there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. 5 The people asked, “Is there any family from Israel that did not take part in the assembly in the presence of the Lord?” They had taken a solemn oath that whoever had not come into the presence of the Lord at Mizpah must be put to death.

6 The people of Israel felt sorry for their close relatives, the men of Benjamin. They said, “Today one tribe has been excluded from Israel. 7 What will we do to provide wives for the men who are left? We swore to the Lord that we would not let any of our daughters marry them.” 8 Then they asked, “Is there any family from Israel that did not come into the presence of the Lord at Mizpah?” No one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the assembly in the camp. 9 So they questioned the people, and there was no one there from Jabesh Gilead.

10 The congregation sent 12,000 soldiers. They ordered them, “Go and kill the people of Jabesh Gilead, including the women and children. 11 These are your directions: Claim every female who has gone to bed with a man, and claim every male. Claim them for the Lord by destroying them.”

12 Among the people of Jabesh Gilead they found 400 unmarried women who had never gone to bed with a man. They brought them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.

13 Then the whole congregation sent messengers to the men of Benjamin at Rimmon Rock and offered them peace. 14 So the men of Benjamin came back at that time. These men were given the women from Jabesh Gilead who had been kept alive. However, the congregation had not found enough women for all of them.

15 The congregation felt sorry for the people of Benjamin because the Lord had broken the unity of the tribes of Israel. 16 The leaders of the congregation asked, “What should we do to provide wives for the men who are left, since the women in Benjamin have been killed?”

17 Some said, “Benjamin’s men who survived must be allowed to have families. No tribe of Israel should be wiped out. 18 However, we can’t give them any of our daughters as wives. The people of Israel have taken an oath that whoever gives wives to the men of Benjamin is under a curse.”

19 Others said, “Every year the Lord’s festival is held at Shiloh. Shiloh is north of Bethel, east of the highway going from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” 20 So they told the men of Benjamin, “Hide in the vineyards and 21 watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to take part in the dances, come out of the vineyards. Each of you catch a woman from Shiloh to be your wife. Then go back to the territory of Benjamin. 22 When their fathers or brothers come to us to complain, we’ll tell them, ‘Have pity on them, since we didn’t provide a wife for each man in the battle. You won’t be guilty because you didn’t give them the wives yourselves.’ ”

23 The men of Benjamin did just that. They captured the number of wives they needed from the women who were dancing and went home. So they rebuilt their cities and lived in them.

24 At that time the people of Israel left. Each man went to his tribe and family. They all went home.

25 In those days Israel didn’t have a king. Everyone did whatever he considered right.

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Judges 21 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

21 And the men of Israel have sworn in Mizpeh, saying, `None of us doth give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife.' 2 And the people come in to Beth-El, and sit there till the evening before God, and lift up their voice, and weep -- a great weeping, 3 and say, `Why, O Jehovah, God of Israel, hath thi...
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Judges 21 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

21 Also the sons of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, and said, None of us shall give to the sons of Benjamin a wife of his daughters. (At Mizpeh the Israelites had sworn, and said, None of us shall give any of his daughters for a wife to the Benjaminites.) 2 And all came to the house of God in Shiloh, an...
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Judges 21 - World English Bible (WEB)

21 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us will give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.” 2 The people came to Bethel and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept severely. 3 They said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Isra...
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Judges 21 - The Voice (VOICE)

21 One thing the people of Israel had sworn in their council at Mizpah was that no tribe would give wives to the men of Benjamin. 2 The people returned to Bethel, house of God, and there they cried out and wept bitterly before the True God until evening. Israelites: 3 Why, Eternal One, True God of ...
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Judges 21 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Israel Preserves the Benjaminites21 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah saying, “None of us will give his daughter to Benjamin in marriage.” 2 So the people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. 3 They said, “Adonai God of Israel,...
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Judges 21 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

The Benjaminites Saved from Extinction21 Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, “No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.” 2 And the people came to Bethel, and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. 3 And they said, “O Lord, t...
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Judges 21 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

The Benjaminites Saved from Extinction21 Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, “No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.” 2 And the people came to Bethel, and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. 3 And they said, “O Lord, t...
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Judges 21 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

The Benjaminites Saved from Extinction21 Now the Israelites had sworn at Mizpah, “No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.” 2 And the people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. 3 They said, “O Lord, the God...
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Judges 21 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

The Benjaminites Saved from Extinction21 Now the Israelites had sworn at Mizpah, ‘No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.’ 2 And the people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. 3 They said, ‘O Lord, the God...
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Judges 21 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Benjaminites Saved from Extinction21 Now the Israelites had sworn at Mizpah, “No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.”(A)2 And the people came to Bethel and sat there until evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.(B)3 They said, “O Lord, the Go...
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Judges 21 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Israel Provides Wives for Benjamin21 The Israelites had vowed at Mizpah, “We will never give our daughters in marriage to a man from the tribe of Benjamin.” 2 Now the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly. 3 “O Lord, God of Israel,” they crie...
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Judges 21 - New Life Version (NLV)

Wives for the Men of Benjamin21 The men of Israel had made a promise in Mizpah, saying, “None of us will give his daughter in marriage to a man of Benjamin.” 2 So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening. In loud voices they cried, 3 “O Lord, God of Israel, why has this hap...
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Judges 21 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Wives Provided for the Benjamites21 Now (A)the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.” 2 Then the people came (B)to [a]the house of God, and remained there before God till evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly, ...
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Judges 21 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Wives for the Benjaminites21 The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: ‘Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjaminite.’ 2 The people went to Bethel,[a] where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. 3 ‘Lord, God of Israel,’ they cried, ‘...
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Judges 21 - New International Version (NIV)

Wives for the Benjamites21 The men of Israel had taken an oath(A) at Mizpah:(B) “Not one of us will give(C) his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.” 2 The people went to Bethel,[a] where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. 3 “Lord, God of Israel,” they crie...
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Judges 21 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Wives for the Men of Benjamin21 The men of Israel had made a promise at Mizpah. They had said, “Not one of us will give his daughter to be married to a man from Benjamin.” 2 The people went to Bethel. They sat there until evening in front of God. They wept loudly and bitterly. 3 “Lord, you are the ...
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Judges 21 - New English Translation (NET)

Six Hundred Brides for Six Hundred Brothers21 The Israelites had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will allow his daughter to marry a Benjaminite.” 2 So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably.[a] 3 They said, “Why, O Lord G...
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