Judges 21:1-14

1Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter to the Benjaminites as wife.

2And the people came to Bethel, and abode there till even before 1God, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly,

3and said, Jehovah, 2God of Israel, why is it come to pass in Israel, that there should be this day one tribe lacking in Israel?

4And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings.

5And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation to Jehovah? For they had [made] a great oath concerning him that came not up to Jehovah to Mizpah, saying, He shall certainly be put to death.

6And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, To-day is one tribe extirpated from Israel.

7What shall we do for wives for them that remain? since we have sworn by Jehovah that we will not give them of our daughters for wives.

8And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpah to Jehovah? And behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-Gilead, to the congregation;

9for the people were numbered, and behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead there.

10And the assembly sent thither twelve thousand men of the most valiant and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead with the edge of the sword, and the women and the children.

11And this is the thing which ye shall do: ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain with man.

12And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead four hundred young women that were virgins, who had known no man by lying with any male, and they brought them to the camp, to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

13And the whole assembly sent to speak to the children of Benjamin that were at the cliff of Rimmon, and to proclaim peace to them.

14And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them the wives whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-Gilead; but even so they found not enough for them.