1The men of Israel swore an oath at Mizpah, declaring that no man among them would give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.2The people came to Bethel and stayed there until evening in the presence of God; then they lifted their voices and wept with loud weeping.3They said, "Why has this happened in Israel, O the LORD God of Israel, that today one tribe is missing from Israel?"4The next day the people rose early, built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.5The sons of Israel said, "Which man from any tribe of Israel did not come up to the assembly before the LORD? For a great oath had been taken that anyone who failed to appear before the LORD at Mizpah must surely die."6The sons of Israel felt sorry for Benjamin their brother and said, "Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel."7What shall we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them any of our daughters as wives?8They asked, "Which one from the tribes of Israel did not come up to the LORD at Mizpah?" And behold, no man from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.9When the people were mustered, it was discovered that no man from the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead was present.10The congregation therefore sent twelve thousand men of valor and ordered them: "Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the sword, including the women and the children."11This is what you must do: devote to destruction every male and every woman who has known the bed of a male.12They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins who had never known a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.13Then the whole congregation sent messengers who spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon and offered them terms of peace.14Benjamin returned at that time, and the congregation gave them the women who had survived from Jabesh Gilead, yet the number was still insufficient.15The people felt sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.16The elders of the congregation said, "What shall we do for wives for the remaining men, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?"17They replied, "An inheritance must be secured for the survivors of Benjamin so that a tribe will not be wiped out from Israel."18We cannot give them wives from our daughters, because the sons of Israel have sworn an oath: 'Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to Benjamin.'19They continued, "Behold, there is an annual feast of the LORD at Shiloh, north of Bethel, on the east side toward the sunrise, along the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah."20They instructed the sons of Benjamin: "Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards."21Watch, and when the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, rush out from the vineyards, seize each of you a wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and return to the land of Benjamin.22If their fathers or brothers come to argue with us, we will say to them, 'Grant them grace, for we did not take wives for them in battle, nor did you give them any at that time; otherwise you would incur guilt.'23The sons of Benjamin acted accordingly: they carried off wives for themselves, matching their number, from the women dancing whom they had seized; then they departed, returned to their inheritance, rebuilt the cities, and settled in them.24At that time the sons of Israel departed from there, each man returning to his own tribe and family, and each man went to his own inheritance.25In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.