CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Judges 21 New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/judges/21.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmcc/judges/21-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com/catholic">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NRSVCE</a> > Judges 21</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../judges/20.htm" title="Judges 20">◄</a> Judges 21 <a href="../ruth/1.htm" title="Ruth 1">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition</td><td width="1%" valign="top"></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><div class="text-html"> <h3><span id="en" class="text">The Benjaminites Saved from Extinction</span></h3><p class="chapter-2"><span class="text"><span class="versenum">1</span>Now the Israelites had sworn at Mizpah, “No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">2</span>And the people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">3</span>They said, “O <span style="font-variant: small-caps" class="small-caps">Lord</span>, the God of Israel, why has it come to pass that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">4</span>On the next day, the people got up early, and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and sacrifices of well-being. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">5</span>Then the Israelites said, “Which of all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to the <span style="font-variant: small-caps" class="small-caps">Lord</span>?” For a solemn oath had been taken concerning whoever did not come up to the <span style="font-variant: small-caps" class="small-caps">Lord</span> to Mizpah, saying, “That one shall be put to death.” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">6</span>But the Israelites had compassion for Benjamin their kin, and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel this day. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">7</span>What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the <span style="font-variant: small-caps" class="small-caps">Lord</span> that we will not give them any of our daughters as wives?”</span></p> <p><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">8</span>Then they said, “Is there anyone from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to the <span style="font-variant: small-caps" class="small-caps">Lord</span> to Mizpah?” It turned out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp, to the assembly. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">9</span>For when the roll was called among the people, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">10</span>So the congregation sent twelve thousand soldiers there and commanded them, “Go, put the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead to the sword, including the women and the little ones. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">11</span>This is what you shall do; every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction.” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">12</span>And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man and brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.</span></p> <p><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">13</span>Then the whole congregation sent word to the Benjaminites who were at the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">14</span>Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead; but they did not suffice for them.</span></p> <p><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">15</span>The people had compassion on Benjamin because the <span style="font-variant: small-caps" class="small-caps">Lord</span> had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">16</span>So the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since there are no women left in Benjamin?” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">17</span>And they said, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, in order that a tribe may not be blotted out from Israel. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">18</span>Yet we cannot give any of our daughters to them as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to Benjamin.” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">19</span>So they said, “Look, the yearly festival of the <span style="font-variant: small-caps" class="small-caps">Lord</span> is taking place at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">20</span>And they instructed the Benjaminites, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">21</span>and watch; when the young women of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and each of you carry off a wife for himself from the young women of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">22</span>Then if their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Be generous and allow us to have them; because we did not capture in battle a wife for each man. But neither did you incur guilt by giving your daughters to them.’” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">23</span>The Benjaminites did so; they took wives for each of them from the dancers whom they abducted. Then they went and returned to their territory, and rebuilt the towns, and lived in them. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">24</span>So the Israelites departed from there at that time by tribes and families, and they went out from there to their own territories.</span></p> <p><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">25</span>In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.</span></p> </div></div></div></div></div> </div> </div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../judges/20.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Judges 20"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Judges 20" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../ruth/1.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Ruth 1"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Ruth 1" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchap.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>