HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 608
J U D G ES 2 1
18 But we cannot give them our own daughters in
marriage because we have sworn with a solemn
oath that anyone who does this will fall under
God’s curse.”
19 Then they thought of the annual festival of
the Lord held in Shiloh, south of Lebonah and
north of Bethel, along the east side of the road
that goes from Bethel to Shechem. 20 They told
the men of Benjamin who still needed wives,
“Go and hide in the vineyards. 21 When you see
the young women of Shiloh come out for their
dances, rush out from the vineyards, and each
of you can take one of them home to the land
of Benjamin to be your wife! 22 And when their
fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we
will tell them, ‘Please be sympathetic. Let them
page 238
have your daughters, for we didn’t find wives for
all of them when we destroyed Jabesh-gilead.
And you are not guilty of breaking the vow since
you did not actually give your daughters to them
in marriage.’”
23 So the men of Benjamin did as they were
told. Each man caught one of the women as she
danced in the celebration and carried her off to
be his wife. They returned to their own land,
and they rebuilt their towns and lived in them.
24 Then the people of Israel departed by tribes
and families, and they returned to their own
homes.
25 In those days Israel had no king; all the
people did whatever seemed right in their own
eyes.