4 Then on the day after, the people got up early and made an altar there, offering burned offerings and peace- offerings.
5 And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel, who did not come up to the Lord at the meeting of all Israel? For they had taken a great oath that whoever did not come up to Mizpah to the Lord was to be put to death.
for those who are still living? For we have taken an oath by the Lord that we will not give them our daughters for wives
.
8 And they said, Which one of the tribes of Israel did not come up to Mizpah to the Lord? And it was seen that no one had come from Jabesh-gilead to the meeting.
9 For when the people were numbered, not one man of the people of Jabesh-gilead was present.
10 So they (the meeting) sent twelve thousand of the best fighting-men, and gave them orders, saying, Go and put the people of Jabesh-gilead to the sword without mercy, with their women and their little ones.
11 And this is what you are to do: every male, and every woman who has had sex relations with a man, you are to put to the curse, but you are to keep safe the virgins. And they did so.
12 Now there were among the people of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had never had sex relations with a man; these they took to their tents in Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
13 And all the meeting sent to the men of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, offering them peace.
14 Then Benjamin came back; and they gave them the women whom they had kept from death among the women of Jabesh- gilead: but still there were not enough for them.
15 And the people were moved with pity for Benjamin, because the Lord had let his wrath loose on the tribes of Israel.
16 Then the responsible men of the meeting said, What are we to do about wives
19 And they said, See, every year there is a feast of the Lord in Shiloh, which is to the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway which goes up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
20 And they said to the men of Benjamin, Go into the vine- gardens, waiting there secretly,
22 And when their fathers or their brothers come and make trouble, you are to say to them, Give them to us as an act of grace; for we did not take them as wives
for ourselves in war; and if you yourselves had given them to us you would have been responsible for the broken oath.
for themselves for every one of their number, taking them away by force from the dance; then they went back to their heritage, building up their towns and living in them.
