Judges 21

Old Testament · Brenton Septuagint with Greek parallel

Judges 21

1Now the children of Israel swore in Massephath, saying, No man of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife.Καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ ὤμοσαν ἐν Μασσηφὰθ, λέγοντες, ἀνὴρ ἐξ ἡμῶν οὐ δώσει θυγατέρα αὐτοῦ τῷ Βενιαμὶν εἰς γυναῖκα.

2And the people came to Baethel, and sat there until evening before God: and they lifted up their voice and wept with a great weeping;Καὶ ἦλθεν ὁ λαὸς εἰς Βαιθὴλ, καὶ ἐκάθισαν ἐκεῖ ἕως ἑσπέρας ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ· καὶ ᾖραν φωνὴν αὐτῶν, καὶ ἔκλαυσαν κλαυθμὸν μέγαν,

3and said, Therefore, O Lord God of Israel, has this come to pass, that today one tribe should be counted as missing from Israel?καὶ εἶπαν, εἰς τί Κύριε Θεὲ Ισραὴλ ἐγενήθη αὕτη, τοῦ ἐπισκεπῆναι σήμερον ἀπὸ Ἰσραὴλ φυλὴν μίαν;

4And it came to pass on the morrow that the people rose up early, and built there an altar, and offered up whole burnt offerings and * peace offerings.Καὶ ἐγένετο τῇ ἐπαύριον, καὶ ὤρθρισεν ὁ λαὸς, καὶ ᾠκοδόμησαν ἐκεῖ θυσιαστήριον, καὶ ἀνήνεγκαν ὁλοκαυτώσεις καὶ τελείας.

5And the children of Israel said, Who of all the tribes of Israel, went not up in the congregation to the Lord? for there was a great oath concerning those who went not up to the Lord to Massephath, saying, He shall surely be put to death.Καὶ εἶπαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ, τίς οὐκ ἀνέβη ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἀπὸ πασῶν φυλῶν Ἰσραὴλ πρὸς Κύριον; ὅτι ὁ ὅρκος μέγας ἦν τοῖς οὐκ ἀναβεβηκόσι πρὸς Κύριον εἰς Μασσηφὰθ, λέγοντες, θανάτῳ θανατωθήσεται.

6And the children of Israel † relented toward Benjamin their brother, and said, To-day one tribe is cut off from Israel.Καὶ παρεκλήθησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ πρὸς Βενιαμὶν ἀδελφὸν αὐτῶν, καὶ εἶπαν, ἐξεκόπη σήμερον φυλὴ μία ἀπὸ Ἰσραήλ.

7What shall we do for wives for the rest that remain? whereas we have sworn by the Lord, not to give them of our daughters for wives.Τί ποιήσωμεν αὐτοῖς τοῖς περισσοῖς τοῖς ὑπολειφθεῖσιν εἰς γυναῖκας; καὶ ἡμεῖς ὠμόσαμεν ἐν Κυρίῳ τοῦ μὴ δοῦναι αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν θυγατέρων ἡμῶν εἰς γυναῖκας.

8And they said, What one man is there of the tribes of Israel, who went not up to the Lord to Massephath? and, behold, no man came to the camp from Jabis Galaad to the assembly.Καὶ εἶπαν, τίς εἷς ἀπὸ φυλῶν Ἰσραὴλ, ὃς οὐκ ἀνέβη πρὸς Κύριον εἰς Μασσηφάθ; Καὶ ἰδοὺ οὐκ ἦλθεν ἀνὴρ εἰς τὴν παρεμβολὴν ἀπὸ Ἰαβεῖς Γαλαὰδ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν.

9And the people were numbered, and there was not there a man from the inhabitants of Jabis Galaad.Καὶ ἐπεσκέπη ὁ λαὸς, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖ ἀνὴρ ἀπὸ οἰκούντων Ἰαβὶς Γαλαάδ.

10And the congregation sent there twelve thousand men of the ‡ strongest, and they charged them, saying, Go you and strike the inhabitants of Jabis Galaad with the § edge of the sword.Καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖ ἡ συναγωγὴ δώδεκα χιλιάδας ἀνδρῶν ἀπὸ υἱῶν τῆς δυνάμεως, καὶ ἐνετείλαντο αὐτοῖς λέγοντες, πορεύεσθε καὶ πατάξατε τοὺς οἰκοῦντας Ἰαβεῖς Γαλαὰδ ἐν στόματι ῥομφαίας.

11And this shall you do: every male and every woman that has known the lying with man you shall devote to destruction, but the virgins you shall save alive: and they did so.Καὶ τοῦτο ποιήσετε· πᾶν ἄρσεν καὶ πᾶσαν γυναῖκα εἰδυῖαν κοίτην ἄρσενος, ἀναθεματιεῖτε· τὰς δὲ παρθένους, περιποιήσεσθε· καὶ ἐποίησαν οὕτως.

12And they found ** among the inhabitants of Jabis Galaad four hundred young virgins, who had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them to Selom in the land of Chanaan.Καὶ εὗρον ἀπὸ οἰκούντων Ἰαβεῖς Γαλαὰδ, τετρακοσίας νεάνιδας παρθένους, αἵτινες οὐκ ἔγνωσαν ἄνδρα εἰς κοίτην ἄρσενος, καὶ ἤνεγκαν αὐτὰς εἰς τὴν παρεμβολὴν εἰς Σηλὼμ τὴν ἐν γῇ Χαναάν.

13And all the congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin in the rock Remmon, and invited them to make peace.Καὶ ἀπέστειλαν πᾶσα ἡ συναγωγὴ, καὶ ἐλάλησαν πρὸς τοὺς υἱοὺς Βενιαμεὶν ἐν τῇ πέτρᾳ Ῥεμμὼν, καὶ ἐκάλεσαν αὐτοὺς εἰς εἰρήνην.

14And Benjamin returned to the children of Israel at that time, and the children of Israel gave them the women whom they had save alive of the daughters of Jabis Galaad; and †† they were content.Καὶ ἐπέστρεψε Βενιαμὶν πρὸς τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἰσραὴλ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, καὶ ἔδωκαν αὐτοῖς οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ τὰς γυναῖκας ἃς ἐζωοποίησαν ἀπὸ τῶν θυγατέρων Ἰαβὶς Γαλαάδ· καὶ ἤρεσεν αὐτοῖς οὕτω.

15And the people ‡‡ relented for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.Καὶ ὁ λαὸς παρεκλήθη ἐπὶ τῷ Βενιαμὶν, ὅτι ἐποίησε Κύριος διακοπὴν ἐν ταῖς φυλαῖς Ἰσραήλ.

16And the elders of the congregation said, What shall we do for wives for them that remain? for the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin.Καὶ εἶπον οἱ πρεσβύτεροι τῆς συναγωγῆς, τί ποιήσωμεν τοῖς περισσοῖς εἰς γυναῖκας; ὅτι ἠφανίσθη ἀπὸ Βενιαμὶν γυνή.

17And they said, There must be an inheritance of them that are escaped of Benjamin; and so a tribe shall not be destroyed out of Israel.Καὶ εἶπαν, κληρονομία διασωζομένων τῶν Βενιαμίν· καὶ οὐκ ἐξαλειφθήσεται φυλὴ ἀπὸ Ἰσραὴλ,

18For we shall not be able to give them wives of our daughters, because we swore among the children of Israel, saying, Cursed is he that gives a wife to Benjamin.ὅτι ἡμεῖς οὐ δυνησόμεθα δοῦναι αὐτοῖς γυναῖκας ἀπὸ τῶν θυγατέρων ἡμῶν, ὅτι ὠμόσαμεν ἐν υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ, λέγοντες, ἐπικατάρατος ὁ διδοὺς γυναῖκα τῷ Βενιαμίν.

19And they said, Behold! now there is a feast of the Lord §§ from year to year in Selom, which is on the north of Baethel, eastward on the way that goes up from Baethel to Sychem, and from the south of Lebona.Καὶ εἶπαν, ἰδοὺ δὴ ἑορτὴ Κυρίου ἐν Σηλὼμ ἀφʼ ἡμερῶν εἰς ἡμέρας, ἥ ἐστιν ἀπὸ Βοῤῥᾶ τῆς Βαιθὴλ, κατʼ ἀνατολὰς ἡλίου ἐπὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ τῆς ἀναβαινούσης ἀπὸ Βαιθὴλ εἰς Συχὲμ, καὶ ἀπὸ Νότου τῆς Λεβωνᾶ.

20And they charged the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;Καὶ ἐνετείλαντο τοῖς υἱοῖς Βενιαμεὶν, λέγοντες, πορεύεσθε καὶ ἐνεδρεύσατε ἐν τοῖς ἀμπελῶσι,

21and you shall see; and behold! if there come out the daughters of the inhabitants of Selom to dance in dances, then shall you go out of the vineyards and seize for yourselves every man a wife of the daughters of Selom, and go you into the land of Benjamin.καὶ ὄψεσθε, καὶ ἰδοὺ, ἐὰν ἐξέλθωσιν αἱ θυγατέρες τῶν οἰκούντων Σηλὼ χορεύειν ἐν τοῖς χοροῖς, καὶ ἐξελεύσεσθε ἐκ τῶν ἀμπελώνων, καὶ ἁρπάσατε αὑτοῖς ἀνὴρ γυναῖκα ἀπὸ τῶν θυγατέρων Σηλὼμ, καὶ πορεύεσθε εἰς γῆν Βενιαμίν.

22And it shall come to pass, when their fathers or their brethren come to dispute with us, that we will say to them, Grant them freely to us, for we have not taken every man his wife in the battle: because you did not give to them *** according to the occasion, you transgressed.Καὶ ἔσται ὅταν ἔλθωσιν οἱ πατέρες αὐτῶν ἢ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτῶν κρίνεσθαι πρὸς ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἐροῦμεν αὐτοῖς, ἔλεος ποιήσατε ἡμῖν αὐτὰς, ὅτι οὐκ ἐλάβομεν ἀνὴρ γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ παρατάξει, ὅτι οὐχ ὑμεῖς ἐδώκατε αὐτοῖς, ὡς κλῆρος πλημμελήσατε.

23And the children of Benjamin did so; and they took wives according to their number from the dancers whom they seized: and they went and returned to their inheritance, and built the cities, and lived in them.Καὶ ἐποίησαν οὕτως οἱ υἱοὶ Βενιαμίν· καὶ ἔλαβον γυναῖκας εἰς ἀριθμὸν αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τῶν χορευουσῶν ὧν ἥρπασαν· καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν, καὶ ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτῶν· καὶ ᾠκοδόμησαν τὰς πόλεις, καὶ ἐκάθισαν ἐν αὐταῖς.

24And the children of Israel ††† went thence at that time every man to his tribe and his kindred; and they went thence every man to his inheritance.Καὶ περιεπάτησαν ἐκεῖθεν οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ ἀνὴρ εἰς φυλὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς συγγένειαν αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐξῆλθον ἐκεῖθεν ἀνὴρ εἰς τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ.

25And in those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own sight.Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις οὐκ ἦν βασιλεὺς ἐν Ἰσραήλ· ἀνὴρ τὸ εὐθὲς ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ἐποίει.

Translator's Notes

These notes come from the printed edition of Sir Lancelot Brenton's classic English translation of the Septuagint (LXX), and record where the Greek differs from the English rendering or admits more than one reading.

• v. 4*See chap 20:26.
• v. 6†Or, comforted themselves, or were comforted.
• v. 10‡Gr. sons of strength.
• v. 10§Gr. mouth.
• v. 12**Gr. from, out of.
• v. 14††Gr. it pleased them thus.
• v. 15‡‡Gr. See ver. 6.
• v. 19§§Gr. from days to days. Hebraism.
• v. 22***Translated from Alex.
• v. 24†††Gr. walked