1 Nå hadde Israels menn avlagt en ed i Mispa, og sagt: Ingen av oss skal gi sin datter til Benjamin som hustru.

Now the men of Israel had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, Not one of us will give his daughter as a wife to Benjamin.

2 Folket kom til Betel og ventet der til kvelden foran Gud, og ga seg over til bitter gråt.

And the people came to Beth-el, waiting there till evening before God, and gave themselves up to bitter weeping.

3 De sa: Herre, Israels Gud, hvorfor har dette skjedd i Israel, at i dag har en stamme blitt avskåret fra Israel?

And they said, O Lord, the God of Israel, why has this fate come on Israel, that today one tribe has been cut off from Israel?

4 Dagen etter stod folket tidlig opp og bygde et alter der, og ofret brennoffer og fredsoffer.

Then on the day after, the people got up early and made an altar there, offering burned offerings and peace-offerings.

5 Israels barn sa: Hvem av alle Israels stammer kom ikke opp til Herren ved forsamlingsmøtet i Israel? For de hadde sverget en stor ed at den som ikke kom opp til Herren i Mispa skulle dø.

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.

6 Israels barn ble grepet av medfølelse for Benjamin, deres bror, og sa: I dag er en stamme blitt avskåret fra Israel.

And the children of Israel were moved with pity for Benjamin their brother, saying, Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel.

7 Hva skal vi gjøre for å skaffe koner til de som er igjen, siden vi har sverget ved Herren at vi ikke skal gi dem våre døtre til koner?

What are we to do about wives 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 De sa: Hvilken av Israels stammer kom ikke opp til Herren i Mispa? Det viste seg at ingen fra Jabesj-Gilead hadde kommet til møtet.

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 Når folket ble talt opp, var det ikke én mann fra Jabesj-Gilead til stede.

For when the people were numbered, not one man of the people of Jabesh-gilead was present.

10 Så sendte forsamlingen tolv tusen av de beste krigerne og ga dem ordre: Gå og slå Jabesj-Gilead med sverdet, både kvinner og barn,.

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 Dette er hva dere skal gjøre: Dere skal legge hver mann og hver kvinne som har hatt seksuelle relasjoner under bann, men jomfruene skal dere spare. Og de gjorde det.

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 Blant folket i Jabesj-Gilead var det fire hundre unge jomfruer som aldri hadde hatt seksuelle relasjoner med en mann; disse førte de til leiren i Shilo i Kanaans land.

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 Hele forsamlingen sendte bud til Benjamins menn som var på klippen Rimmon for å tilby dem fred.

And all the meeting sent to the men of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, offering them peace.

14 Da Benjamin vendte tilbake, ga de dem kvinnene de hadde spart fra døden blant kvinnene i Jabesj-Gilead, men det var ikke nok for dem.

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 Folket var grepet av medfølelse for Benjamin, fordi Herren hadde sendt sin vrede over Israels stammer.

And the people were moved with pity for Benjamin, because the Lord had let his wrath loose on the tribes of Israel.

16 De ansvarlige mennene i forsamlingen sa: Hva skal vi gjøre angående koner for dem som er igjen, siden kvinnene i Benjamin er døde?

Then the responsible men of the meeting said, What are we to do about wives for the rest of them, seeing that the women of Benjamin are dead?

17 De sa: Hvordan kan vi sikre at de gjenværende blant Benjamin får etterslekt, så en israelsk stamme ikke utryddes?

And they said, How is the rest of Benjamin to be given offspring so that one tribe of Israel may not be put out of existence,

18 Siden vi ikke kan gi dem våre døtre til koner? For Israels barn hadde avlagt en ed: Forbannet er den som gir en hustru til Benjamin.

Seeing that we may not give them our daughters as wives? For the children of Israel had taken an oath, saying, Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.

19 De sa: Se, hvert år er det en fest for Herren i Shilo, som ligger nord for Betel, øst for den veien som går opp fra Betel til Sikem, og sør for Lebona.

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 De sa til Benjamins menn: Gå inn i vingårdene og vent der i hemmelighet.

And they said to the men of Benjamin, Go into the vine-gardens, waiting there secretly,

21 Og se, når Shilos døtre kommer ut for å delta i dansene, kom da ut fra vingårdene og ta hver en kone for dere fra Shilos døtre, og dra tilbake til Benjamin-landet.

And watching; and if the daughters of Shiloh come out to take part in the dances, then come from the vine-gardens and take a wife for every one of you from among the daughters of Shiloh, and go back to the land of Benjamin.

22 Når deres fedre eller brødre kommer for å klage, skal dere si til dem: Gi dem til oss av nåde, for vi tok dem ikke som koner til oss i krig, og hvis dere hadde gitt dem til oss, ville dere brutt eden.

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.

23 Benjamins menn gjorde dette, og tok koner for seg blant dem som deltok i dansen; deretter dro de tilbake til sin arv, bygde opp sine byer og bodde i dem.

So the men of Benjamin did this, and got wives 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.

24 Så forlot Israels barn stedet, hver mann til sin stamme og familie, og dro tilbake til sin arv.

Then the children of Israel went away from there, every man to his tribe and his family, every man went back to his heritage.

25 I de dager var det ingen konge i Israel; hver mann gjorde det som var rett i hans egne øyne.

In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did what seemed right to him.