Chapter 21

Mourning Lost Tribe

1 Now the men of Israel ahad sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin 1in marriage.”

2 aSo the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and lifted up their voices and wept 1bitterly.

3 They said, “Why, O Lord, God of Israel, has this come about in Israel, so that one tribe should be missing today in Israel?”

4 It came about the next day that the people arose early and built aan altar there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

5 Then the sons of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up in the assembly to the Lord?” For 1they had taken a great oath concerning him awho did not come up to the Lord at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.”

6 And the sons of Israel were sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel today.

7 “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have asworn by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?”

Provision for Their Survival

8 And they said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel who did not come up to the Lord at Mizpah?” And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.

9 For when the people were 1numbered, behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there.

10 And the congregation sent 12,000 of the valiant warriors there, and commanded them, saying, “Go and astrike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.

11 “This is the thing that you shall do: you ashall utterly destroy every man and every woman who has 1lain with a man.”

12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with 1him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

13 Then the whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were aat the rock of Rimmon, and bproclaimed peace to them.

14 Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the women of Jabesh-gilead; yet they 1were not enough for them.

15 And the people were sorry for Benjamin because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

16 Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?”

17 They said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be blotted out from Israel.

18 “But we cannot give them wives of our daughters.” For the sons of Israel ahad sworn, saying, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.”

19 So they said, “Behold, there is a feast of the Lord from year to year in aShiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south side of Lebonah.”

20 And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

21 and watch; and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to 1atake part in the dances, then you shall come out of the vineyards and each of you shall catch his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

22 “It shall come about, when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we shall say to them, ‘Give them to us voluntarily, because we did not take for each man of Benjamin 1a wife in battle, 2anor did you give them to them, else you would now be guilty.’ ”

23 The sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their number from those who danced, whom they carried away. And they went and returned to their inheritance and arebuilt the cities and lived in them.

24 The sons of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one of them went out from there to his inheritance.

25 aIn those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

The Book of

RUTH

Chapter 1

Naomi Widowed

1 Now it came about in the days awhen the judges 1governed, that there was ba famine in the land. And a certain man cof Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab 2with his wife and his two sons.

2 The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they aentered the land of Moab and remained there.

3 Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.

4 They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.

5 Then 1both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband.

6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had avisited His people in bgiving them food.

7 So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. aMay the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.

9 “May the Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.

10 And they said to her, “No, but we will surely return with you to your people.”

11 But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that athey may be your husbands?

12 “Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons,

13 would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is 1harder for me than for you, for athe hand of the Lord has gone forth against me.”

Ruth’s Loyalty

14 And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

15 Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her agods; return after your sister-in-law.”

16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.

17 “Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may athe Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.”

18 When ashe saw that she was determined to go with her, she 1said no more to her.

19 So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, aall the city was stirred because of them, and 1the women said, “Is this Naomi?”

20 She said to them, “Do not call me 1Naomi; call me 2Mara, for 3athe Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

21 “I went out full, but athe Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has witnessed against me and 1the Almighty has afflicted me?”

22 So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at athe beginning of barley harvest.