Simeon and Levi Kill the Men of Shechem

34 Dinah was the daughter Leah had by Jacob. Dinah went out to visit the women of the land.

2Hamor the Hivite was the ruler of that area. When his son Shechem saw Dinah, he took her and raped her. 3Then his heart longed for Jacob’s daughter Dinah. He fell in love with her and spoke tenderly to her.

4Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me that woman. I want her to be my wife.”

5Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been made “unclean.” His sons were in the fields with his livestock. So he kept quiet about it until they came home.

6Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. 7Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields. They came as soon as they heard what had happened. They were filled with sadness and anger.

Shechem had done a very terrible thing. He had forced Jacob’s daughter to have sex with him. He had done something that should never be done in Israel.

8But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem wants your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife.

9“Let your people and ours get married to each other. Give us your daughters as our wives. You can have our daughters as your wives. 10You can settle among us. Here is the land. Live in it. Trade in it. Buy property in it.”

11Then Shechem spoke to Dinah’s father and brothers. He said, “I want to please you. I’ll give you anything you ask. 12Make the price for the bride as high as you want to. I’ll pay anything you ask me. Just give me the woman. I want to get married to her.”

13Their sister Dinah had been made “unclean.” So Jacob’s sons lied to Shechem and his father Hamor. 14They said to them, “We can’t do it. We can’t give our sister to a man who isn’t circumcised. That would bring shame on us. 15We’ll agree, but only on one condition. You will have to become like us. You will have to circumcise all of your males.

16“Then we’ll give you our daughters as your wives. And we’ll take your daughters as our wives. We’ll settle among you and become one people with you. 17But if you won’t agree to it, then we’ll take our sister and go.”

18Their offer seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19The young man was the most honored of all of the men in his father’s family. He didn’t lose any time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter.

20Hamor and his son Shechem went to the city gate. They spoke to the other men in town. 21“These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land. Let them trade in it. The land has plenty of room for them. We can get married to their daughters. And they can marry ours.

22“But they will agree to live with us as one people only on one condition. All of our males must be circumcised, just as they are.

23“Won’t their livestock and their property belong to us? Won’t all of their animals become ours? So let’s say yes to them. Then they’ll settle among us.”

24All of the men who went out through the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem. So every male in the city was circumcised.

25Three days later, all of them were still in pain. Then Simeon and Levi took their swords. They were Jacob’s sons and Dinah’s brothers. They attacked the city when the people didn’t expect it. They killed every male. 26They also killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords. Then they took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left.

27Jacob’s other sons found the dead bodies. They robbed the city where their sister had been made “unclean.” 28They took the flocks and herds and donkeys. They took everything that was in the city and out in the fields. 29They carried everything away. And they took all of the women and children. They took away everything that was in the houses.

30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me. Now I’m like a very bad smell to the Canaanites and Perizzites who live in this land. There aren’t many of us. They may join together against me and attack me. Then I and my family will be destroyed.”

31But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”