The men of Yisroel took an oath at Mitzpah, saying, "Not a man among us shall give his daughter in marriage to Binyomin."

The people came to Beis El, and sat there before God until evening, and wailed and wept a great deal.

. They cried out, "Why, Adonoy, God of Yisroel, has this happened in Yisroel—that today, a tribe in Yisroel is to be eliminated?"

It happened, the following day, that the people rose early, built an altar there, and brought olah and Shelamim offerings.

The Bnei Yisroel proclaimed, "Is there anyone who did not ascend to the assembly before Adonoy among all the tribes of Yisroel?" For a momentous oath was taken against anyone who did not ascend before Adonoy at Mitzpah, condemning him to death.

The Bnei Yisroel were regretful concerning their brother Binyomin. They declared, "An entire tribe tribe has been cut away today from Yisroel.

How can we provide the survivors with wives, as we have sworn to Adonoy not to give them our daughters in marriage?"

They declared, "Is there any one of the tribes of Yisroel that did not ascend before Adonoy at Mitzpah?" Now, not one man came to the camp from Yoveish Gilod to the assembly.

An account was made of the people, and not one man was there of the inhabitants of Yoveish Gilod.

The community dispatched, there, twelve thousand powerful warriors. They instructed them, saying, "Proceed, and strike down the inhabitants of Yoveish Gilod by the sword, including women and children.

This is what you must do: every male, and every female who had carnal klowledge of a male you must annihilate."

They discovered, among the inhabitants of Yoveish Gil'ad, four hundred virgin maids who had never had carnal knowledge of a male. They brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

The entire community dispatched emissaries who spoke to the sons of Binyomin at Sela Rimon, greeting them with peaceful salutations.

Binyomin was restored, [to the community] at that time. They provided them with the women who were permitted to survive from the women of Yoveish Gilod. However, this was not sufficient for their needs.

The people were regretful concerning Binyomin, as Adonoy had caused a breach among the tribes of Yisroel.

The elders of Yisroel said, "How can we provide those remaining with wives, since Binyomin is bereft of women?"

They said, "The survivors must inherit the ancestral property of Binyomin, so that a tribe will not be obliterated from Yisroel.

But we are unable to give them our daughters as wives, since the Bnei Yisroel took an oath, saying, 'A curse upon anyone that gives his daughter to Binyomin!'"

Then they said, "Look, there is a sacrificial celebration before Adonoy at Shiloh annually; this is north of Beis El, east of the road ascending from Beis El to Shechem, and south of Levonah."

They instructed the sons of Binyomin, saying, "Go, wait in ambush in the vineyards.

Keep watch; then, when the daughters of Shiloh step out to dance, dash out of the vineyards, and sieze wives for yourselves, each of you, from the daughters of Shiloh, and return to the territory of Binyomin.

When their fathers or brothers come to [protest] argue with us, we shall tell them, 'We were merciful with them, as we could not take a wife for each man at the time of the war; and you were not the ones who provided them, so that you would now be blameworthy."

The Bnei Binyomin did this. They took wives in accordance with their numbers from the dancers they had stolen. They returned to their ancestral inheritance, built the cities, and settled in them.

The Bnei Yisroel betook themselves from there, at that time, each to his tribe and his clan. Each departed from there to his ancestral property.

In those days there was no king in Yisroel, and everyone behaved as he saw fit.