Judges 21

¹Now the men of Israel had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, Not one of us will give his daughter as a wife to Benjamin.

²And the people came to Beth-el, waiting there till evening before God, and gave themselves up to bitter weeping.

³And 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?

⁴Then on the day after, the people got up early and made an altar there, offering burned offerings and peace-offerings.

⁵And 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.

⁶And the children of Israel were moved with pity for Benjamin their brother, saying, Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel.

⁷What 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.

⁸And 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.

⁹For when the people were numbered, not one man of the people of Jabesh-gilead was present.

¹⁰So 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.

¹¹And 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.