Genesis 34

Dinah Is Attacked

1At this time Dinah, the daughter of Leah and Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. 2When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of the land, saw her, he took her and forced her to have sexual relations with him. 3Shechem fell in love with Dinah, and he spoke kindly to her. 4He told his father, Hamor, “Please get this girl for me so I can marry her.”

5Jacob learned how Shechem had disgraced his daughter, but since his sons were out in the field with the cattle, Jacob said nothing until they came home. 6While he waited, Hamor father of Shechem went to talk with Jacob.

7When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they came in from the field. They were very angry that Shechem had done such a wicked thing to Israel. It was wrong for him to have sexual relations with Jacob’s daughter; a thing like this should not be done.

8But Hamor talked to Dinah’s brothers and said, “My son Shechem is deeply in love with Dinah. Please let him marry her. 9Marry our people. Give your women to our men as wives and take our women for your men as wives. 10You can live in the same land with us. You will be free to own land and to trade here.”

11Shechem also talked to Jacob and to Dinah’s brothers and said, “Please accept my offer. I will give anything you ask. 12Ask as much as you want for the payment for the bride, and I will give it to you. Just let me marry Dinah.”

13Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father with lies, because Shechem had disgraced their sister Dinah. 14The brothers said to them, “We cannot allow you to marry our sister, because you are not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. 15But we will allow you to marry her if you do this one thing: Every man in your town must be circumcised like us. 16Then your men can marry our women, and our men can marry your women, and we will live in your land and become one people. 17If you refuse to be circumcised, we will take Dinah and leave.”

18What they asked seemed fair to Hamor and Shechem. 19So Shechem quickly went to be circumcised because he loved Jacob’s daughter.

Now Shechem was the most respected man in his family. 20So Hamor and Shechem went to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21“These people want to be friends with us. So let them live in our land and trade here. There is enough land for all of us. Let us marry their women, and we can let them marry our women. 22But we must agree to one thing: All our men must be circumcised as they are. Then they will agree to live in our land, and we will be one people. 23If we do this, their cattle and their animals will belong to us. Let us do what they say, and they will stay in our land.” 24All the people who had come to the city gate heard this. They agreed with Hamor and Shechem, and every man was circumcised.

25Three days later the men who were circumcised were still in pain. Two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi (Dinah’s brothers), took their swords and made a surprise attack on the city, killing all the men there. 26They killed Hamor and his son Shechem and then took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and left. 27Jacob’s sons came upon the dead bodies and stole everything that was in the city, to pay them back for what Shechem had done to their sister. 28So the brothers took the flocks, herds, and donkeys, and everything in the city and in the fields. 29They took every valuable thing the people owned, even their wives and children and everything in the houses.

30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have caused me a lot of trouble. Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites who live in the land will hate me. Since there are only a few of us, if they join together to attack us, my people and I will be destroyed.”

31But the brothers said, “We will not allow our sister to be treated like a prostitute.”

Genesis 34

1¶ And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, which she gave birth unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

2And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her and defiled her.

3And his soul was joined unto Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he fell in love with the damsel and spoke unto her heart.

4And Shechem spoke unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.

5And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; now his sons were with his cattle in the field, and Jacob remained silent until they were come.

6¶ And Hamor, the father of Shechem, went out unto Jacob to speak with him.

7And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.

8And Hamor spoke with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem is joined to your daughter; I pray you give her to him as wife.

9And make ye marriages with us and give your daughters unto us and take our daughters unto you.

10And ye shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein and take you possessions therein.

11And Shechem also said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.

12Ask me for as much dowry and gift as ye desire, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me; but give me the damsel to wife.

13And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully and talked because he had defiled Dinah their sister:

14And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised, for among us that is a reproach.

15But with this condition we will consent unto you: If ye will become as we are that every male of you be circumcised,

16then we will give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.

17But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.

18¶ And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.

19And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter and he was the most honourable of all the house of his father.

20Then Hamor and Shechem, his son, came unto the gate of their city and communed with the men of their city, saying,

21These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.

22Only with this condition will these men consent to dwell with us that we may be one people: if every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised.

23 Shall not their livestock and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? Only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.

24And unto Hamor and unto Shechem, his son, hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.

25¶ And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword and came upon the city boldly and slew all the males.

26And they slew Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out.

27The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and spoiled the city because they had defiled their sister.

28They took their sheep and their oxen and their asses and that which was in the city and that which was in the field

29and all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives they took captive and spoiled even all that was in the house.

30And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.

31And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with a harlot?

Choose your language

Genesis 34

Genesis 34