Genesis 34

CHAPTER 34

1Forsooth Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out to see the women of that country.

2And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of that land, had seen her, he loved her, and he ravished her, and slept with her, and oppressed the virgin by violence.

3And his soul was bound fast with her, and he pleased her sorry with flatterings.

4And he went to Hamor, his father, and said, Take to me this damsel for a wife.

5And when Jacob had heard this thing, while his sons were absent, and occupied in the feeding or the pasturing of [the] sheep, he was still, till they came again.

6Soothly when Hamor, the father of Shechem, was gone out to speak to Jacob,

7lo! his sons came from the field. And when this thing that befelled was heard, they were wroth greatly; for he had wrought a foul thing in Israel, and he had done a thing unleaveful in the defouling of the daughter of Jacob.

8And so Hamor spake to them, The soul of my son Shechem hath cleaved to your daughter; give ye her a wife to him,

9and join we weddings together; give ye your daughters to us, and take ye our daughters,

10and dwell ye with us; the land is in your power; till ye, and make ye merchandise, and wield ye it.

11But also Shechem said to the father and brethren of her, Find I grace before you, and whatever things ye ordain I shall give;

12increase ye the dower, and ask ye for gifts, and I shall give willfully that that ye ask; only give ye this damsel a wife to me.

13The sons of Jacob answered in guile to Shechem and to Hamor, his father, and they were made fierce for the defouling of the maidenhood of their sister,

14We may not do this that ye ask, neither we may give our sister to a man uncircumcised, which thing is unleaveful and abominable with us.

15But in this we shall be able to be bound in peace, if ye will be like us, and each of male kind be circumcised in you;

16then we shall give and take together our daughters and yours; and we shall dwell with you, and we shall be one people.

17Forsooth if ye will not be cir-cumcised, we shall take our daughter, and we shall go away.

18The proffering of them pleased Hamor, and Shechem, his son,

19and the young waxing man delayed not, that not he fulfilled anon that that was asked; for he loved the damsel greatly, and he was the most noble in all the house of his father.

20And they entered into the gate of the city, and spake to the people,

21These men be peaceable, and will dwell with us; make they merchandise in the land, and till they it, which is large and broad, and hath need to tillers; we shall take their daughters to wives, and we shall give our daughters to them.

22One thing is, for which so great good is delayed; if we circumcise our males, and follow the custom of the folk,

23both their substance, and sheep, and all things which they wield, shall be ours; only assent we in this, that we dwell together, and make one people.

24And all men assented, and all [the] males were circumcised.

25And lo! in the third day, when the sorrow of [the] wounds was most grievous, two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, [the] brethren of Dinah, took swords, and entered into the city boldly; and when all [the] males were slain,

26they killed Hamor and Shechem together, and took Dinah, their sister, from the house of Shechem. And when they were gone out,

27 [the] other sons of Jacob felled in on the slain men, and rifled the city, for the vengeance of [the] defouling of the virgin.

28And they wasted the sheep of those men, and droves of oxen, and asses, and all things that were in the houses and fields,

29and led away as prisoners the little children, and [the] wives of those men. And when these things were done hardily,

30Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me, and have made me hateful to Canaanites and Perizzites, [the] dwellers of this land; we be few, [and] they shall be gathered together against me, and shall slay me, and I shall be done away, and mine house.

31Simeon and Levi answered, Whether they ought to mis-use our sister as a whore?

Genesis 34

1Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to meet the women of that country. 2When Shechem the son of the Hivite Hamor and the country’s prince saw her, he took her, slept with her, and humiliated her. 3He was drawn to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He loved the young woman and tried to win her heart. 4Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get this girl for me as my wife.” 5Now Jacob heard that Shechem defiled his daughter Dinah; but his sons were with the animals in the countryside, so he decided to keep quiet until they got back. 6Meanwhile, Hamor, Shechem’s father, went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7Just then, Jacob’s sons got back from the countryside. When they heard what had happened, they were deeply offended and very angry, because Shechem had disgraced Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter. Such things are simply not done.

8Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem’s heart is set on your daughter. Please let him marry her. 9Arrange marriages with us: give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. 10Live with us. The land is available to you: settle down, travel through it, and buy property in it.”

11Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “If you approve of me, tell me what you want, and I will give it to you. 12Make the bride price and marriage gifts as large as you like, and I will pay whatever you tell me. Then let me marry the young woman.”

13Jacob’s sons responded deviously to Shechem and his father Hamor because Shechem defiled their sister Dinah. 14They said to them, “We can’t do this, allowing our sisters to marry uncircumcised men, because it’s disgraceful to us. 15We can only agree to do this if you circumcise every male as we do. 16Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves. We will live with you and be one people. 17But if you don’t listen to us and become circumcised, we will take our daughter and leave.”

18Their idea seemed like a good one to Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. 19The young man didn’t waste any time doing this because he liked Jacob’s daughter so much. He was more respected than anyone else in his father’s household. 20Hamor and his son Shechem went to their city’s gate and spoke to the men of their city: 21“These men want peace with us. Let them live in the land and travel through it; there’s plenty of land for them. We will marry their daughters and give them our daughters. 22But the men will agree to live with us and become one people only if we circumcise every male just as they do. 23Their livestock, their property, and all of their animals—won’t they be ours? Let’s agree with them and let them live with us.” 24Everyone at the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, so every able-bodied male in the city was circumcised.

25On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons and Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi took their swords, came into the city, which suspected nothing, and killed every male. 26They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took Dinah from Shechem’s household, and left. 27When Jacob’s other sons discovered the dead, they looted the city that had defiled their sister. 28They took their flocks, their cattle, and their donkeys, whether in the city or in the fields nearby. 29They carried off their property, their children, and their wives. They looted the entire place. 30Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You’ve put me in danger by making me offensive to those who live here in the land, to the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I have only a few men. They may join forces, attack me, and destroy me, me and my household.”

31They said, “But didn’t he treat our sister like a prostitute?”

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Genesis 34

Genesis 34