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Wives for the Men of Benjamin

21 When the Israelites had met at Mizpah before the war with Benjamin,[a] they had made this sacred promise: “None of us will ever let our daughters marry any man from Benjamin.”

After the war with Benjamin, the Israelites went to the place of worship at Bethel and sat there until sunset. They cried loudly and bitterly and prayed, “Our Lord, you are the God of Israel. Why did you let this happen? Now one of our tribes is almost gone.”

Early the next morning, the Israelites built an altar and offered sacrifices to please the Lord and to ask his blessing.[b] Then they asked each other, “Did any of the tribes of Israel fail to come to the place of worship? We made a sacred promise that anyone who didn't come to the meeting at Mizpah would be put to death.”

The Israelites were sad about what had happened to the Benjamin tribe, and they said, “One of our tribes was almost wiped out. Only a few men of Benjamin weren't killed in the war. We need to get wives for them, so the tribe won't completely disappear. But how can we do that, after promising in the Lord's name that we wouldn't let them marry any of our daughters?”

8-9 Again the Israelites asked, “Did any of the tribes stay away from the meeting at Mizpah?”

After asking around, they discovered that no one had come from Jabesh in Gilead. 10-11 So they sent 12,000 warriors with these orders: “Attack Jabesh in Gilead and kill everyone, except the women who have never been married.”

12 The warriors attacked Jabesh in Gilead, and returned to their camp at Shiloh in Canaan[c] with 400 young women.

13 The Israelites met and sent messengers to the men of Benjamin at Rimmon Rock, telling them that the Israelites were willing to make peace with them. 14 So the men of Benjamin came back from Rimmon Rock, and the Israelites let them marry the young women from Jabesh. But there weren't enough women.

15 The Israelites were very sad, because the Lord had almost wiped out one of their tribes. 16 Then their leaders said:

All the women of the Benjamin tribe were killed. How can we get wives for the men of Benjamin who are left? 17 If they don't have children, one of the Israelite tribes will die out. 18 But we can't let the men of Benjamin marry any of our daughters. We made a sacred promise not to do that, and if we break our promise, we will be under our own curse.

19 Then someone suggested, “What about the Lord's Festival that takes place each year in Shiloh? It's held north of Bethel, south of Lebonah, and just east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem.”

20 The leaders told the men of Benjamin who still did not have wives:

Go to Shiloh and hide in the vineyards near the festival. 21 Wait there for the young women of Shiloh to come out and perform their dances. Then rush out and grab one of the young women, then take her home as your wife. 22 If the fathers or brothers of these women complain about this, we'll say, “Be kind enough to let those men keep your daughter. After all, we couldn't get enough wives for all the men of Benjamin in the battle at Jabesh. And because you didn't give them permission to marry your daughters, you won't be under the curse we earlier agreed on.”[d]

23 The men of Benjamin went to Shiloh and hid in the vineyards. The young women soon started dancing, and each man grabbed one of them and carried her off. Then the men of Benjamin went back to their own land and rebuilt their towns and started living in them again.

24 Afterwards, the rest of the Israelites returned to their homes and families.

Israel Was Not Ruled by a King

25 (A) In those days Israel wasn't ruled by a king, and everyone did what they thought was right.

Ruth Is Loyal to Naomi

1-2 Before Israel was ruled by kings, Elimelech from the clan of Ephrath lived in the town of Bethlehem. His wife was named Naomi, and their two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. But when their crops failed in Israel, they moved to the country of Moab.[e] And while they were there, Elimelech died, leaving Naomi with only her two sons.

Later, Naomi's sons married Moabite women. One was named Orpah and the other Ruth. About ten years later, Mahlon and Chilion also died. Now Naomi had no husband or sons.

6-7 When Naomi heard that the Lord had given his people a good harvest, she and her two daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab and go to Judah. As they were on their way there, Naomi said to them, “Don't you want to go back home to your own mothers? You were kind to my husband and sons, and you've always been kind to me. I pray that the Lord will be just as kind to you. May he give each of you another husband and a home of your own.”

Naomi kissed them. They cried 10 and said, “We want to go with you and live among your people.”

11 But she replied, “My daughters, why don't you return home? What good will it do you to go with me? Do you think I could have more sons for you to marry?[f] 12 You must go back home, because I am too old to marry again. Even if I got married tonight and later had more sons, 13 would you wait for them to become old enough to marry? No, my daughters! Life is harder for me than it is for you, because the Lord has turned against me.”[g]

14 They cried again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth held on to her. 15 Naomi then said to Ruth, “Look, your sister-in-law is going back to her people and to her gods! Why don't you go with her?”

16 Ruth answered,

“Please don't tell me
to leave you
    and return home!
I will go where you go,
    I will live where you live;
your people will be my people,
    your God will be my God.
17 I will die where you die
    and be buried beside you.
May the Lord punish me
if we are ever separated,
    even by death!”[h]

18 When Naomi saw that Ruth had made up her mind to go with her, she stopped urging her to go back.

19 They reached Bethlehem, and the whole town was excited to see them. The women who lived there asked, “Can this really be Naomi?”

20 Then she told them, “Don't call me Naomi any longer! Call me Mara,[i] because God has made my life bitter. 21 I had everything when I left, but the Lord has brought me back with nothing. How can you still call me Naomi, when God has turned against me and made my life so hard?”

22 The barley harvest was just beginning when Naomi and Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law, arrived in Bethlehem.

Footnotes

  1. 21.1 the Israelites … Benjamin: See 20.1-3.
  2. 21.4 sacrifices … blessing: See the note at 20.26-28.
  3. 21.12 in Canaan: Jabesh was in Gilead, across the Jordan River from the land of Canaan.
  4. 21.22 on: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 22.
  5. 1.1,2 Moab: The people of Moab worshiped idols and were usually enemies of the people of Israel.
  6. 1.11 for you to marry: When a married man died and left no children, it was the custom for one of his brothers to marry his widow. Any children they had would then be thought of as those of the dead man, so that his family name would live on.
  7. 1.13 Life … me: Or “I'm sorry that the Lord has turned against me and made life so hard for you.”
  8. 1.17 even by death: Or “by anything but death.”
  9. 1.20 Mara: In Hebrew “Naomi” means “pleasant,” and “Mara” means “bitter.”

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