Add parallel Print Page Options

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

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

And his soul was bound fast with her, and he pleased her sorry with flatterings. (But his soul was bound fast to her, and he tried to appease her sorrow with flattery.)

And he went to Hamor, his father, and said, Take to me this damsel (for) a wife. (And he went to his father Hamor, and said, Get me this young woman for a wife.)

And when Jacob had heard this thing, while his sons were absent, and occupied in the feeding/in the pasturing of [the] sheep, he was still, till they came again (until they returned home).

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

lo! 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. (lo! his sons came in from the field. And when they heard what had befallen, they were enraged; for Shechem had done a foul, or a vile, thing in Israel, and he had done an unlawful thing in the defiling of Jacob’s daughter.)

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

and (so) join we weddings together; give ye your daughters to us, and take ye our daughters (for yourselves),

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

11 But also Shechem said to the father and brethren of her, Find I grace before you, and whatever things ye ordain I shall give; (And Shechem said to her father and her brothers, I pray that I find grace before you, and whatever things ye ask for, I shall give you;)

12 increase ye the dower, and ask ye (for) gifts, and I shall give willfully that that ye ask; only give ye this damsel (for) a wife to me. (increase ye the dowry, and ask ye for gifts, and I shall willingly give what ye ask; only give ye to me this young woman for a wife.)

13 The 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, (And Jacob’s sons answered guilefully, or deceitfully, to Shechem, and to his father Hamor, for they were enraged by the defiling of their sister’s maidenhood,)

14 We 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. (and they said, We cannot do this thing that ye ask, for we cannot give our sister to an uncircumcised man, for such a thing is unlawful and abominable with us.)

15 But 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; (But by this we shall make a covenant with thee, if ye will be made like us, and each of your males be circumcised;)

16 then we shall give and take together our daughters and yours (then we shall give our daughters to you, and we shall take your daughters for ourselves); and we shall dwell with you, and we shall be one people.

17 Forsooth if ye will not be circumcised, (then) we shall take our daughter, and we shall go away.

18 The proffering of them pleased Hamor, and Shechem, his son, (And their proffer pleased Hamor, and his son Shechem,)

19 and 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. (and the young man delayed not, but he fulfilled at once what was asked for; for he greatly loved the young woman, and he was the most noble in all of his father’s household.)

20 And they entered into the gate of the city, and spake to the people, (And so they went to the city gate, and said to the people,)

21 These 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. (These men be peaceful, and will live with us; so let them make merchandise in the land, and let them work it, which is large and broad, and hath need of men to work it; and we shall take their daughters for our wives, and we shall give our daughters to them.)

22 One thing is, for which so great good is delayed; if we circumcise our males, and follow the custom of the folk, (But before that they will live with us, and we become one people, there is one thing which they require us to do; we must first circumcise all our males, and so follow this folk’s custom,)

23 both 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. (then their chattel, and sheep, and all the things which they possess, shall be ours; so let us assent in this matter, so that we can all live together, and be one people.)

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

25 And 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, (And lo! on the third day, when the pain from their wounds was most grievous, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took swords, and boldly entered into the city, and killed all the males;)

26 they killed Hamor and Shechem together, and took Dinah, their sister, from the house of Shechem. And when they were gone out, (and they killed Hamor and Shechem, and took away their sister Dinah from Shechem’s house. And when they had left the city,)

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 (to take vengeance for their sister’s defiling).

28 And they wasted the sheep of those men, and droves of oxen, and asses, and all things that were in the houses and fields, (And they destroyed the sheep of those men, and their herds of oxen, and their donkeys, and all the things that were in their houses and in their fields,)

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

30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me, and have made me hateful to (the) 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. (Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have brought in trouble on me, and have made me to be hated by the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the inhabitants of this land; yea, we be few, and now they shall be gathered together against me, and shall slay me, and I and all of my household, or all of my family, shall be done away.)

31 Simeon and Levi answered, Whether they ought to mis-use our sister as a whore? (And Simeon and Levi answered, Should they be allowed to mis-use our sister like a whore?)

Dinah and the Shechemites

34 Now Dinah,(A) the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem(B) son of Hamor(C) the Hivite,(D) the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her.(E) His heart was drawn to Dinah(F) daughter of Jacob;(G) he loved(H) the young woman and spoke tenderly(I) to her. And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.”(J)

When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled,(K) his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home.

Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob.(L) Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked(M) and furious,(N) because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in[a] Israel(O) by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.(P)

But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.(Q) Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves.(R) 10 You can settle among us;(S) the land is open to you.(T) Live in it, trade[b] in it,(U) and acquire property in it.(V)

11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes,(W) and I will give you whatever you ask. 12 Make the price for the bride(X) and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.”

13 Because their sister Dinah had been defiled,(Y) Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully(Z) as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. 14 They said to them, “We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised.(AA) That would be a disgrace to us. 15 We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition(AB) only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males.(AC) 16 Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves.(AD) We’ll settle among you and become one people with you.(AE) 17 But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our sister and go.”

18 Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 The young man, who was the most honored(AF) of all his father’s family, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter.(AG) 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city(AH) to speak to the men of their city. 21 “These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and trade in it;(AI) the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours.(AJ) 22 But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised,(AK) as they themselves are. 23 Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours?(AL) So let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.(AM)

24 All the men who went out of the city gate(AN) agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.

25 Three days later, while all of them were still in pain,(AO) two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon(AP) and Levi,(AQ) Dinah’s brothers, took their swords(AR) and attacked the unsuspecting city,(AS) killing every male.(AT) 26 They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword(AU) and took Dinah(AV) from Shechem’s house and left. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city(AW) where[c] their sister had been defiled.(AX) 28 They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys(AY) and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields.(AZ) 29 They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children,(BA) taking as plunder(BB) everything in the houses.(BC)

30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble(BD) on me by making me obnoxious(BE) to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land.(BF) We are few in number,(BG) and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”

31 But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?(BH)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 34:7 Or against
  2. Genesis 34:10 Or move about freely; also in verse 21
  3. Genesis 34:27 Or because