Genesis 34
34
1Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land; 2and when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humbled her. 3And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob; he loved the maiden and spoke tenderly to her. 4So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this maiden for my wife.” 5Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah; but his sons were with his cattle in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard of it; and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had wrought folly in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.
8But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; I pray you, give her to him in marriage. 9Make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10You shall dwell with us; and the land shall be open to you; dwell and trade in it, and get property in it.” 11Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12Ask of me ever so much as marriage present and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; only give me the maiden to be my wife.”
13The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15Only on this condition will we consent to you: that you will become as we are and every male of you be circumcised. 16Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. 17But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.”
18Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor's son Shechem. 19And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his family. 20So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21“These men are friendly with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them; let us take their daughters in marriage, and let us give them our daughters. 22Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. 23Will not their cattle, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.” 24And all who went out of the gate of his city hearkened to Hamor and his son Shechem; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
25On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came upon the city unawares, and killed all the males. 26They slew Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went away. 27And the sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled; 28they took their flocks and their herds, their asses, and whatever was in the city and in the field; 29all their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and made their prey. 30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites; my numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” 31But they said, “Should he treat our sister as a harlot?”
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Genesis 34
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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