Genesis 34

Modern

Literal

The Defiling of Dinah

¹Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.

¹And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

²When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.

²And Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the land, saw her, and he took her and lay with her and violated her.

³And his soul was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke to her tenderly.

³And his soul clung to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke to the heart of the young woman.

⁴So Shechem told his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as a wife.”

⁴And Shechem spoke to Hamor his father, saying, “Get for me this young woman for a wife.”

⁵Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, but since his sons were with his livestock in the field, he remained silent about it until they returned.

⁵And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; and his sons were with his livestock in the field, and Jacob was silent until they came in.

⁶Meanwhile, Shechem’s father Hamor came to speak with Jacob.

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

⁷When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel^a by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.

⁷And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard; and the men were grieved, and it burned to them exceedingly because he has done an outrage in Israel—to lie with the daughter of Jacob; and such ought not to be done.

⁸But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.

⁸And Hamor spoke with them, saying, “Shechem my son—his soul longs for your daughter. Please, give her to him for a wife.

⁹Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves.

⁹And make marriages with us; your daughters you shall give to us, and our daughters you shall take for yourselves.

¹⁰You may settle among us, and the land will be open to you. Live here, move about freely, and acquire your own property.”

¹⁰And with us you shall dwell, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.”

¹¹Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Grant me this favor, and I will give you whatever you ask.

¹¹And Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me, I will give.

¹²Demand a high dowry and an expensive gift, and I will give you whatever you ask. Only give me the girl as my wife!”

¹²Increase on me very much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me. And give to me the young woman as a wife.”

The Revenge of Dinah’s Brothers

¹³But because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully.

¹³And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit, and they spoke because he had defiled Dinah their sister,

¹⁴“We cannot do such a thing,” they said. “To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace to us.

¹⁴and they said to them, “We are not able to do this thing, to give our sister to a man who has a foreskin, for that is a reproach to us.

¹⁵We will consent to this on one condition, that you become circumcised like us—every one of your males.

¹⁵Only on this condition we will consent to you; if you will become as we are—that every male among you be circumcised.

¹⁶Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We will dwell among you and become one people.

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

¹⁷But if you will not agree to be circumcised, then we will take our sister and go.”

¹⁷But if you will not listen to us, to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will go.”

¹⁸Their offer seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem.

¹⁸And their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and Shechem, son of Hamor.

¹⁹The young man, who was the most respected of all his father’s household, did not hesitate to fulfill this request, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter.

¹⁹And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter; and He was more honorable than all the house of his father.

²⁰So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city and addressed the men of their city:

²⁰And Hamor came—and Shechem his son—to the gate of their city, and they spoke to the men of their city, saying,

²¹“These men are at peace with us. Let them live and trade in our land; indeed, it is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage and give our daughters to them.

²¹“These men, they are at peace with us; so let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for, behold, the land is broad of hands before them. Let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give our daughters to them.

²²But only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us and be one people: if all our men are circumcised as they are.

²²Only on this condition will the men consent to us to dwell with us, to be one people: If every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised.

²³Will not their livestock, their possessions, and all their animals become ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell among us.”

²³Their livestock and their property and every animal of theirs, will they not be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.”

²⁴All the men who went out of the city gate listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male of the city was circumcised.

²⁴And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to Shechem his son, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

²⁵Three days later, while they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons (Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi) took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and slaughtered every male.

²⁵And it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword, and they came upon the city boldly and they killed every male.

²⁶They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away.

²⁶And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the mouth of the sword, and they took Dinah from the house of Shechem and they went out.

²⁷Jacob’s other sons came upon the slaughter and looted the city, because their sister had been defiled.

²⁷The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and they plundered the city because they had defiled their sister:

²⁸They took their flocks and herds and donkeys, and everything else in the city or in the field.

²⁸Their flock and their cattle and their donkeys, and what was in the city and what was in the field, they took.

²⁹They carried off all their possessions and women and children, and they plundered everything in their houses.

²⁹And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their women they took captive, and they plundered all that was in the house.

³⁰Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble upon me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people of this land. We are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”

³⁰And Jacob said to Simeon and to Levi, “You have troubled me, to make me stink among those dwelling in the land, among the Canaanite and among the Perizzite; and I am few in number, and they will gather themselves against me and strike me, then I shall be destroyed, I and my house.”

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

³¹And they said, “Shall he make our sister like a prostitute?”