¶ The enhabiters of Gilead are vtterly destroyed
CAPI. XXI.
ANd euery man of Israel sware in Miz∣pa [unspec A] saynge: there shall none of vs gyue his doughter vnto any of Ben Iamin to wyfe. And the people came to Bethell / and abode there tyll euen before God, & lyfte vp theyr voyces, and wepte sore, and sayde: Oh lorde god of Israel, why is this chaūced in Israell, that there shulde be this day one tribe lackyng in Israel? And on the morowe the people tose vp be tyme, & made there an aulter, and offered but tofferynges and peace¦offerynges. And the chyldren of Israel asked who are they amonge al the tribes of Israel, that came not vp with the congregacyon vn∣to the lorde? for they had made a greate othe concernyng hym that came not vp to the lord to Mizpa, saynge: he shal surely dye. And the chyldren of Israel had pytie on Ben Iamin theyr brethren, and sayd: there is one tribe cut of from Israel this day: what shal we do vn∣to the remenaūt of them, that they may haue wyues? we haue sworne by the Lorde that we [unspec B] wyll not gyue them of our doughters to wy∣nes. And they sayde: Is there any of the tri∣bes of Israel, that came not vp to Mizpa to the Lorde? And beholde, there came none of the enhabitours of Iabes Gilead vnto the hoost and congregacion. For the people were vewed: & beholde, there were none of the en∣habitours of Iabes Gilead there. And they sent thyther a multitude, euen. xii. thousande men of the strongest of them, and cōmaūded them, saynge: go and smyte the enhabitours of Iabes Gilead with the edge of the swerde bothe women and chyldren. * 1.1 And this is it that ye shall do: vtterly destroy all the males and all the women that haue lyen by men. And they founde amonge the enhabytours of Iabes Gilead foure hundred damselles, vyrgyns, that had knowen no man, by lyeng with any male. And they brought them vnto the hoost to Silo, whiche is in the lande of Canaan. And the hole congregation sent & spake with the chyldren of Ben Iamin that were in the rocke of Rimmon, & called p••ace∣ably vnto them, & Ben Iamin came agayne at that tyme, & they gaue them wyues, which they had saued alyue of the women of Iabes [unspec C] Gilead. But they suffysed them not. And the people had compassyon on Ben Iamin, by∣cause that God had made a gap in the tribes of Israel. And then the elders of the congre∣gacyon, sayde: what shall we do to the reme∣naunt of them, to get them wyues, seynge al the wyues of Ben Iamin are destroyed? And they sayde: there must be an enheritaunce for them that be escaped of Ben Iamyn, that •• tribe be not destroyed out of Israel: Howbeit we may not gyue them wyues of our dough∣ters. For the chyldren of Israell had sworne, sayenge: cursed be he, that gyueth a wyfe to Ben Iamin. Then they sayd: beholde, there is a feast of the lorde yerely in Silo, which is on the north syde of Bethell, and on the east syde of the waye that gothe from Bethell to Sichem, and south from Libanon. Therfore they cōmaunded the chyldren of Ben Iamin saynge: go & lye in wayte in the vyneyardes▪ And when ye se that the doughters of Silo come oute to daunce in a rowe, then come ye out of the vyneyardes, and catche you euery man a wyfe of the doughters of Ben Iamin, [unspec D]
And when theyr fathers, or brethren come vnto vs to complane, we wyl say vnto them: haue pytie on vs for theyr sakes bycause we reserued not to eche man his wyfe in tyme of warre, ☞ Neyther haue ye gyu••n vnto them that ye shulde synne at this tyme. And the chyldren of Ben Iamin dyd euē so: and toke them wyues accordynge to the nombre of them that daunced whom they caught. And they wente, and returned vnto theyr enheri∣taunce, and repared the cityes, and dwelte in them. And the chyldren of Israell departed thence at that tyme, and wente euery man to his tribe, and to his kynred, and wente oute from thence euery man to his enheritaunce. * 1.2 In those dayes there was no kynge in Is∣raell: but euery man dyd that whiche serued ryght in his owne eyes.