Genesis 34

1 And Dina, the daughter of Lea, whom she bore to Jacob, went forth to observe the daughters of the inhabitants.

Then Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out to see the women of that region.

2 And Sychem the son of Emmor the Evite, the ruler of the land, saw her, and took her and lay with her, and humbled her.

And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the leader of that land, had seen her, he fell in love with her. And so he seized her and slept with her, overwhelming the virgin by force.

3 And he was attached to the soul of Dina the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and he spoke kindly to the damsel.

And his soul was closely bound to her, and, since she was sorrowful, he soothed her with flattery.

4 Sychem spoke to Emmor his father, saying, Take for me this damsel to wife.

And going on to Hamor, his father, he said, “Obtain this girl for me as a mate.”

5 And Jacob heard that the son of Emmor had defiled Dina his daughter (now his sons were with his cattle in the plain). And Jacob was silent until they came.

But when Jacob had heard this, since his sons were absent and he was occupied in pasturing the cattle, he remained silent until they came back.

6 And Emmor the father of Sychem went forth to Jacob, to speak to him.

Then, when Hamor, the father of Shechem, had gone out to speak to Jacob,

7 And the sons of Jacob came from the plain; and when they heard, the men were deeply pained, and it was very grievous to them, because [the man] wrought folly in Israel, having lain with the daughter of Jacob, and so it must not be.

behold, his sons arrived from the field. And hearing what had happened, they were very angry, because he had done a filthy thing in Israel and, in violating a daughter of Jacob, had perpetrated an unlawful act.

8 And Emmor spoke to them, saying, Sychem my son has chosen in his heart your daughter; give her therefore to him for a wife,

And so Hamor spoke to them: “The soul of my son Shechem has become attached to your daughter. Give her to him as a wife.

9 and intermarry with us. Give us your daughters, and take our daughters for your sons.

And let us celebrate marriages with one with another. Give us your daughters, and receive our daughters.

10 And dwell in the midst of us; and, behold, the land is spacious before you, dwell in it, and trade, and get possessions in it.

And live with us. The land is in your power: cultivate, trade, and possess it.”

11 And Sychem said to her father and to her brothers, I would find grace before you, and we will give whatever you shall name.

And Shechem even said to her father and to her brothers: “May I find favor in your sight, and whatever you will appoint, I will give.

12 Multiply [your demand of] dowry very much, and I will give accordingly as you shall say to me, only you shall give me this damsel for a wife.

Increase the dowry, and request gifts, and I will freely bestow what you will ask. Only give me this girl as a wife.”

13 And the sons of Jacob answered to Sychem and Emmor his father craftily, and spoke to them, because they had defiled Dina their sister.

The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father with deceit, being enraged at the rape of their sister:

14 And Symeon and Levi, the brothers of Dina, said to them, We shall not be able to do this thing, to give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for it is a reproach to us.

“We are not able to do what you ask, nor to give our sister to an uncircumcised man. For us, this is unlawful and abominable.

15 Only on these terms will we conform to you, and dwell amongst you, if you also will be as we are, in that every male of you be circumcised.

But we may succeed in this, so as to be allied with you, if you are willing to become like us, and if all the male sex among you will be circumcised.

16 And we will give our daughters to you, and we will take of your daughters for wives to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will be as one race.

Then we will mutually give and receive your daughters as well as ours; and we will live with you, and we will become one people.

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

But if you will not be circumcised, we will take our daughter and withdraw.”

18 And the words pleased Emmor, and Sychem the son of Emmor.

Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem.

19 And the young man delayed not to do this thing, for he was much attached to Jacob's daughter, and he was the most honourable of all in his father's house.

Neither did the young man cause any delay; in fact he immediately fulfilled what was requested. For he loved the girl very much, and he was well-known throughout his father’s house.

20 And Emmor and Sychem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke to the men of their city, saying,

And entering at the gate of the city, they spoke to the people:

21 These men are peaceful, let them dwell with us upon the land, and let them trade in it, and behold the land is extensive before them; we will take their daughters to us for wives, and we will give them our daughters.

“These men are peaceful, and they want to live among us. Let them trade in the land and cultivate it, for, being spacious and broad, it is in need of cultivation. We will receive their daughters as wives, and we will give them ours.

22 Only on these terms will the men conform to us to dwell with us so as to be one people, if every male of us be circumcised, as they also are circumcised.

There is one thing that prevents so great a good: whether we will circumcise our males, imitating the ritual of their nation.

23 And shall not their cattle and their herds, and their possessions, be ours? only in this let us conform to them, and they will dwell with us.

And their substance, and cattle, and all that they possess, will be ours, if only we will acquiesce to this, and so, in living together, will form one people.”

24 And all that went in at the gate of their city listened to Emmor and Sychem his son, and they were circumcised in the flesh of their foreskin every male.

And they all agreed to circumcise every one of the males.

25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, the two sons of Jacob, Symeon and Levi, Dina's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city securely, and killed every male.

And behold, on the third day, when the pain of the wound was greatest, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, boldly entered the city with swords. And they put to death all of the males.

26 And they killed Emmor and Sychem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dina out of the house of Sychem, and went forth.

They killed Hamor and Shechem together, taking their sister Dinah from the house of Shechem.

27 But the sons of Jacob came upon the wounded, and ravaged the city wherein they had defiled Dina their sister.

And when they had departed, the other sons of Jacob rushed over the slain, and they plundered the city in vengeance for the rape.

28 And their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses they took, and all things whatever were in the city, and whatever were in the plain.

Taking their sheep, and herds, and donkeys, and laying waste to everything else that was in their houses and in their fields,

29 And they took captive all the persons of them, and all their store, and their wives, and plundered both whatever things there were in the city, and whatever things there were in the houses.

they also took their little ones and their wives captive.

30 And Jacob said to Symeon and Levi, You have made me hateful so that I should be evil to all the inhabitants of the land, both amongst the Chananites and the Pherezites, and I am few in number; they will gather themselves against me and cut me in pieces, and I shall be utterly destroyed, and my house.

When they had boldly completed these acts, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: “You have troubled me, and you have made me hateful to the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the inhabitants of this land. We are few. They, gathering themselves together, may strike me down, and then both I and my house will be wiped away.”

31 And they said, Nay, but shall they treat our sister as an harlot?

They responded, “Should they abuse our sister like a prostitute?”