1 The men of Israel made a big promise at Mizpah: “We will not give our girls to the men of Benjamin.” 2 The people went to Bethel. They sat with God all day and cried loud. 3 They said to God, “Why did this happen? One tribe is gone. Why?” ❓ 4 Next day they got up early. They built a stone table for God and gave gifts to God. 5 They asked, “Who did not come to the big meet with God at Mizpah?” They had a hard promise: “If someone did not come, he will die.” ️❓️ 6 The people felt bad for the tribe of Benjamin. They said, “One tribe is missing today.” 7 They asked, “How can the men left get wives? We promised God we will not give our girls.” ❓ 8 They asked again, “Who did not come?” They found that no one from Jabesh-gilead came. ️♂️ 9 They counted. No person from Jabesh-gilead was there. 0️ 10 They sent many strong men. They said, “Go fight the town of Jabesh-gilead.” ⚔️♂️➡️️ 11 They said, “Do this: stop every man, and stop women who had a husband.” ✋✋ 12 They found many young girls with no husband. They took the girls to the camp at Shiloh. 4️⃣0️⃣0️⃣➡️⛺ 13 All Israel sent a kind word to Benjamin at Rock Rimmon. They said, “Peace.” ️ 14 The men of Benjamin came back. Israel gave them the girls, but there were not enough. ↩️➡️❌ 15 The people felt sad for Benjamin. One tribe in Israel was broken. 16 The old leaders said, “What can we do? The women of Benjamin are gone. The men still need wives.” ️❓ 17 They said, “We must keep Benjamin. We do not want to lose a tribe.” ✅ 18 “But we can not give our girls. We made a strong promise: do not give a wife to Benjamin.” 19 They said, “There is a big party for God at Shiloh each year. It is by Bethel, on the road to Shechem, near Lebonah.” ️ 20 They told the men of Benjamin, “Go hide in the grape fields.” ➡️ 21 “Watch. When the girls of Shiloh dance, come out. Each man take a girl to be his wife. Then go home to Benjamin.” ➡️♂️ 22 “If the dads or brothers get mad, we will say, ‘Please let this be. We did not get wives in war. You did not give your girls, so you did not break your promise.’” ️➡️ 23 The men of Benjamin did it. They took wives, one each, from the dancers. They went home, built their towns again, and lived there. ✅️️ 24 Then all Israel went home. Each one went to his own land and family. ♂️ 25 In those days Israel had no king. People did what they thought was right. ❌➡️