Shared Word Translation
Genesis 34
Dinah and Shechem
Now Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her and lay with her and humiliated her. Yet his soul clung to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem said to Hamor his father, “Get me this young woman as a wife.”
Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob remained silent until they came. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard of it, and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing that ought not to be done.
Hamor’s Proposal
But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. Intermarry with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire property in it.”
Shechem 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. Ask of me ever so much bride-price and gift, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman as a wife.”
The Sons of Jacob Deceive the Hivites
But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. They 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. Only on this condition will we agree with you: if you become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”
Their words seemed good to Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father’s house. So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, “These men are at peace 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 as wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us and become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. Will not their livestock, their property, and all their animals be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.”
And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
Simeon and Levi Take Revenge
On the third day, when they were in pain, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came against the city while it felt secure and killed every male. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys and whatever was in the city and in the field. All their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives they took captive and plundered, everything that was in the houses.
Jacob’s Distress
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble upon me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and strike me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”