Genesis 34 Catholic Public Domain Version

341 Then Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out to see the women of that region. 2 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 his soul was closely bound to her, and, since she was sorrowful, he soothed her with flattery. 4 And going on to Hamor, his father, he said, “Obtain this girl for me as a mate.” 5 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 Then, when Hamor, the father of Shechem, had gone out to speak to Jacob, 7 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 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 let us celebrate marriages with one with another. Give us your daughters, and receive our daughters. 10 And live with us. The land is in your power: cultivate, trade, and possess it.” 11 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 Increase the dowry, and request gifts, and I will freely bestow what you will ask. Only give me this girl as a wife.” 13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father with deceit, being enraged at the rape of their sister: 14 “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 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 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 be circumcised, we will take our daughter and withdraw.” 18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 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 entering at the gate of the city, they spoke to the people: 21 “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 There is one thing that prevents so great a good: whether we will circumcise our males, imitating the ritual of their nation. 23 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 they all agreed to circumcise every one of the males. 25 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 They killed Hamor and Shechem together, taking their sister Dinah from the house of Shechem. 27 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 Taking their sheep, and herds, and donkeys, and laying waste to everything else that was in their houses and in their fields, 29 they also took their little ones and their wives captive. 30 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 They responded, “Should they abuse our sister like a prostitute?”