- And Dina, the daughter of Lea, whom she
bore to Jacob, went forth to observe the
daughters of the inhabitants.
- And Sychem
the son of Emmor the [a] Evite, the ruler of
the land, saw her, and took her and lay with
her, and humbled her.
- And he was attached
to the soul of Dina the daughter of
Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and he
spoke [b] kindly to the damsel.
- Sychem spoke
to Emmor his father, saying, Take for me
this damsel to wife.
- 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.
- And Emmor the father of
Sychem went forth to Jacob, to speak to
him.
- 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 [c] must not be.
- 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 intermarry with us.
Give us your daughters, and take our daughters
for your sons.
- 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 Sychem said to her
father and to her brothers, I would find
grace before you, and we will give whatever
ye shall name.
- Multiply your demand of
dowry very much, and I will give accordingly
as ye shall say to me, only ye shall give
me this damsel for a wife.
- And the sons of Jacob answered to
Sychem and Emmor his father craftily, and
spoke to them, because they had defiled
Dina their sister.
- 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.
- Only on these
terms will we conform to you, and dwell
among you, if ye also will be as we are,
in that every male of you be circumcised.
- 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.
- But if ye
will not hearken to us to be circumcised,
we will take our daughter and depart.
- And the words pleased Emmor, and
Sychem the son of Emmor.
- And the
young man delayed not to do this [d] thing,
for he was much attached to Jacob's daughter,
and he was the most honourable of all
in his father's house.
- And Emmor and
Sychem his son came to the gate of their
city, and spoke to the men of their city,
saying,
- These men are peaceable, 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.
- 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.
- And shall not their cattle and
their [e] herds, and their possessions, be ours?
only in this let us conform to them,
and they will dwell with us.
- And all
that went in at the gate of their city
hearkened to Emmor and Sychem his son,
and they were circumcised in the flesh of
their foreskin every male.
- 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 slew every male.
- And they slew Emmor and Sychem his
son with the edge of the sword, and took
Dina out of the house of Sychem, and went
forth.
- But the sons of Jacob came upon
the [f] wounded, and ravaged the city wherein
they had defiled Dina their sister.
- And
their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses
they took, and all things whatsoever were
in the city, and whatsoever were in the
plain.
- 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.
- And
Jacob said to Symeon and Levi, Ye have
made me hateful so that I should be evil
to all the inhabitants of the land, both
among 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.
- And they said, Nay, but shall
they treat our sister as an harlot?
[a] Alex. the chorrhæan.
[b] Lit. spoke according to the
heart of the damsel -- to her. A literal version of the Hebrew.
[c] Lit. shall not be.
[d] Gr. word.
[e] Gr. quadrupeds.
[f] Or, slain, which seems
frequently the sense in LXX.
[English translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee
Brenton (1807-1862) originally published by Samuel Bagster & Sons,
Ltd., London, 1851]