Dinah Is Attacked

34 At this time Dinah, the daughter of Leah ·and [^Lwhom she bore to] Jacob [30:21], went out to ·visit [see; or be seen with] the ·women [^Ldaughters] of the land. ² When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite [^Cone of the tribes that inhabited Canaan], the ·ruler [prince] of the land, saw her, he took her and ·forced her to have sexual relations with him [lay with her and humiliated/violated her]. ³ ·Shechem fell in love with Dinah [^LHis soul was bound to Dinah daugher of Jacob and he loved her], and he spoke kindly to her. ⁴ He told his father, Hamor, “Please get this girl for me ·so I can marry her [^Las a wife].”

⁵ Jacob ·learned how [^Lheard that] ·Shechem [^Lhe] had ·disgraced [defiled; made unclean] his daughter, but since his sons were out in the field with the cattle, Jacob ·said nothing [was silent] until they came home. ⁶ While he waited, Hamor father of Shechem went to talk with Jacob.

⁷ When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they came in from the field. They were [^Lupset/shocked/pained and] very angry that Shechem had done ·such a wicked thing [sacrilege; ^Lfolly] to Israel. It was wrong for him to ·have sexual relations [^Llie] with Jacob’s daughter; a thing like this should not be done.

⁸ But Hamor talked to Dinah’s brothers and said, “My son Shechem is deeply ·in love with [attached/bound to] Dinah. Please ·let him marry her [^Lgive her to him as a wife]. ⁹ ·Marry [Make marriages/Intermarry with] our people. Give your women [^Ldaughters] to ·our men as wives [^Lus] and take our ·women [^Ldaughters] for ·your men as wives [^Lyourselves]. ¹⁰ You can live in the same land with us. You will be free to own land and to trade here.”

¹¹ Shechem also talked to ·Jacob [^Lher father] and to Dinah’s brothers and said, “·Please accept my offer [^LLet me find grace/favor in your eyes]. I will give anything you ask. ¹² Ask as much as you want for the ·payment for the bride [bridal payment and gift; ^Ctraditional payments to the family], and I will give it to you. Just ·let me marry Dinah [^Lgive me the girl as a wife].”

¹³ Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father ·with lies [deceitfully; with duplicity], because Shechem had ·disgraced [defiled; made unclean] their sister Dinah. ¹⁴ The brothers said to them, “We cannot allow you [^Lto do this thing] to ·marry our sister [^Lgive our sister as a wife], because you are not circumcised. That would be a ·disgrace [reproach; shame] to us. ¹⁵ But we will ·allow you to marry her [^Lconsent] if you do this one thing: Every man in your town must be circumcised like us [17:10]. ¹⁶ Then ·your men can marry our women [^Lwe will give our daughers to you], and ·our men can marry your women [^Lwe will take your daughters for ourselves], and we will live in your land and become one people. ¹⁷ If you ·refuse [^Ldo not listen/obey us] to be circumcised, we will take ·Dinah [^Lour daughter] and ·leave [go].”

¹⁸ What they asked seemed fair to Hamor and Shechem [^Lthe son of Hamor]. ¹⁹ So ·Shechem quickly went to be circumcised [^Lthe man did not delay to do this thing] because he ·loved [delighted in] Jacob’s daughter.

Now Shechem was the most ·respected [honored] man in ·his family [^Lhis father’s house]. ²⁰ So Hamor and Shechem [^Lhis son] went to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, ²¹ “These people want to be friends with us. So let them live in our land and trade here. ·There is enough land [^LThe land is broad on both sides] for all of us. Let us ·marry their women [^Ltake their daughters as wives for ourselves], and ·we can let them marry our women [^Lgive them our daughters]. ²² But we must agree to one thing: All our men must be circumcised as they are. Then they will agree to live in our land, and we will be one people. ²³ If we do this, their cattle and their animals will belong to us. Let us do what they say, and they will stay in our land.” ²⁴ All the people who had come to the city gate heard this. They agreed with Hamor and Shechem [^Lhis son], and every man was circumcised.

²⁵ Three days later the men who were circumcised were still in pain. Two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi (Dinah’s brothers), took their swords and made a ·surprise [or bold] attack on the city, killing all the men there. ²⁶ They killed Hamor and his son Shechem and then took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and left. ²⁷ Jacob’s sons came upon the dead bodies and ·stole everything that was in [plundered] the city, ·to pay them back for what Shechem had done to [^Lbecause they had disgraced/defiled/made unclean] their sister. ²⁸ So the brothers took the flocks, herds, and donkeys, and everything in the city and in the fields. ²⁹ They ·took [^Lcaptured and plundered] every valuable thing the people owned, even their wives and children and everything in the houses.

³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have caused me a lot of trouble. ·Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites who live in the land will hate me [^LI will be a stench among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites]. Since there are only a few of us, if they join together to attack us, my people and I will be destroyed.”

³¹ But the brothers said, “·We will not allow our sister to be treated [Should they treat our sister…?] like a ·prostitute [whore].”