1. At Mizpah, the men of Israel made a promise. This was their promise: “Not one of us will let his daughter marry a man from the tribe of Benjamin.”
2. The Israelites went to the city of Bethel. There they sat before God until evening. They cried loudly as they sat there.
3. They said to God, “Lord, you are the God of the Israelites. Why has this terrible thing happened to us? Why has one tribe of the Israelites been taken away?”
4. Early the next day, the Israelites built an altar. They put burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to God on that altar.
5. Then the Israelites said, “Are there any tribes of Israel who did not come here to meet with us before the Lord?” They asked this question because they had made a serious promise. They had promised that anyone who did not come together with the other tribes at the city of Mizpah would be killed.
6. Then the Israelites felt sorry for their relatives, the people of Benjamin. They said, “Today, one tribe has been separated from Israel.
7. We made a promise with an oath before the Lord. We promised not to allow our daughters to marry a man from Benjamin. How can we make sure that the men of Benjamin will have wives?”
8. Then the Israelites asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel did not come here to Mizpah? We have come together before the Lord. Surely one family was not here!” Then they found that no one from the city of Jabesh Gilead had met together with the other Israelites.
9. The Israelites counted everyone to see who was there and who was not. They found that no one from Jabesh Gilead was there.
10. So the Israelites sent 12,000 soldiers to the city of Jabesh Gilead. They told the soldiers, “Go to Jabesh Gilead, and use your swords to kill everyone who lives there, even the women and children.