1. Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”
2. Then the people came to the house of God, and remained there before God till evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly,
3. and said, “O Lord God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel?”
4. So it was, on the next morning, that the people rose early and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.