Now Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit some women of that region. And when Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, ruler of the region, saw her, he took her and slept with her by force. And he fell in love with Dinah, and he spoke kindly to her and tried to win her heart. And he said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.”
And Jacob heard that Shechem had violated his daughter Dinah. But since his sons were out with the livestock in the open country, Jacob did nothing until they returned. And when his sons heard what had happened, they came back, and they were outraged, because he had committed an outrage in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter, a thing not to be done.
Then Shechem’s father Hamor came out to Jacob to talk the matter over with him. And he said, “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife, and make a marriage alliance with us: give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. And live among us, settle in our land, move around freely in it, and acquire property.”
And Shechem said to her father and brothers, “Do me this favor; and I will pay whatever you ask. Name as high a bride-price as you want and I will pay it. Just give me the girl as my wife.”
And Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor, and they spoke deceitfully, because he had violated their sister Dinah, “We can’t give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised — that is a disgrace among us. Only on one condition will we consent: if every male among you is circumcised as we are. Then we will give you our daughters, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people. But if you don’t agree to be circumcised, we will take our sister [Hebrew Text: daughter] and go.”
And their request seemed fair to Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. And the young man lost no time in doing what they had said, because he greatly desired Jacob’s daughter. (He was the most respected man in his father’s household.)
And Hamor and his son Shechem went to the city council and said to the men of the city/These men have come to us in peace. Let them settle in our land and move around freely in it: the land is large enough to include them. We will take their daughters as wives and give them our daughters. But the men will consent to live with us and become one people only on this condition: that every male among us be circumcised, as they are. Won’t their cattle, their possessions, and all their animals be advantageous for us? Let us agree to their terms, so that they will settle among us.”
And all the able-bodied men of the city agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised [Septuagint (ancient Greek translation): on the flesh of his foreskin]. And on the third day, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s full brothers, took their swords and entered the city unopposed. And they cut down Hamor and his son Shechem and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left. The sons of Jacob attacked the ailing men [reading hahōlîm] [25: and killed every male] and plundered the city, because their sister had been violated. They took their sheep, their oxen, their donkeys, everything inside the city and outside it, all their wealth; and they took all their children and women as slaves [Hebrew Text: and plundered everything in the house].
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have stirred up trouble for me and made me hateful to the people of this region, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. And since my numbers are few, they will join forces and attack me, and I will be destroyed, with all my family.”
And they said, “Should we let our sister be treated like a whore?”
And they departed. And a great terror fell on the cities all around, and none of them pursued the sons of Jacob.