Genesis 34:9
New International Version
Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves.

New Living Translation
In fact, let’s arrange other marriages, too. You give us your daughters for our sons, and we will give you our daughters for your sons.

English Standard Version
Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.

Berean Standard Bible
Intermarry with us; give us your daughters, and take our daughters for yourselves.

King James Bible
And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.

New King James Version
And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves.

New American Standard Bible
And intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves.

NASB 1995
“Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves.

NASB 1977
“And intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.

Legacy Standard Bible
And intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves.

Amplified Bible
And [beyond that] intermarry with us; give your daughters to us [as wives] and take our daughters for yourselves.

Christian Standard Bible
Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.

American Standard Version
And make ye marriages with us; give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.

Contemporary English Version
Why don't you start letting your families marry into our families and ours marry into yours?

English Revised Version
And make ye marriages with us; give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take ours for yourselves.

Good News Translation
Let us make an agreement that there will be intermarriage between our people and yours.

International Standard Version
Intermarry with us. Give your daughters to us and take our sons for yourselves.

Majority Standard Bible
Intermarry with us; give us your daughters, and take our daughters for yourselves.

NET Bible
Intermarry with us. Let us marry your daughters, and take our daughters as wives for yourselves.

New Heart English Bible
Arrange marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.

Webster's Bible Translation
And make ye marriages with us: give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to you.

World English Bible
Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and join in marriage with us; you give your daughters to us, and you take our daughters for yourselves,

Young's Literal Translation
and join ye in marriage with us; your daughters ye give to us, and our daughters ye take to yourselves,

Smith's Literal Translation
And contract ye marriages with us; ye shall give your daughters to us, and ye shall take our daughters to you.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And let us contract marriages one with another: give us your daughters and take you our daughters,

Catholic Public Domain Version
And let us celebrate marriages with one with another. Give us your daughters, and receive our daughters.

New American Bible
Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.

New Revised Standard Version
Make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Intermarry with us, and give your daughters to us in marriage, and take our daughters to you,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And be married with us; give your daughter to us and take our daughters to yourselves.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And make ye marriages with us; give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
and intermarry with us. Give us your daughters, and take our daughters for your sons.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Defiling of Dinah
8But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. 9Intermarry with us; give us your daughters, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10You may settle among us, and the land will be open to you. Live here, move about freely, and acquire your own property.”…

Cross References
Exodus 34:16
And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.

Deuteronomy 7:3-4
Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, / because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you.

Joshua 23:12-13
For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them, / know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you.

1 Kings 11:1-2
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. / These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love.

Nehemiah 13:25-27
I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves! / Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin. / Must we now hear that you too are doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?”

Judges 3:5-6
Thus the Israelites continued to live among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. / And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

Ezra 9:12
Now, therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and may eat the good things of the land, leaving it as an inheritance to your sons forever.’

2 Corinthians 6:14-17
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? / What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? / What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” ...

1 Corinthians 7:39
A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as he belongs to the Lord.

1 Corinthians 9:5
Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?

2 Corinthians 11:2
I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

Ephesians 5:31
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

Matthew 19:4-6
Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ / and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? / So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

Mark 10:6-9
However, from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ / ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, / and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ...

Romans 7:2-3
For instance, a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. / So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.


Treasury of Scripture

And make you marriages with us, and give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to you.

Genesis 6:2
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

Genesis 19:14
And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

Genesis 24:3
And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

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Daughters Intermarry Join Joined Marriage Marriages Peoples Together Yourselves
Genesis 34
1. Dinah is ravished by Shechem.
4. He requests to marry her.
13. The sons of Jacob offer the condition of circumcision to the Shechemites.
20. Hamor and Shechem persuade them to accept it.
25. The sons of Jacob upon that advantage slay them, and spoil their city.
30. Jacob reproves Simeon and Levi.














Intermarry with us
The phrase "intermarry with us" is a direct invitation from the Hivites to Jacob's family, suggesting a union that goes beyond mere social interaction to a deep familial and cultural integration. In the Hebrew context, the word for "intermarry" (Hebrew: "chathan") implies a binding relationship through marriage. Historically, intermarriage was a common practice among tribes and nations to secure alliances and peace. However, from a conservative Christian perspective, this proposal is fraught with spiritual danger, as it threatens the distinctiveness of God's chosen people. The Israelites were called to be set apart, and intermarriage with pagan nations often led to idolatry and a dilution of faith, as seen in other biblical narratives.

give us your daughters
This part of the verse highlights the transactional nature of marriage in ancient times, where daughters were often given in marriage to form alliances or secure peace. The Hebrew culture placed significant value on family lineage and heritage, and daughters were seen as vital links in the continuation of a family's legacy. From a scriptural standpoint, the giving of daughters to the Hivites would mean a compromise of the covenantal promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It underscores the tension between cultural practices and divine mandates, reminding believers of the importance of adhering to God's commands over societal norms.

and take our daughters for yourselves
The reciprocal offer to "take our daughters for yourselves" further emphasizes the mutual exchange intended to solidify the bond between Jacob's family and the Hivites. In the ancient Near Eastern context, such exchanges were not merely personal but had significant political and social implications. The Hivites' offer reflects their desire for integration and acceptance, yet it poses a spiritual risk for Jacob's descendants. Theologically, this phrase serves as a cautionary reminder of the potential consequences of compromising one's faith and values for the sake of societal acceptance or convenience. It calls Christians to remain vigilant in maintaining their spiritual integrity amidst external pressures.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Intermarry with us;
וְהִֽתְחַתְּנ֖וּ (wə·hiṯ·ḥat·tə·nū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hitpael - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 2859: To give, away in marriage, to contract affinity by marriage

give
תִּתְּנוּ־ (tit·tə·nū-)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

us
לָ֔נוּ (lā·nū)
Preposition | first person common plural
Strong's Hebrew

your daughters,
בְּנֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ (bə·nō·ṯê·ḵem)
Noun - feminine plural construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 1323: A daughter

and take
תִּקְח֥וּ (tiq·ḥū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 3947: To take

our daughters
בְּנֹתֵ֖ינוּ (bə·nō·ṯê·nū)
Noun - feminine plural construct | first person common plural
Strong's 1323: A daughter

for yourselves.
לָכֶֽם׃ (lā·ḵem)
Preposition | second person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew


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OT Law: Genesis 34:9 Make marriages with us (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 34:8
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