20 And Hamor cometh—Shechem his son also—unto the gate of their city, and they speak unto the men of their city, saying, 21 'These men are peaceable with us; then let them dwell in the land, and trade 'in' it; and the land, lo, 'is' wide before them; their daughters let us take to ourselves for wives, and our daughters give to them. 22 'Only for this do the men consent to us, to dwell with us, to become one people, in every male of us being circumcised, as they are circumcised; 23 their cattle, and their substance, and all their beasts—are they not ours? only let us consent to them, and they dwell with us.' 24 And unto Hamor, and unto Shechem his son, hearken do all those going out of the gate of his city, and every male is circumcised, all those going out of the gate of his city.
25 And it cometh to pass, on the third day, in their being pained, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, take each his sword, and come in against the city confidently, and slay every male; 26 and Hamor, and Shechem his son, they have slain by the mouth of the sword, and they take Dinah out of Shechem's house, and go out. 27 Jacob's sons have come in upon the wounded, and they spoil the city, because they had defiled their sister; 28 their flock and their herd, and their asses, and that which 'is' in the city, and that which 'is' in the field, have they taken; 29 and all their wealth, and all their infants, and their wives they have taken captive, and they spoil also all that 'is' in the house. 30 And Jacob saith unto Simeon and unto Levi, 'Ye have troubled me, by causing me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanite, and among the Perizzite: and I 'am' few in number, and they have been gathered against me, and have smitten me, and I have been destroyed, I and my house.' 31 And they say, 'As a harlot doth he make our sister?'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 34:20-31
Commentary on Genesis 34:20-31
(Read Genesis 34:20-31)
The Shechemites submitted to the sacred rite, only to serve a turn, to please their prince, and to enrich themselves, and it was just with God to bring punishment upon them. As nothing secures us better than true religion, so nothing exposes us more than religion only pretended to. But Simeon and Levi were most unrighteous. Those who act wickedly, under the pretext of religion, are the worst enemies of the truth, and harden the hearts of many to destruction. The crimes of others form no excuse for us. Alas! how one sin leads on to another, and, like flames of fire, spread desolation in every direction! Foolish pleasures lead to seduction; seduction produces wrath; wrath thirsts for revenge; the thirst of revenge has recourse to treachery; treachery issues in murder; and murder is followed by other lawless actions. Were we to trace the history of unlawful commerce between the sexes, we should find it, more than any other sin, ending in blood.