But because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully.
Parallel translations
- WEB The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit, and spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister,
- KJV And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:
- NKJV But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.
- NASB But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled their sister Dinah.
- NLT But since Shechem had defiled their sister, Dinah, Jacob’s sons responded deceitfully to Shechem and his father, Hamor.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jacob's sons answer Shechem and Hamor deceitfully because their sister had been defiled.
Overview
The narrator openly labels the brothers' reply as deceit, condemning their treachery even while acknowledging the genuine wrong done to Dinah. Scripture does not approve their method; it records honestly that they used a sacred sign as a weapon of revenge. This sets the moral frame for the violence to come, which Jacob later denounces.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Job 13:7Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf or speak deceitfully for Him?
- 2 Sam 13:23–29Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, he invited all the sons of the king.
- Prov 24:28–29Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.
- Rom 12:19Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- Gen 25:27–34When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.
- Prov 12:18–20Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
- Ps 12:2They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
- Matt 28:13and instructed them: “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’
- Prov 26:24–26A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
- Isa 59:13rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.
- Job 13:4You, however, smear with lies; you are all worthless physicians.
- Prov 12:13An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech, but a righteous man escapes from trouble.
- Mic 7:2The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.
- Judg 15:3Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless in doing harm to the Philistines.”
- 1 Th 5:15Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 34:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.