Judges 21:22

Judges 21:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty.
• New International Version (NIV)When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Do us the favor of helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war. You will not be guilty of breaking your oath because you did not give your daughters to them.’ ”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, 'Grant them graciously to us, because we did not take for each man of them his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, else you would now be guilty.'"
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, that we will say to them, ‘Be kind to them for our sakes, because we did not take a wife for any of them in the war; for it is not as though you have given the women to them at this time, making yourselves guilty of your oath.’ ”

Context of Judges 21:22

20Then they commanded the Benjaminites, “Go and hide in the vineyards. 21Watch, and when you see the young women of Shiloh come out to perform the dances, each of you leave the vineyards and catch a wife for yourself from the young women of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. When their fathers or brothers come to us and protest, we will tell them, ‘Show favor to them, since we did not get enough wives for each of them in the battle. You didn’t actually give the women to them, so you are not guilty of breaking your oath.’” 23The Benjaminites did this and took the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and lived in them. 24At that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and family. Each returned from there to his own inheritance.

Judges 21:22 word by word

וְהָיָ֡ה כִּֽי־יָבֹ֣אוּ אֲבוֹתָם֩ א֨וֹ אֲחֵיהֶ֜ם לָרִ֣יב אֵלֵ֗ינוּ וְאָמַ֤רְנוּ אֲלֵיהֶם֙ חָנּ֣וּנוּ אוֹתָ֔ם כִּ֣י לֹ֥א לָקַ֛חְנוּ אִ֥ישׁ אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ בַּמִּלְחָמָ֑ה כִּ֣י לֹ֥א אַתֶּ֛ם נְתַתֶּ֥ם לָהֶ֖ם כָּעֵ֥ת תֶּאְשָֽׁמוּ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it shall be, when their fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• or their brethrenאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
• comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• unto us to complainרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
• that we will sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto them, Be favourableחָנַןchânan · be graciousH2603
• unto them for our sakes: because we reservedלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• not to each manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• his wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
• in the warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
• for ye did not giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: give(marriage)H5414
• unto them at this timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• ye should be guiltyאָשַׁם'âsham 'âshêm · be guiltyH816

Cross-references for Judges 21:22

• Philemon 1:9I appeal to you, instead, on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an elderly man and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus,
• Judges 21:14Benjamin returned at that time, and Israel gave them the women they had kept alive from Jabesh-gilead. But there were not enough for them.
• Genesis 1:27So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.
• Genesis 7:13On that same day Noah and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, entered the ark, along with Noah’s wife and his three sons’ wives.
• Mark 10:6But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.
• 1 Corinthians 7:2But because sexual immorality is so common, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman should have sexual relations with her own husband.
• Judges 21:1The men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah: “None of us will give his daughter to a Benjaminite in marriage.”
• Proverbs 20:25It is a trap for anyone to dedicate something rashly and later to reconsider his vows.

Commentaries on Judges 21:22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Be favorable unto them - They promise to use their influence with the men of Shiloh to induce them to consent to a connection thus fraudulently obtained, and which the necessity of the case appeared to them to justify. We reserved not to each man his wife in the war - The reading of the Vulgate is very remarkable: Miseremini eorum, non enim rapuerunt eas jure bellantium atque victorum, sed rogantibus ut acciperent non dedistis, et a vestra parte peccatum…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22Ye did not give … - i. e., they had not broken the oath mentioned in Judges 21:1, so as to be guilty of taking the Lord‘s name in vain. They did not give their daughters to Benjamin: the Benjamites had taken them by force. Such casuistry as this condemns the system of oaths, and illustrates the wisdom of our Lord‘s precept Matthew 5:33-37.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-25These two epilogues (Judges 17–18 and 19–21) show that inspired but unstructured leadership cannot last. As society moved toward chaos and civil war, the phrase, In those days there was no king in Israel appears four times. The phrase, everyone did what was right in his own eyes is added twice (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). The era of inspired leadership declined and ended in disorder. Something important was missing.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 21-2221-22. daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances--The dance was anciently a part of the religious observance. It was done on festive occasions, as it is still in the East, not in town, but in the open air, in some adjoining field, the women being by themselves. The young women being alone indulging their light and buoyant spirits, and apprehensive of no danger, facilitated the execution of the scheme of seizing them, which closely resembles the…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 21:22

• Government
• Kidnapping
• Marriage
• Rashness

In the dictionaries

• JabeshGilead
• Spring
• Wolf
• Israel, History of
• Jabesh-Gilead
• Judges, Book of
• Judges, Period of
• Dance

Commentaries on Judges 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary