Judges 21:1

Judges 21:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
• New International Version (NIV)The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, "No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”

Context of Judges 21:1

The Israelites had made a promise to the Lord at Mizpah. They agreed together, ‘None of us will allow our daughters to marry a man of Benjamin's tribe.’ 2After the war against Benjamin's army, the people went to Bethel to meet with God. They sat there until evening. They could not stop weeping loudly. 3They said, ‘Lord, Israel's God, why has this terrible thing happened in Israel? We have lost one whole tribe of Israel.’

Judges 21:1 word by word

וְאִ֣ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל נִשְׁבַּ֥ע בַּמִּצְפָּ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר אִ֣ישׁ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ לֹא־יִתֵּ֥ן בִּתּ֛וֹ לְבִנְיָמִ֖ן לְאִשָּֽׁה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Now the menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• had swornשָׁבַעshâba‛ · to swearH7650
• in Mizpehמִצְפָּהmitspâh · MizpahH4709
• sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• There shall not anyאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• of us giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: give(marriage)H5414
• his daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• unto Benjaminבִּנְיָמִיןbinyâmîyn · BenjaminH1144
• to wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802

Cross-references for Judges 21:1

• Judges 20:1Then all the Israelites agreed to come together. They came from everywhere in Israel, from Dan in the north as far as Beersheba in the south. They also came from the Gilead region on the east side of the Jordan River. They all came together at Mizpah, to meet with the Lord.
• Jeremiah 4:2You must be honest and do what is right. You must do what you promise to do. You can show that your promise is true when you add, “As surely as the Lord is alive.” Then other nations will see that I have blessed you. They will pray that I will bless them too. and they will praise me.’
• Judges 21:5Then the Israelites asked, ‘Which people from Israel's tribes did not join us when we all met together at Mizpah?’ They asked this because they had made a serious promise at Mizpah. They had said, ‘We must punish with death anyone who does not join us here to meet with the Lord.’
• Judges 11:30Jephthah promised the Lord, ‘Please let us win the battle against the Ammonites.
• 1 Samuel 14:24The Israelite soldiers became very weak and hungry that day. Saul had told his army to agree to this promise: ‘Nobody may eat any food before this evening. By then I will have won against my enemies. If anyone eats anything before then, may God curse him!’ So no soldier in Saul's army ate any food.
• Ecclesiastes 5:2You should not speak too soon. Think carefully before you make a promise to God. God is in heaven and you are here on the earth. So do not say too much.
• Mark 6:23He made a strong promise, ‘I will give you anything that you ask me to give to you. I will even give you half of everything that I rule over.’
• Acts 23:12The next morning, a group of Jews talked together about how they might kill Paul. They agreed to make a promise to God. They would not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul.
• Romans 10:2I can say this about them: They really want to serve God well. But they do not understand the right way to do this.
• Exodus 34:12Do not make any agreements with those people in the land where you are going. If you become their friends, they would teach you to do wrong things.
• Deuteronomy 7:2The Lord your God will put those people under your power so that you win against them. When that happens, you must destroy them completely as a gift to God. Do not make any agreement with them to keep them safe. Do not be kind to them.

Commentaries on Judges 21:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Now the men of Israel had sworn - Of this oath we had not heard before; but it appears they had commenced this war with a determination to destroy the Benjamites utterly, and that if any of them escaped the sword no man should be permitted to give him his daughter to wife. By these means the remnant of the tribe must soon have been annihilated.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The Israelites lament for the Benjamites. --Israel lamented for the Benjamites, and were perplexed by the oath they had taken, not to give their daughters to them in marriage. Men are more zealous to support their own authority than that of God. They would have acted better if they had repented of their rash oaths, brought sin-offerings, and sought forgiveness in the appointed way, rather than attempt to avoid the guilt of perjury by actions quite as…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1In Judges, for the second time, a foolish vow caused problems for those who made it (see study note on Judges 11:31).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-152-5. the people came to the house of God, ... and lifted up their voices, and wept sore--The characteristic fickleness of the Israelites was not long in being displayed; for scarcely had they cooled from the fierceness of their sanguinary vengeance, than they began to relent and rushed to the opposite extreme of self-accusation and grief at the desolation which their impetuous zeal had produced. Their victory saddened and humbled them. Their feelings on…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 21:1

• Rashness

In the dictionaries

• Benjamin
• Israel
• Benjamin, Benjaminite
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• JabeshGilead
• Mizpah
• Spring
• Wolf
• Israel, History of

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