EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Judges 21:18
18But we cannot allow our daughters to marry them. We promised that we would never do that. We said, “God himself will punish anyone who allows his daughter to marry a man of Benjamin.”
Judges 21:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
- New International Version (NIV)We can’t give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: ‘Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.’
- English Standard Version (ESV)Yet we cannot give them wives from our daughters." For the people of Israel had sworn, "Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin."
- New King James Version (NKJV)However, we cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the children of Israel have sworn an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Benjamin.’ ”
Context of Judges 21:18
16The Israelite leaders asked, ‘How can we find wives for the other men of Benjamin? We killed all their own women. 17Benjamin's people who are still alive must have children. If they do not, their whole tribe will disappear. But we cannot allow our daughters to marry them. We promised that we would never do that. We said, “God himself will punish anyone who allows his daughter to marry a man of Benjamin.” 19But every year there is a big feast at Shiloh to give honour to the Lord. That will happen soon.’ Shiloh is north of Bethel and south of Lebonah. It is on the east side of the road from Bethel to Shechem. 20The Israelites told the men of Benjamin, ‘Go there and hide in the vineyards.
Read all of Judges 21Judges 21:18 word by word
וַאֲנַ֗חְנוּ לֹ֥א נוּכַ֛ל לָתֵת־לָהֶ֥ם נָשִׁ֖ים מִבְּנוֹתֵ֑ינוּ כִּֽי־נִשְׁבְּע֤וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר אָר֕וּר נֹתֵ֥ן אִשָּׁ֖ה לְבִנְיָמִֽן׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Howbeit we mayיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
- not giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: give(marriage)H5414
- them wivesאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- of our daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
- for the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- have swornשָׁבַעshâba‛ · to swearH7650
- sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Cursedאָרַר'ârar · to curseH779
- to Benjaminבִּנְיָמִיןbinyâmîyn · BenjaminH1144
Cross-references for Judges 21:18
- Judges 21:1The 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.’
- Judges 11:35When Jephthah saw her, he was so upset that he tore his clothes. He said, ‘Oh no! My daughter! You have made me very sad. I made a serious promise to the Lord and I must do what I promised.’
Commentaries on Judges 21:18
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18For the children of Israel have sworn - See Judges 21:1. Compare Saul‘s rash oath 1 Samuel 14:24, and his breach of the oath made to the Gideonites 2 Samuel 21:2. For the guilt of a broken oath, see Ezekiel 17:15-20; Exodus 20:7.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. 16-2116. the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain--Though the young women of Jabesh-gilead had been carefully spared, the supply was found inadequate, and some other expedient must be resorted to.Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 21:18
In the dictionaries
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
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