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

20And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, 21and watch; and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to take part in the dances, then you shall come out of the vineyards, and each of you shall seize his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we shall say to them, ‘Give them to us voluntarily, because we did not take for each man of Benjamin a wife in battle, nor did you give them to them, otherwise you would now be guilty.’” 23The sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their number from those who danced, whom they seized. And they went and returned to their inheritance, and rebuilt the cities and lived in them. 24And the sons of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one departed from there to his 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

• And whenכִּיkîy · forH3588
• their fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• orאוֹ'ô 'av · orH176
• their brothersאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
• comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to complainרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
• to us, we shall sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Giveחָנַןchânan · be graciousH2603
• we did not takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• for eachאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• a wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
• in battleמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
• norלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• did you giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: give(marriage)H5414
• otherwise you would nowעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• be guiltyאָשַׁם'âsham 'âshêm · be guiltyH816

Cross-references for Judges 21:22

• Philemon 1:9yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you--since I am such a person as Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus--
• Judges 21:14And the tribe of Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had allowed to live from the women of Jabesh-gilead; but they were not enough for them.
• Genesis 1:27So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
• Genesis 7:13On this very same day Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark,
• Mark 10:6But from the beginning of creation, God created them male and female.
• 1 Corinthians 7:2But because of sexual immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.
• Judges 21:1Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin in marriage.”
• Proverbs 20:25It is a trap for a person to say carelessly, “It is holy!” And after the vows to make inquiry.

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