Judges 21:21

Judges 21:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
• New King James Version (NKJV)and watch; and just when the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, then come out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh; then go to the land of Benjamin.
• New Living Translation (NLT)When you see the young women of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out from the vineyards, and each of you can take one of them home to the land of Benjamin to be your wife!

Context of Judges 21:21

19But look, there is the annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh, which lies north of Bethel, east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” 20So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, “Go and hide in the vineyards and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, rush from the vineyards and each of you seize one of them to be your wife. Then return to the land of Benjamin. 22When 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.’ ” 23So that is what the Benjamites did. While the young women were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them.

Judges 21:21 word by word

וּרְאִיתֶ֗ם וְ֠הִנֵּה אִם־יֵ֨צְא֥וּ בְנוֹת־שִׁילוֹ֮ לָח֣וּל בַּמְּחֹלוֹת֒ וִֽיצָאתֶם֙ מִן־הַכְּרָמִ֔ים וַחֲטַפְתֶּ֥ם לָכֶ֛ם אִ֥ישׁ אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ מִבְּנ֣וֹת שִׁיל֑וֹ וַהֲלַכְתֶּ֖ם אֶ֥רֶץ בִּנְיָמִֽן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• and, behold, if the daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• of Shilohשִׁלוֹshîylôh shilôh shîylô shilô · ShilohH7887
• come outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• to danceחוּלchûl chîyl · to twist: danceH2342
• in dancesמְחוֹלָהmechôlâh · danceH4246
• of the vineyardsכֶּרֶםkerem · vineyardH3754
• and catchחָטַףchâţaph · to catchH2414
• you every manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• his wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
• and goהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• to the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Benjaminבִּנְיָמִיןbinyâmîyn · BenjaminH1144

Cross-references for Judges 21:21

• Judges 11:34When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter.
• Exodus 15:20Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing.
• 1 Samuel 18:6When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres.
• 2 Samuel 6:14Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might,
• Psalms 149:3Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
• Psalms 150:4praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe,
• Ecclesiastes 3:4a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
• Jeremiah 31:13Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
• Matthew 10:17Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.
• Luke 17:25But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

Commentaries on Judges 21:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21And catch you every man his wife - That is, Let each man of the two hundred Benjamites seize and carry off a woman, whom he is, from that hour, to consider as his wife.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 21:21

• Dancing
• Government
• Grape
• Kidnapping
• Marriage
• Rashness
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Benjamin
• Shiloh
• Benjamin, Benjaminite
• Dance
• JabeshGilead
• Samuel
• Spring
• Wolf
• Israel, History of
• Jabesh-Gilead

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