Judges 21:18

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 Living Translation (NLT)But we cannot give them our own daughters in marriage because we have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this will fall under God’s curse.”

Context of Judges 21:18

16Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” 17And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe may not be destroyed from Israel. 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.’ ” 19Then they said, “In fact, there is a yearly feast of the Lord in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” 20Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go, lie in wait in the vineyards,

Judges 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 21:1Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”
• Judges 11:35And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot go back on it.”

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

• Government
• Rashness

In the dictionaries

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