Judges 21

1 Now the men [individuals, males] of Israel [the descendants of Jacob] had sworn [made a promise, vowed] an oath [a solemn promise] at Mizpah [a place of watchfulness], saying, “Not one of us [none, no one] will give [provide, offer] his daughter [female child, woman] in marriage [to be a wife] to a Benjamite [a member of the tribe of Benjamin, son of the right hand].” word study 2 So the people [a nation, a large group] came to Bethel [the house of God, a sacred place] and sat there [remained, dwelled] before God [in the presence of the Almighty] until evening [sunset, the end of the day], lifting up their voices [crying out, weeping loudly] and weeping [with great lamentation] [in sorrow and grief] bitterly. word study 3 “Why, O LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] God [Elohim, the supreme God] of Israel,” they cried out, “has this [such a tragic event] happened in Israel? Today [at this present time] in Israel one tribe [a clan or family group] is missing [lacking, cut off]!” word study 4 The next day [on the morrow, tomorrow] the people [a nation, Amaw] got up early [rose, started the day], built [established, constructed] an altar [a place of sacrifice] there [in that location], and presented [offered, caused to ascend] burnt offerings [steps to the altar, olot] and peace offerings [voluntary sacrifices, to show thanks]. word study 5 The Israelites [children of Israel, descendants of Jacob] asked, “Who [which one, what person] among all [every single one, the entire] the tribes [clans, families] of Israel did not come [fail to attend, was absent] to the assembly [gathering, congregation] before [in the presence of] the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]?” For they had taken [made, sworn] a solemn [great, sacred] oath [promise, vow] that anyone who failed [did not come, was absent] to come up [ascend, go up] before [to, towards] the LORD at Mizpah [the watchtower, a place of gathering] would surely [certainly, without exception] be put to death [die, be executed, suffer the penalty of death]. word study 6 And the Israelites [children of Israel, descendants of Jacob] grieved [repented, felt sorry] for their brothers [relatives, fellow countrymen], the Benjamites [son of the right hand, youngest son of Jacob], and said, “Today [this day, at this time] a tribe [one, single clan] is cut off [hacked off, destroyed] from Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, referring to his descendants]. word study 7 What [how, in what manner] should we do about wives [women, female partners] for the survivors [those who remain, the remnant], since we have sworn [made a vow, taken an oath] by the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] not to give [bestow, provide] them our daughters [female children, women] in marriage [as wives, in matrimony]?” word study 8 So they asked, “Which [what one, who] one of the tribes [a clan] of Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, also referring to his descendants] failed [did not, was absent] to come up [to ascend, to rise] before the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] at Mizpah [a watchtower, a place in Palestine]?” And, in fact, no one [not a single person, no man] from Jabesh-gilead [a name of an Israelite] had come [to go, to approach] to the camp [an army, a group of people] for the assembly [a group of people gathered together, a congregation]. word study 9 For when the people [a nation, a group of individuals] were counted [to reckon, to oversee], none [not one, nothing] of the residents [those who dwell, inhabitants] of Jabesh-gilead [a town in Gilead, a region east of the Jordan] were there [in that place, at that time]. word study 10 So the congregation [gathering of people, assembly] sent 12,000 of their most valiant [strongest, courageous] men and commanded [gave orders, appointed] them: “Go [walk, proceed] and put to the sword [smite, strike with the edge] those living [dwelling, inhabiting] in Jabesh-gilead [Jabesh of Gilead, a town in the region], including [with, together with] women [females, wives] and children [little ones, infants]. word study 11 This is what you are to do: Devote [utterly destroy, dedicate to God] to destruction every male [man, male person], as well as every female [woman, wife] who has had [known, lain with] relations [intimate contact, slept with] with a man [male, husband].” word study 12 So they found [discovered, came across] among the inhabitants [dwellers, residents] of Jabesh-gilead [a town in the territory of Gilead] four hundred [a large number, 400] young women [maidens, virgins] who had not had [never experienced, been untouched by] relations [intimate knowledge, physical union] with a man [male, husband], and they brought [led, escorted] them to the camp [gathering place, army] at Shiloh [place of rest, a city of worship] in the land [territory, region] of Canaan [the promised land, a land of milk and honey]. word study 13 Then the whole [entire, complete] congregation [gathering of people, assembly] sent [dispatched, proclaimed] a message [word, proclamation] of peace [shalom, completeness and wellness] to the Benjamites [sons of Benjamin, descendants of the right hand] who were at the rock [crag, strong and secure place] of Rimmon [a Syrian deity, a city in Palestine]. word study 14 And at that [specific, appointed] time the Benjamites [sons of the right hand, tribe of Benjamin] returned [to their homes, turned back] and were given [provided, granted] the women [females, wives] who were spared [preserved, saved alive] from Jabesh-gilead [a town in Gilead, a region east of the Jordan]. But there were not enough [sufficient, adequate] women for all of them [to provide each with a wife]. word study 15 The people [nation, community] grieved [were sorry, repented] for Benjamin [son of the right hand], because the LORD [Yehovah, God] had made [created, brought about] a void [breach, gap] in the tribes [clans, families] of Israel [God’s chosen people]. word study 16 Then the elders [responsible men, leaders] of the congregation [gathering of people] said, “What [how] should we do [make, provide] about wives [women, female partners] for those who remain [are left, survive], since the women [females, wives] of Benjamin [son of the right hand, a tribe of Israel] have been destroyed [annihilated, devastated]?” word study 17 They added, “There must be heirs [an inheritance, a possession] for the survivors [escaped portion, those who remain] of Benjamin [son of the right hand], so that a tribe [a clan] of Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, his descendants] will not be wiped out [erased, blotted out, destroyed] [from existence, completely]. word study 18 But we [as the people of Israel] cannot give them our daughters [female children, women] as wives [to be married, in a covenant relationship].” For the Israelites [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob] had sworn [taken an oath, made a vow], “Cursed [to be under a divine curse, execrated] is he who gives [presents, bestows] a wife [a female partner, a helpmate] to a Benjamite [a member of the tribe of Benjamin, son of the right hand].” word study 19 “But look [behold, see],” they said, “there is a yearly [annual, from year to year] feast [festival, celebration] to the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] in Shiloh [place of rest], which is north [on the north side] of Bethel [house of God] east [on the east side] of the road [highway, public way] that goes up [ascends, rises] from Bethel to Shechem [shoulder, a city in Palestine], and south [on the south side] of Lebonah [frankincense, a town in Palestine].” word study 20 So they commanded [gave orders, appointed] the Benjamites [sons of Benjamin, descendants of the right hand]: “Go [walk, move], hide [lie in wait, ambush] in the vineyards [gardens, plots of land for growing vines] word study 21 and watch [be observant, keep a lookout]. When you see [behold, observe] the daughters [female children, young women] of Shiloh [place of rest, a city of worship] come out to perform their dances [twist, whirl, celebratory movements], each of you is to come out [go out, emerge] of the vineyards [gardens for growing vines], catch [seize, take quickly] for himself a wife [woman, female partner] from the daughters of Shiloh [young women of the city], and go [walk, journey] to the land [territory, region] of Benjamin [son of the right hand, a tribe of Israel]. word study 22 When their fathers [or male ancestors, family leaders] or brothers [close relatives, kin] come to us to complain [plead, argue, or dispute], we will tell them, ‘Do us a favor [be gracious, show kindness] by helping them, since we did not get [take, obtain] wives for each of them in the war [battle, conflict]. Since you did not actually [really, truly] give them your daughters [women, female family members], you have no guilt [blame, responsibility, shame].’” word study 23 The Benjamites [children of Benjamin, son of the right hand] did as instructed and carried away [took by force, plundered] the number [quantity, multitude] of women they needed from the dancers [those who danced, whirling] they caught [seized, took violently]. They went back [returned, turned back] to their own inheritance [possession, heritage], rebuilt [restored, built again] their cities [towns, settlements], and settled [dwelt, lived] in them. word study 24 And at that [specific, appointed] time, each of the Israelites [sons of Jacob, God’s chosen people] returned from there [that place, thence] to his own [tribal, family] tribe [clan] and clan [family, nation], each to his own [allotted, inherited] inheritance [property, family heirloom, divine gift]. word study 25 In those days [a period of time, an era] there was no king [ruler, monarch] in Israel [the descendants of Jacob]; everyone [each man, individually] did what was right [just, straight, convenient] in his own eyes [from his own perspective, as seemed best to him]. word study