Judges 21:23
21 and watch. When you see the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, each of you is to come out of the vineyards, catch for himself a wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
22 When their fathers or brothers come to us to complain, we will tell them, ‘Do us a favor by helping them, since we did not get wives for each of them in the war. Since you did not actually give them your daughters, you have no guilt.’”
The Benjamites did as instructed and carried away the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and settled in them.
24 And at that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and clan, each to his own inheritance.
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- The Benjamites did as instructed and carried away the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and settled in them.
- KJV
- And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
- WEB
- The children of Benjamin did so, and took wives for themselves according to their number, of those who danced, whom they carried off. They went and returned to their inheritance, built the cities, and lived in them.
- ASV
- And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they carried off: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them.
- DARBY
- And the children of Benjamin did so, and took wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught; and they went and returned to their inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them.
- BLB
- And the sons of Benjamin did so, and they took enough wives for their number from those who danced, whom they caught. And they went and returned to their inheritance, and they rebuilt the cities and dwelt in them.
- ÅB
- Og Benjamins barn gjorde slik og tok seg hver sin hustru, så mange som de var, blant de dansende kvinner som de røvet; og de dro avsted og vendte tilbake til sin arvedel og bygget opp igjen byene og ble boende der.
- OTB
- Benjaminittene gjorde slik og tok koner etter sitt antall fra dem som danset, som de tok. Så vendte de tilbake til sin arv, gjenoppbygde byene og bosatte seg i dem.
- B1930
- Og Benjamins barn gjorde således og tok sig hver sin hustru, så mange som de var, blandt de dansende kvinner som de røvet; og de drog avsted og vendte tilbake til sin arvedel og bygget op igjen byene og blev boende der.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Judges 20:48
And the men of Israel turned back against the other Benjamites and put to the sword all the cities, including the animals and everything else they found. And they burned down all the cities in their path.
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