Judges 21:23

21 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.

22 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.

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.

24 And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.

25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which 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 again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

    Read in context