TRV
Translation
King James Version
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.
KJV (with Strong's)
And it shall be, when their fathers H1 or their brethren H251 come H935 unto us to complain H7378, that we will say H559 unto them, Be favourable H2603 unto them for our sakes: because we reserved H3947 not to each man H376 his wife H802 in the war H4421: for ye did not give H5414 unto them at this time H6256, that ye should be guilty H816.
Complete Jewish Bible
When their fathers or brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, 'Give them as a personal favor to us, because we didn't take wives for each of them in battle. You didn't give them to them; that would have made you guilty of breaking your oath.'"
Berean Standard Bible
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.’”
American Standard Version
And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come to complain unto us, that we will say unto them, Grant them graciously unto us, because we took not for each man of them his wife in battle, neither did ye give them unto them, else would ye now be guilty.
World English Bible Messianic
It shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we will say to them, ‘Grant them graciously to us, because we didn’t take for each man his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, otherwise you would now be guilty.’”
Geneva Bible (1599)
And when their fathers or their brethren come vnto vs to complaine, we wil say vnto them, Haue pitie on them for our sakes, because we reserued not to eche man his wife in the warre, and because ye haue not giuen vnto them hitherto, ye haue sinned.
Young's Literal Translation
and it hath been, when their fathers or their brethren come in to plead unto us, that we have said unto them, Favour us by them, for we have not taken to each his wife in battle, for ye--ye have not given to them at this time that ye are guilty.'
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In the KJVVerse 7,125 of 31,102
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Commentary on Judges 21 verses 16–25
16 ¶ Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?
17 And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
18 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.
19 Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
20 Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
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.
23 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.
We have here the method that was taken to provide the 200 Benjamites that remained with wives. And, though the tribe was reduced to a small number, they were only in care to provide each man with one wife, not with more under pretence of multiplying them the faster. They may not bestow their daughters upon them, but to save their oath, and yet marry some of their daughters to them, they put them into a way of taking them by surprise, and marrying them, which should be ratified by their parents' consent, ex post facto - afterwards. The less consideration is used before the making of a vow, the more, commonly, there is need of afterwards for the keeping of it.
I. That which gave an opportunity for the doing of this was a public ball at Shiloh, in the fields, at which all the young ladies of that city and the parts adjacent that were so disposed met to dance, in honour of a feast of the Lord then observed, probably the feast of tabernacles (Jdg 21:19), for that feast (bishop Patrick says) was the only season wherein the Jewish virgins were allowed to dance, and that not so much for their own recreation as to express their holy joy, as David when he danced before the ark, otherwise the present melancholy posture of public affairs would have made dancing unseasonable, as Isa 22:12, Isa 22:13. The dancing was very modest and chaste. It was not mixed dancing; no men danced with these daughters of Shiloh, nor did any married women so far forget their gravity as to join with them. However their dancing thus in public made them an easy prey to those that had a design upon them, whence bishop Hall observes that the ambushes of evil spirits carry away many souls from dancing to a fearful desolation.
II. The elders of Israel gave authority to the Benjamites to do this, to lie in wait in the vineyards which surrounded the green they used to dance on, and, when they were in the midst of their sport, to come upon them, and catch every man a wife for himself, and carry them straight away to their own country, Jdg 21:20, Jdg 21:21. They knew that none of their own daughters would be there, so that the parents of these virgins could not be said to give them, for they knew nothing of the matter. A sorry salvo is better than none, to save the breaking of an oath: it were much better to be cautious in making vows, that there be not occasion afterwards, as there was here, to say before the angel that it was an error. Here was a very preposterous way of match-making, when both the mutual affection of the young people and the consent of the parents must be presumed to come after; the case was extraordinary, and may by no means be drawn into a precedent. Over hasty marriages often occasion a leisurely repentance; and what comfort can be expected from a match made either by force or fraud? The virgins of Jabesh-Gilead were taken out of the midst of blood and slaughter, but these of Shiloh out of the midst of mirth and joy; the former had reason to be thankful that they had their lives for a prey, and the latter, it is to be hoped, had no cause to complain, after a while, when they found themselves matched, not to men of broken and desperate fortunes, as they seemed to be, who were lately fetched out of a cave, but to men of the best and largest estates in the nation, as they must needs be when the lot of the whole tribe of Benjamin, which consisted of 45,600 men (Num 26:41), came to be divided again among 600, who had all by survivorship.
III. They undertook to pacify the fathers of these young women. As to the infringement of their paternal authority, they would easily forgive it when they considered to what fair estates their daughters were matched and what mothers in Israel they were likely to be; but the oath they were bound by, not to give their daughters to Benjamites, might perhaps stick with some of them, whose consciences were tender, yet, as to that, this might satisfy them: - 1. That the necessity was urgent (Jdg 21:22): We reserved not to each man his wife, owning now that they did ill to destroy all the women, and desiring to atone for their too rigorous construction of their vow to destroy them by the most favourable construction of their vow not to match with them. "And therefore for our sakes, who were too severe, let them keep what they have got." For, 2. In strictness it was not a breach of their vow; they had sworn not to give them their daughters, but they had not sworn to fetch them back if they were forcibly taken, so that if there was any fault the elders must be responsible, not the parents. And Quod fieri non debuit, factum valet - That which ought not to have been done is yet valid when it is done. The thing was done, and is ratified only by connivance, according to the law, Num 30:4.
Lastly, In the close of all we have, 1. The settling of the tribe of Benjamin again. The few that remained returned to the inheritance of that tribe, Jdg 21:23. And soon after from among them sprang Ehud, who was famous in his generation, the second judge of Israel, Jdg 3:15. 2. The disbanding and dispersing of the army of Israel, Jdg 21:24. They did not set up for a standing army, nor pretend to make any alterations or establishments in the government; but when the affair was over for which they were called together, they quietly departed in God's peace, every man to his family. Public services must not make us think ourselves above our own private affairs and the duty of providing for our own house. 3. A repetition of the cause of these confusions, Jdg 21:25. Though God was their King, every man would be his own master, as if there was no king. Blessed be God for magistracy.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 16–25. Public domain.
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Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Judges 21:22 articulates the controversial justification devised by the remaining Israelite tribes to address the families of women abducted for the surviving Benjamite men. Following a devastating civil war that nearly annihilated the tribe of Benjamin, and bound by a hasty oath not to give their daughters to Benjamin, the Israelites engineered a morally compromised plan. This verse outlines the legalistic loophole: the fathers and brothers of the seized women would not incur guilt for breaking the oath, as they did not "give" their daughters, but rather the Benjamites "took" them during a festival. It starkly illustrates the moral decay and desperate measures characteristic of a period when "every man did that which was right in his own eyes."
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The passage employs several literary devices that underscore its theological implications. Rationalization is central, as the Israelite leaders construct a convoluted argument to justify a morally questionable act. They attempt to absolve the families of guilt by creating a legalistic distinction between "giving" and "taking," thereby allowing the abduction to proceed without directly implicating the families in oath-breaking. This also demonstrates a profound Irony: the Israelites are attempting to uphold the letter of one oath (not to give daughters to Benjamin) by sanctioning the breaking of another, more fundamental moral law (the sanctity of persons and the prohibition against abduction and coercion). The entire narrative of Judges 19-21, culminating in this verse, serves as a powerful Exemplum or cautionary tale, illustrating the depths of moral decay and social chaos that result when a society forsakes divine authority and "every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25).
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Judges 21:22 is a poignant illustration of human depravity and the consequences of abandoning God's covenant. It demonstrates the dangers of making hasty, ill-conceived vows and then attempting to navigate their repercussions through human wisdom and legalistic loopholes rather than seeking divine counsel and true repentance. The Israelites' focus on avoiding technical "guilt" while committing a grave injustice reveals a distorted understanding of righteousness, where external adherence to a rule supersedes the spirit of justice, compassion, and moral integrity. This passage serves as a stark reminder that true righteousness is not found in clever rationalizations but in wholehearted obedience to God's commands, which are rooted in love and justice. The chaos and moral compromise depicted underscore the desperate need for a righteous king and a covenant-keeping people, a theme that resonates throughout the Old Testament.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Judges 21:22 serves as a sobering mirror, reflecting the human tendency to rationalize sin and seek loopholes to justify actions that are clearly contrary to God's character and commands. It challenges us to examine our own lives: do we prioritize external appearances or technical adherence to rules over genuine integrity, compassion, and justice? The desperate measures taken by the Israelites, born out of a self-imposed dilemma, highlight the futility of human-centric problem-solving when detached from divine wisdom. For believers today, this passage underscores the critical importance of seeking God's guidance in all decisions, making vows thoughtfully and prayerfully, and pursuing true righteousness that encompasses both the letter and the spirit of God's law. It reminds us that God desires integrity of heart and actions that reflect His justice and love, not just the avoidance of technical guilt. We are called to live by grace, not by legalistic evasion, and to trust in God's perfect plan rather than our own flawed solutions.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does Judges 21:22 imply God approved of the abduction of the women?
Answer: No, the text of Judges 21:22, and indeed the entire book of Judges, is descriptive, not prescriptive. It recounts a dark period in Israel's history where "every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). The narrative explicitly portrays the moral decay and the consequences of Israel's unfaithfulness to God. The abduction of the women, and the legalistic rationalization for it, are presented as further evidence of the Israelites' spiritual and ethical decline, not as actions condoned by God. The passage highlights human failure and the desperate measures people resort to when they abandon divine wisdom and authority.
What does this passage teach about the nature of oaths and vows?
Answer: Judges 21:22, in the broader context of Judges 21, powerfully illustrates the serious consequences of making hasty or ill-conceived oaths. The Israelites' oath at Mizpah not to give their daughters to Benjamin (Judges 21:1) created a profound ethical dilemma after they nearly annihilated the tribe. While the Bible emphasizes the importance of fulfilling vows (Numbers 30:2), this narrative shows that vows made in anger or without divine consultation can lead to morally compromised solutions. It teaches us to be cautious and prayerful before making solemn commitments, ensuring they align with God's character and will, and to seek God's wisdom when faced with the consequences of past rash decisions.
Why was it so important for the Israelites to preserve the tribe of Benjamin?
Answer: The preservation of the tribe of Benjamin was deemed crucial because each of the twelve tribes was a fundamental component of the covenant people of Israel. The destruction of one tribe would have been seen as a catastrophic loss to the national and theological identity of Israel, potentially threatening the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham regarding his descendants (Genesis 12:2-3). Despite Benjamin's egregious sin and the resulting civil war, the other tribes recognized their collective responsibility to maintain the integrity of the twelve tribes, even resorting to extreme and morally questionable measures to ensure Benjamin's survival and prevent a tribe from perishing from Israel (Judges 21:6).
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The dark narrative of Judges, culminating in the moral compromise of Judges 21:22, powerfully underscores humanity's desperate need for a true King and a perfect covenant. The Israelites' attempt to navigate their self-imposed dilemma through legalistic loopholes ("ye did not give unto them at this time, [that] ye should be guilty") reveals the futility of human righteousness and self-justification. They sought to avoid technical guilt while committing a profound injustice, a stark contrast to the perfect obedience and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Where Israel failed to uphold God's law and resorted to human rationalization, Christ perfectly fulfilled every righteous requirement of the law (Matthew 5:17). He did not seek loopholes but willingly bore the full guilt of humanity's sin, becoming the ultimate sacrifice (2 Corinthians 5:21). The chaos and "every man did what was right in his own eyes" mentality of Judges (Judges 21:25) foreshadows the universal human condition apart from God, where sin reigns. Christ, the true King, brings order out of chaos, not through human compromise but through divine grace and truth. He is the one who truly takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), offering genuine forgiveness and reconciliation where human legalism only creates further entanglement and guilt.