Judges 21:18
“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.”
Judges 21:18 in 7 translations
- KJVKing James Version
- 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.
- DRADouay–Rheims
- For as to our own daughters we cannot give them, being bound with an oath and a curse, whereby we said: Cursed be he that shall give Benjamin any of his daughters to wife.
- ASVAmerican Standard Version
- Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
- DARBYDarby
- Yet we cannot give them wives of our daughters.| For the people of Israel had sworn, |Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin.|
- WEBThe World English Bible
- However we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, 'Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.'
- YLTYoung's Literal Translation
- and we ; we are not able to give to them wives out of our daughters, for the sons of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed is he who is giving a wife to Benjamin.'
- BPVBiblePics Version
- However, we cannot give them our daughters as wives, for the Israelites have sworn, saying, "Cursed is anyone who gives a wife to Benjamin."
Context: Judges 21
16Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?
17And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
18Howbeit 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.
19Then 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.
20Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
About Judges 21: Capture of Wives for the Benjamites
The Israelites regret their actions and work to repopulate the tribe of Benjamin by allowing the remaining Benjaminite men to take wives from a group of women who had gathered at Shiloh.
Commentary
Judges 21 is the final chapter of the book of Judges, and it serves as a fitting conclusion to the tumultuous period of Israelite history that it describes. The chapter begins with the Israelites gathering together in Mizpah to make a solemn vow to God that they will not allow any of their daughters to marry outside of their tribe. This vow is a sign of the Israelites’ commitment to their faith and to their tribal identity, and it serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining the purity of the Israelite people.