📖 Judges — Chapter 21 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Judges 21:1 Now the men of Israel Rhad sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
Judges 21:2 And the people came to Rthe house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
Judges 21:3 And said, O LORD God of Israel, Rwhy is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?
Judges 21:4 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people Rrose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
Judges 21:5 And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made Ra great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
Judges 21:6 And the children of Israel Rrepented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
Judges 21:7 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have Rsworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
Judges 21:8 And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.
Judges 21:9 For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.
Judges 21:10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, RGo and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.
Judges 21:11 And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy Revery male, and every woman that Thath lain by man.
Judges 21:12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred Tyoung virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to RShiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
Judges 21:13 And the whole congregation sent some Tto speak to the children of Benjamin that were in Rthe rock Rimmon, and to Tcall peaceably unto them.
Judges 21:14 And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet so they Rsufficed them not.
Judges 21:15 And the people Rrepented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
Judges 21:16 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?
Judges 21:17 And they said, There must be Ran inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
Judges 21:18 Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have Rsworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
Judges 21:19 Then they said, Behold, there is Ra feast of the LORD in Shiloh Tyearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, Ton the east side Tof the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
Judges 21:20 Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
Judges 21:21 And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to Rdance 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.
Judges 21:22 And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, RTBe 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.
Judges 21:23 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 Rrepaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
Judges 21:24 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.
Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was Rright in his own eyes.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Judges 21:1–7 — An oath and grief for Benjamin
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Israel grieves that one tribe is nearly lost, but its oath not to give daughters to Benjamin creates a further difficulty. Another oath threatens absentees from the assembly. Their declarations now shape the attempted solutions.
Key Truth: Solemn promises do not remove responsibility for their consequences.
Check What You Remember
1. Where had Israel sworn the marriage oath? (Judges 21:1)
Find it in Judges 21:1 (KJV).
2. Which tribe did Israel grieve over? (Judges 21:6)
Find it in Judges 21:6 (KJV).
3. What offerings were made at the new altar? (Judges 21:4)
Find it in Judges 21:4 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Judges 21:8–14 — Violence at Jabeshgilead
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Israel attacks Jabeshgilead because its people did not attend the assembly. Four hundred young women are spared and given to the surviving Benjamites, but the number is insufficient. The narrative reports more killing and the use of vulnerable women in solving a problem made by war and oaths.
Key Truth: An attempted repair can perpetuate the injustice that created the crisis.
Check What You Remember
1. Which town had not attended the assembly? (Judges 21:8)
Find it in Judges 21:8 (KJV).
2. How many men were sent there? (Judges 21:10)
Find it in Judges 21:10 (KJV).
3. How many young women were brought to Shiloh? (Judges 21:12)
Find it in Judges 21:12 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Judges 21:15–25 — Women seized at Shiloh and the book's verdict
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The elders arrange for Benjamites to seize women dancing at Shiloh, then justify it by their oath's wording. The tribe rebuilds its towns, but the book closes with everyone doing what is right in their own eyes. This closing frame exposes disorder rather than approving abduction or coercion.
Key Truth: The final verdict challenges self-justification even when people claim to be solving a communal problem.
Check What You Remember
1. Where was the yearly feast held? (Judges 21:19)
Find it in Judges 21:19 (KJV).
2. Where were the men told to lie in wait? (Judges 21:20)
Find it in Judges 21:20 (KJV).
3. In whose eyes did people do what was right? (Judges 21:25)
Find it in Judges 21:25 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Deuteronomy 12:8 — The law had warned against using each person's own judgment as the standard for worship and conduct.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
How does the last verse shape your reading of the proposed solutions? What is the difference between preserving a group and treating every person justly?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What tension drives the search for wives for Benjamin?
2. How is Jabeshgilead identified as absent from the assembly?
3. How does the account show the first provision of wives is insufficient?
4. What reasoning do the elders propose if families complain about the seizure at Shiloh?
5. How does the book’s final statement frame the preceding disorder?
Notes
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