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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Judges 21 ISV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/judges/21.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/judges/21-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">ISV</a> > Judges 21</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../judges/20.htm" title="Judges 20">◄</a> Judges 21 <a href="../ruth/1.htm" title="Ruth 1">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">International Standard Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/isv/esv/judges/21.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="heading">The Israelis Mourn the Tribe of Benjamin</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Now the people of Israel had taken a vow in Mizpah that went like this: “Not even one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a descendant of Benjamin!” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>So the people went to Bethel, sat before God until dusk, where they cried out loud and wept bitterly. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>“Why, LORD God of Israel,” they asked him, “is one tribe missing<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="21:3 The Heb. lacks missing">a</a></span> from Israel?”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>The next day, the people got up early, built an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>The Israelis asked themselves, “Who didn’t come up in our assembly in the LORD’s presence from among all of the tribes of Israel?” They had taken a solemn oath concerning those who didn’t come up to meet with the LORD at Mizpah that “They will certainly be executed.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>But the Israelis were mourning for their relatives in the tribe of Benjamin. They announced, “One tribe has been eliminated from Israel today! <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>What can we do to find wives for the survivors who remain, since we’ve already taken an oath in the LORD’s presence not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?”</p> <p class="heading">The Israelis Attempt to Mitigate Their Disaster</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>They asked, “What one group of the tribes of Israel didn’t come up to meet the LORD at Mizpah?” It turned out that no one had come to the encampment from Jabesh-gilead, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>since when they took a census of the assembly, not even one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was in attendance. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>So the congregation sent out 12,000 of their valiant soldiers, issuing these orders to them: “Go and attack the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with swords, including the women and little ones. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>You’re to completely destroy every man and every married woman.”<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="21:11 Lit. woman who has had sexual relations with a man">b</a></span> </p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>They discovered among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who hadn’t had sex with a man, and they brought them to the encampment at Shiloh in the territory of Canaan. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>Then the entire congregation sent for the surviving<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="21:13 The Heb. lacks surviving">c</a></span> descendants of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon and assured them that their intentions toward them were peaceful.<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="21:13 Lit. and proclaimed peace">d</a></span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>So the survivors of the tribe of Benjamin<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="21:14 The Heb. lacks the survivors of the tribe of">e</a></span> returned at that time, and the Israelis<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="21:14 Lit. and they">f</a></span> gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the raid on<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="21:14 Lit. the women of">g</a></span> Jabesh-gilead. Even so, there weren’t enough for them.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>The people felt sorry for the tribe of Benjamin because the LORD had broken one of the tribes of Israel. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>So the elders of the congregation asked, “What will we do to obtain wives for the survivors, since the women of Benjamin have been devastated?” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>They continued, “Let’s make sure that there’s an inheritance for the survivors of the tribe of Benjamin, so that a tribe won’t be blotted out from Israel. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>But we can’t give them wives from our own daughters, since we’ve<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="21:18 Lit. since the Israelis had">h</a></span> taken this vow: ‘May the LORD curse<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="21:18 Lit. vow: ‘Cursed be">i</a></span> anyone who gives his daughter as<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="21:18 The Heb. lacks his daughter as">j</a></span> a wife to the tribe of Benjamin!’”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>So they concluded, “Look, there’s a festival to the LORD every year in Shiloh on the north side of Bethel, south of Lebonah and on the east side of the highway that runs from Bethel to Shechem…” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>So they told the descendants of Benjamin, “Go and hide in the vineyards. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>Watch when the unmarried women<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="21:21 Lit. the daughters">k</a></span> from Shiloh come out to participate in the dances. Then come out of the vineyards and each of you grab a wife from the unmarried women<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="21:21 Lit. the daughters">l</a></span> from Shiloh. Then go back home to the territory of Benjamin. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>If their fathers or brothers come complaining to us, we’ll tell them ‘Be generous! Give them to us voluntarily, because we didn’t take anyone to be a wife for the men of the tribe of Benjamin<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="21:22 The Heb. lacks of the tribe of Benjamin">m</a></span> as a result of the battle. And you haven’t incurred guilt by giving your daughters to them.’”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>So the descendants of Benjamin did all of this: they chose and carried away just enough wives from those who danced to meet the number needed, then they left to return to their inheritance, to rebuild their cities, and to live there. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>The Israelis left there at that time, each man to his tribe and family, and each of them went down from there to his territorial allotment.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/judges/21-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>Back in those days, Israel didn’t yet have a king, so each person did whatever seemed right in his own opinion.</p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="ftn"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn1"><span class="fnb">a</span> 21:3 The Heb. lacks <i>missing</i><br /><span class="fnb">b</span> 21:11 Lit. <i>woman who has had sexual relations with a man</i><br /><span class="fnb">c</span> 21:13 The Heb. lacks <i>surviving</i><br /><span class="fnb">d</span> 21:13 Lit. <i>and proclaimed peace</i><br /><span class="fnb">e</span> 21:14 The Heb. lacks <i>the survivors of the tribe of</i><br /><span class="fnb">f</span> 21:14 Lit. <i>and they</i><br /><span class="fnb">g</span> 21:14 Lit. <i>the women of</i><br /><span class="fnb">h</span> 21:18 Lit. <i>since the Israelis had</i><br /><span class="fnb">i</span> 21:18 Lit. <i>vow: ‘Cursed be</i><br /><span class="fnb">j</span> 21:18 The Heb. lacks <i>his daughter as</i><br /><span class="fnb">k</span> 21:21 Lit. <i>the daughters</i><br /><span class="fnb">l</span> 21:21 Lit. <i>the daughters</i><br /><span class="fnb">m</span> 21:22 The Heb. lacks <i>of the tribe of Benjamin</i><br /></span><br><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><div align="center"><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1<br />Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation<br />ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../judges/20.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Judges 20"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Judges 20" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../ruth/1.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Ruth 1"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Ruth 1" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/judges/21-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><div align="center" style="background-color:#F2FAFF"><br /><br /><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="6710025936" data-ad-format="auto"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></td></tr></table><br /><br /><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="6710025936" data-ad-format="auto"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /> </div><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/botmenubhnm2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe><div align="center"><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span></div></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>