Judges 21:20

Bible in Basic English

And they said to the men of Benjamin, Go into the vine-gardens, waiting there secretly,

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then they commanded the Benjaminites: “Go and hide in the vineyards.

Hebrew Names Version
They commanded the children of Binyamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

King James Version
Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;

Lexham English Bible
They instructed the descendants of Benjamin, saying, "Go, lie in ambush in the vineyards,

English Standard Version
And they commanded the people of Benjamin, saying, "Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards

New Century Version
So the elders told the men of Benjamin, "Go and hide in the vineyards.

New English Translation
So they commanded the Benjaminites, "Go hide in the vineyards,

Amplified Bible
So they instructed the sons of Benjamin, saying, "Go, set an ambush in the vineyards,

New American Standard Bible
And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, "Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

Geneva Bible (1587)
Therefore they commaunded the children of Beniamin, saying, Goe, and lye in waite in the vineyardes.

Legacy Standard Bible
En hulle het die kinders van Benjamin bevel gegee en gesê: Gaan en lê en loer in die wingerde.

Contemporary English Version
The leaders told the men of Benjamin who still did not have wives: Go to Shiloh and hide in the vineyards near the festival.

Complete Jewish Bible
They ordered the men of Binyamin, "Go, hide in the vineyards,

Darby Translation
And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;

Easy-to-Read Version
So the elders told the men of Benjamin about their idea. They said, "Go and hide in the vineyards.

George Lamsa Translation
So they commanded the Benjamites, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;

Good News Translation
They told the Benjaminites, "Go and hide in the vineyards

Literal Translation
They commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, Go, and you shall lie in wait in the vineyards.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And they commaunded the children of BenIamin, & sayde: Go youre waye, and wayte in the vynyardes.

American Standard Version
And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Therfore they commaunded the children of Beniamin, saying: Go, and lye in wayte in the vineyardes.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying: 'Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;

King James Version (1611)
Therefore they commanded the children of Beniamin, saying, Goe and lie in wait in the vineyards.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they charged the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;

English Revised Version
And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;

Berean Standard Bible
So they commanded the Benjamites: "Go, hide in the vineyards

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And thei comaundiden to the sones of Beniamyn, and seiden, Go ye, be ye hid in the vyneris;

Young's Literal Translation
And they command the sons of Benjamin, saying, `Go -- and ye have laid wait in the vineyards,

Update Bible Version
And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

Webster's Bible Translation
Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go, and lie in wait in the vineyards;

World English Bible
They commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

New King James Version
Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin, saying, "Go, lie in wait in the vineyards,

New Living Translation
They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, "Go and hide in the vineyards.

New Life Bible
They told the men of Benjamin, "Go and hide in the grape-fields. Wait there

New Revised Standard
And they instructed the Benjaminites, saying, "Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, - Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they commanded the children of Benjamin and said: Go, and lie hid in the vineyards,

Revised Standard Version
And they commanded the Benjaminites, saying, "Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

THE MESSAGE
So they told the Benjaminites, "Go and hide in the vineyards. Stay alert—when you see the Shiloh girls come out to dance the dances, run out of the vineyards, grab one of the Shiloh girls for your wife, and then hightail it back to the country of Benjamin. When their fathers or brothers come to lay charges against us, we'll tell them, ‘We did them a favor. After all we didn't go to war and kill to get wives for men. And it wasn't as if you were in on it by giving consent. But if you keep this up, you will incur blame.'"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, "Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

Contextual Overview

¹⁶ Then the responsible men of the meeting said, What are we to do about wives for the rest of them, seeing that the women of Benjamin are dead? ¹⁷ And they said, How is the rest of Benjamin to be given offspring so that one tribe of Israel may not be put out of existence, ¹⁸ Seeing that we may not give them our daughters as wives? For the children of Israel had taken an oath, saying, Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin. ¹⁹ And they said, See, every year there is a feast of the Lord in Shiloh, which is to the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway which goes up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah. ²⁰ And they said to the men of Benjamin, Go into the vine-gardens, waiting there secretly, ²¹ And watching; and if the daughters of Shiloh come out to take part in the dances, then come from the vine-gardens and take a wife for every one of you from among the daughters of Shiloh, and go back to the land of Benjamin. ²² And when their fathers or their brothers come and make trouble, you are to say to them, Give them to us as an act of grace; for we did not take them as wives for ourselves in war; and if you yourselves had given them to us you would have been responsible for the broken oath. ²³ So the men of Benjamin did this, and got wives for themselves for every one of their number, taking them away by force from the dance; then they went back to their heritage, building up their towns and living in them. ²⁴ Then the children of Israel went away from there, every man to his tribe and his family, every man went back to his heritage. ²⁵ In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did what seemed right to him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Cross-References

Genesis 10:9
He was a very great bowman, so that there is a saying, Like Nimrod, a very great bowman.

Genesis 16:12
And he will be like a mountain ass among men; his hand will be against every man and every man's hand against him, and he will keep his place against all his brothers.

Genesis 17:20
As for Ishmael, I have given ear to your prayer: truly I have given him my blessing and I will make him fertile and give him great increase; he will be the father of twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great nation.

Genesis 21:2
And Sarah became with child, and gave Abraham a son when he was old, at the time named by God.

Genesis 21:3
And Abraham gave to his son, to whom Sarah had given birth, the name Isaac.

Genesis 21:23
Now, then, give me your oath, in the name of God, that you will not be false to me or to my sons after me, but that as I have been good to you, so you will be to me and to this land where you have been living.

Genesis 21:24
And Abraham said, I will give you my oath.

Genesis 21:25
But Abraham made a protest to Abimelech because of a water-hole which Abimelech's servants had taken by force.

Genesis 25:27
And the boys came to full growth; and Esau became a man of the open country, an expert bowman; but Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents.

Genesis 27:3
So take your arrows and your bow and go out to the field and get meat for me;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin,.... The two hundred men of the tribe that wanted wives; they ordered them as follows, and which they spake with authority, being the elders of the congregation, Judges 21:16

saying, go and lie in wait in the vineyards; which might belong to Shiloh, or it may be to Lebonah, which perhaps is the same with Bethlaban, famous for its wine with the Misnic writers; who say g the second places for wine are Bethrimah and Bethlaban; and I suspect that Bethrimah is the same with Bethrimmon, near which was the rock Rimmon these men were in; now this being the time of year when the vintage was just over, the vines were full of branches and leaves, under which the men might the better hide themselves; and the grapes being gathered, there were no men in the vineyards, and so might lie in wait safely, and under cover.

g Misn. Menachot, c. 8. sect. 6.