Judges 21:16

THE MESSAGE

The elders of the congregation said, "How can we get wives for the rest of the men, since all the Benjaminite women have been killed? How can we keep the inheritance alive for the Benjaminite survivors? How can we prevent an entire tribe from extinction? We certainly can't give our own daughters to them as wives." (Remember, the Israelites had taken the oath: "Cursed is anyone who provides a wife to Benjamin.")

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The elders of the congregation said, “What should we do about wives for those who are left, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?”

Hebrew Names Version
Then the Zakenim of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Binyamin?

King James Version
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?

Lexham English Bible
So the elders of the congregation said, "What should we do for the remaining ones for wives, since the women from Benjamin have been destroyed?"

English Standard Version
Then the elders of the congregation said, "What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?"

New Century Version
The elders of the Israelites said, "The women of Benjamin have been killed. Where can we get wives for the men of Benjamin who are still alive?

New English Translation
The leaders of the assembly said, "How can we find wives for those who are left? After all, the Benjaminite women have been wiped out.

Amplified Bible
Then the elders of the congregation said, "What shall we do for wives for those [men] who are left, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?"

New American Standard Bible
Then the elders of the congregation said, "What are we to do for wives for those who are left, since the women have been eliminated from Benjamin?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Therefore the Elders of the Congregation said, How shall we doe for wiues to the remnant? for the women of Beniamin are destroyed.

Legacy Standard Bible
Toe sê die oudstes van die vergadering: Wat kan ons doen vir die wat oorgebly het, wat vroue aanbetref? Want die vroue was uit Benjamin verdelg.

Contemporary English Version
Then their national leaders said: All the women of the Benjamin tribe were killed. How can we get wives for the men of Benjamin who are left?

Complete Jewish Bible
The leaders of the assembly asked, "What are we to do for those who still don't have wives, inasmuch as all the women of Binyamin have been killed?"

Darby Translation
And the elders of the assembly said, What shall we do for wives for them that remain? for the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin.

Easy-to-Read Version
The elders of the Israelites said, "The women of the tribe of Benjamin have been killed. Where can we get wives for the men of Benjamin who are still alive?

George Lamsa Translation
Then the elders of the people said. What shall we do for wives for those that remain, for all the Benjamite women have perished?

Good News Translation
So the leaders of the gathering said, "There are no more women in the tribe of Benjamin. What shall we do to provide wives for the men who are left?

Literal Translation
And the elders of the assembly said, What shall we do to the remnant for wives for the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the Elders of the congregacio sayde: What wil we do, that the remnaunt maye haue wyues also? for the weme in Ben Iamin are destroied,

American Standard Version
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?

Bible in Basic English
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?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And then the elders of the congregation, sayd: What shall we do to the remnaunt of them, to get them wiues? seyng all the women of Beniamin are destroyed?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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?'

King James Version (1611)
Then the Elders of the Congregation said, How shall we doe for wiues for them that remaine? seeing the women are destroyed out of Beniamin.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the elders of the congregation said, What shall we do for wives for them that remain? for the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin.

English Revised Version
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?

Berean Standard Bible
Then the elders of the congregation said, "What should we do about wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the grettere men in birthe seiden, What schulen we do to the othere men, that han not take wyues? Alle the wymmen in Beniamyn felden doun,

Young's Literal Translation
And the elders of the company say, `What do we do to the remnant for wives -- for the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin?'

Update Bible Version
Then the elders of the congregation said, What shall we do for wives for those that remain, seeing the women were destroyed out of Benjamin?

Webster's Bible Translation
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?

World English Bible
Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?

New King James Version
Then the elders of the congregation said, "What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?"

New Living Translation
So the elders of the assembly asked, "How can we find wives for the few who remain, since the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead?

New Life Bible
Then the leaders of the people said, "What will we do for wives for those who are left? All the women of Benjamin were killed."

New Revised Standard
So the elders of the congregation said, "What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since there are no women left in Benjamin?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So then, the elders of the assembly said, What are we to do for them who remain, for wives, - for womankind, hath been destroyed out of Benjamin?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the ancients said: What shall we do with the rest, that have not received wives? for all the women in Benjamin are dead.

Revised Standard Version
Then the elders of the congregation said, "What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the elders of the congregation said, "What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?"

Contextual Overview

¹⁶The elders of the congregation said, "How can we get wives for the rest of the men, since all the Benjaminite women have been killed? How can we keep the inheritance alive for the Benjaminite survivors? How can we prevent an entire tribe from extinction? We certainly can't give our own daughters to them as wives." (Remember, the Israelites had taken the oath: "Cursed is anyone who provides a wife to Benjamin.") ¹⁹ Then they said, "There is that festival of God held every year in Shiloh. It's north of Bethel, just east of the main road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem and a little south of Lebonah." ²⁰So 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.'" ²³ And that's what the Benjaminites did: They carried off girls from the dance, wives enough for their number, got away, and went home to their inheritance. They rebuilt their towns and settled down. ²⁴ From there the People of Israel dispersed, each man heading back to his own tribe and clan, each to his own plot of land. ²⁵ At that time there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Cross-References

Genesis 27:38
"But don't you have just one blessing for me, Father? Oh, bless me my father! Bless me!" Esau sobbed inconsolably.

Judges 2:4
When God 's angel had spoken these words to all the People of Israel, they cried out—oh! how they wept! They named the place Bokim (Weepers). And there they sacrificed to God .

1 Samuel 24:16
When David had finished saying all this, Saul said, "Can this be the voice of my son David?" and he wept in loud sobs. "You're the one in the right, not me," he continued. "You've heaped good on me; I've dumped evil on you. And now you've done it again—treated me generously. God put me in your hands and you didn't kill me. Why? When a man meets his enemy, does he send him down the road with a blessing? May God give you a bonus of blessings for what you've done for me today! I know now beyond doubt that you will rule as king. The kingdom of Israel is already in your grasp! Now promise me under God that you will not kill off my family or wipe my name off the books."

1 Samuel 30:4
David and his men burst out in loud wails—wept and wept until they were exhausted with weeping. David's two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken prisoner along with the rest. And suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him. David strengthened himself with trust in his God . He ordered Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the Ephod so I can consult God." Abiathar brought it to David. Then David prayed to God , "Shall I go after these raiders? Can I catch them?" The answer came, "Go after them! Yes, you'll catch them! Yes, you'll make the rescue!" David went, he and the six hundred men with him. They arrived at the Brook Besor, where some of them dropped out. David and four hundred men kept up the pursuit, but two hundred of them were too fatigued to cross the Brook Besor, and stayed there. Some who went on came across an Egyptian in a field and took him to David. They gave him bread and he ate. And he drank some water. They gave him a piece of fig cake and a couple of raisin muffins. Life began to revive in him. He hadn't eaten or drunk a thing for three days and nights! David said to him, "Who do you belong to? Where are you from?" "I'm an Egyptian slave of an Amalekite," he said. "My master walked off and left me when I got sick—that was three days ago. We had raided the Negev of the Kerethites, of Judah, and of Caleb. Ziklag we burned." David asked him, "Can you take us to the raiders?" "Promise me by God," he said, "that you won't kill me or turn me over to my old master, and I'll take you straight to the raiders." He led David to them. They were scattered all over the place, eating and drinking, gorging themselves on all the loot they had plundered from Philistia and Judah. David pounced. He fought them from before sunrise until evening of the next day. None got away except for four hundred of the younger men who escaped by riding off on camels. David rescued everything the Amalekites had taken. And he rescued his two wives! Nothing and no one was missing—young or old, son or daughter, plunder or whatever. David recovered the whole lot. He herded the sheep and cattle before them, and they all shouted, "David's plunder!" Then David came to the two hundred who had been too tired to continue with him and had dropped out at the Brook Besor. They came out to welcome David and his band. As he came near he called out, "Success!" But all the mean-spirited men who had marched with David, the rabble element, objected: "They didn't help in the rescue, they don't get any of the plunder we recovered. Each man can have his wife and children, but that's it. Take them and go!" "Families don't do this sort of thing! Oh no, my brothers!" said David as he broke up the argument. "You can't act this way with what God gave us! God kept us safe. He handed over the raiders who attacked us. Who would ever listen to this kind of talk? The share of the one who stays with the gear is the share of the one who fights—equal shares. Share and share alike!" From that day on, David made that the rule in Israel—and it still is. On returning to Ziklag, David sent portions of the plunder to the elders of Judah, his neighbors, with a note saying, "A gift from the plunder of God 's enemies!" He sent them to the elders in Bethel, Ramoth Negev, Jattir, Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, Racal, Jerahmeelite cities, Kenite cities, Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach, and Hebron, along with a number of other places David and his men went to from time to time.

1 Kings 3:26
The real mother of the living baby was overcome with emotion for her son and said, "Oh no, master! Give her the whole baby alive; don't kill him!" But the other one said, "If I can't have him, you can't have him—cut away!"

Isaiah 49:15
"Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I'd never forget you—never. Look, I've written your names on the backs of my hands. The walls you're rebuilding are never out of my sight. Your builders are faster than your wreckers. The demolition crews are gone for good. Look up, look around, look well! See them all gathering, coming to you? As sure as I am the living God"— God 's Decree— "you're going to put them on like so much jewelry, you're going to use them to dress up like a bride.

Zechariah 12:10
"Next I'll deal with the family of David and those who live in Jerusalem. I'll pour a spirit of grace and prayer over them. They'll then be able to recognize me as the One they so grievously wounded—that piercing spear-thrust! And they'll weep—oh, how they'll weep! Deep mourning as of a parent grieving the loss of the firstborn child. The lamentation in Jerusalem that day will be massive, as famous as the lamentation over Hadad-Rimmon on the fields of Megiddo: Everyone will weep and grieve, the land and everyone in it: The family of David off by itself and their women off by themselves; The family of Nathan off by itself and their women off by themselves; The family of Levi off by itself and their women off by themselves; The family of Shimei off by itself and their women off by themselves; And all the rest of the families off by themselves and their women off by themselves."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then the elders of the congregation said.... This being the case, that there were not wives enough for them, they were obliged to consult again, and consider of another expedient to provide for them; and this motion came from the elders of the people, not only in years, but in office:

how shall we do for wives for them that remain: the other two hundred, who had none:

seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin? and so no wives to be had there; and as for the Israelites which came to Mizpeh, who were of all the tribes of Israel, they had solemnly sworn that they would not give any of their daughters to them, and therefore it was a very difficult thing to provide wives for them.