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?
16 And the elders of the assembly said, "With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left?
16 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?"
16 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?
16 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?"
16 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?
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Judges 21:16
Chapter Contents
The Israelites lament for the Benjamites.
Israel lamented for the Benjamites, and were perplexed by the oath they had taken, not to give their daughters to them in marriage. Men are more zealous to support their own authority than that of God. They would have acted better if they had repented of their rash oaths, brought sin-offerings, and sought forgiveness in the appointed way, rather than attempt to avoid the guilt of perjury by actions quite as wrong. That men can advise others to acts of treachery or violence, out of a sense of duty, forms a strong proof of the blindness of the human mind when left to itself, and of the fatal effects of a conscience under ignorance and error.