Judges 21:18 (ASV)

Passage

Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.

Nearby Context

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 an inheritance for them that are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not blotted out from Israel.

Judges 21:18 Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.

Judges 21:19 And they said, Behold, there is a feast of Jehovah from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.

Judges 21:20 And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "howbeit", "give", "wives", "daughters", "children", "israel", "sworn", and "saying". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "howbeit" and "give", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "And they said There must be an..." into verse 19's "And they said Behold there is a...", so "howbeit" and "give" belong inside that flow. In Judges context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "howbeit" and "give" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.