Judges 21:18 (DBY)

Passage

But we cannot give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to the Benjaminites!

Nearby Context

Judges 21:16 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.

Judges 21:17 And they said, There must be a possession for those of Benjamin that have escaped, that a tribe be not blotted out of Israel.

Judges 21:18 But we cannot give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to the Benjaminites!

Judges 21:19 And they said, Behold, there is a feast of Jehovah from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel, toward the sun-rising of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "give", "wives", "daughters", "children", "israel", "sworn", "saying", and "cursed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "give" and "wives", 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 a..." into verse 19's "And they said Behold there is a...", so "give" and "wives" 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 "give" and "wives" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.