Judges 21:16 (DRB)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Judges 21:14 And the children of Benjamin came at that time, and wives were given them of Jabes Galaad: but they found no others, whom they might give in like manner.

Judges 21:15 And all Israel was very sorry, and repented for the destroying of one tribe out of Israel.

Judges 21:16 And the ancients said: What shall we do with the rest, that have not received wives? for all the women in Benjamin are dead.

Judges 21:17 And we must use all care, and provide with great diligence, that one tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.

Judges 21:18 For as to our own daughters we cannot give them, being bound with an oath and a curse, whereby we said: Cursed be he that shall give Benjamin any of his daughters to wife.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "ancients", "said", "shall", "rest", "received", "wives", "women", and "benjamin". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "ancients" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And all Israel was very sorry and..." into verse 17's "And we must use all care and...", so "ancients" and "said" 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 "ancients" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.