Judges 21:20 (DRB)

Passage

And they commanded the children of Benjamin and said: Go, and lie hid in the vineyards,

Nearby Context

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.

Judges 21:19 So they took counsel, and said: Behold, there is a yearly solemnity of the Lord in Silo, which is situate on the north of the city of Bethel, and on the east side of the way, that goeth from Bethel to Sichem, and on the south of the town of Lebona.

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

Judges 21:21 And when you shall see the daughters of Silo come out, as the custom is, to dance, come ye on a sudden out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife among them, and go into the land of Benjamin.

Judges 21:22 And when their fathers and their brethren shall come, and shall begin to complain against you, and to chide, we will say to them: Have pity on them: for they took them not away as by the right of war or conquest, but when they asked to have them, you gave them not, and the fault was committed on your part.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "commanded", "children", "benjamin", "said", and "vineyards". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "commanded" and "children", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "So they took counsel and said Behold..." into verse 21's "And when you shall see the daughters...", so "commanded" and "children" 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 "commanded" and "children" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.