Judges 21:6 (DRB)

Passage

And the children of Israel being moved with repentance for their brother Benjamin, began to say: One tribe is taken away from Israel.

Nearby Context

Judges 21:4 And rising early the next day, they built an altar: and offered there holocausts, and victims of peace, and they said:

Judges 21:5 Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the army of the Lord? for they had bound themselves with a great oath, when they were in Maspha, that whosoever were wanting should be slain.

Judges 21:6 And the children of Israel being moved with repentance for their brother Benjamin, began to say: One tribe is taken away from Israel.

Judges 21:7 Whence shall they take wives? For we have all in general sworn, not to give our daughters to them.

Judges 21:8 Therefore they said: Who is there of all the tribes of Israel, that came not up to the Lord to Maspha? And, behold, the inhabitants of Jabes Galaad were found not to have been in that army.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "children", "israel", "moved", "repentance", "brother", "benjamin", "began", and "tribe". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "children" and "israel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Who is there among all the tribes..." into verse 7's "Whence shall they take wives For we...", so "children" and "israel" 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 "children" and "israel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.