Judges 21:11 (KJV)

Passage

And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.

Nearby Context

Judges 21:9 For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.

Judges 21:10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.

Judges 21:11 And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.

Judges 21:12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

Judges 21:13 And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "utterly", "destroy", "male", "woman", "hath", and "lain". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "utterly", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand..." into verse 12's "And they found among the inhabitants of...", so "shall" and "utterly" 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 "shall" and "utterly" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.