Judges 21:6 (KJV)

Passage

And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

Nearby Context

Judges 21:4 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

Judges 21:5 And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.

Judges 21:6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

Judges 21:7 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?

Judges 21:8 And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "children", "israel", "repented", "benjamin", "brother", "said", 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 "And the children of Israel said Who..." into verse 7's "How shall we do for wives for...", 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.