Judges 21:11 (LSB)

Passage

Now this is the thing that you shall do: you shall devote to destruction every man and every woman who has known, that is lain with, a man.”

Nearby Context

Judges 21:9 Indeed the people were numbered, but behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there.

Judges 21:10 And the congregation sent 12,000 of the men of valor there and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.

Judges 21:11 Now this is the thing that you shall do: you shall devote to destruction every man and every woman who has known, that is lain with, a man.”

Judges 21:12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

Judges 21:13 Then the whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon and called out peace to them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "devote", "destruction", "woman", "known", and "lain". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "devote", 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 of the men..." into verse 12's "And they found among the inhabitants of...", so "shall" and "devote" 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 "devote" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.