Judges 21:20 (LSB)

Passage

And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

Nearby Context

Judges 21:18 But we cannot give them wives of our daughters.” For the sons of Israel had sworn, saying, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.”

Judges 21:19 So they said, “Behold, there is a feast of Yahweh from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south side of Lebonah.”

Judges 21:20 And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

Judges 21:21 and watch; and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to take part in the dances, then you shall come out of the vineyards, and each of you shall catch his wife from the daughters of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin.

Judges 21:22 And it will be when their fathers or their brothers come to contend with us, that we shall say to them, ‘Be gracious to us concerning them because we did not take for each man of Benjamin a wife in the battle, and you did not give your daughters to them; otherwise you would now be guilty.’”

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "So they said Behold there is a..." into verse 21's "and watch and behold if the daughters...", so "commanded" and "sons" 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 "sons" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.