Judges 21:16 (YLT)

Passage

And the elders of the company say, `What do we do to the remnant for wives--for the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin?'

Nearby Context

Judges 21:14 and Benjamin turneth back at that time, and they give to them the women whom they have kept alive of the women of Jabesh-Gilead, and they have not found for <FI>all of<Fi> them so.

Judges 21:15 And the people repented concerning Benjamin, for Jehovah had made a breach among the tribes of Israel.

Judges 21:16 And the elders of the company say, `What do we do to the remnant for wives--for the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin?'

Judges 21:17 And they say, `A possession of an escaped party <FI>is<Fi> to Benjamin, and a tribe is not blotted out from Israel;

Judges 21:18 and we--we are not able to give to them wives out of our daughters, for the sons of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed <FI>is<Fi> he who is giving a wife to Benjamin.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "elders", "company", "remnant", "wives--for", "women", "been", "destroyed", and "benjamin". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "elders" and "company", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And the people repented concerning Benjamin for..." into verse 17's "And they say A possession of an...", so "elders" and "company" 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 "elders" and "company" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.