Judges 21:20 (YLT)

Passage

And they command the sons of Benjamin, saying, `Go--and ye have laid wait in the vineyards,

Nearby Context

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.'

Judges 21:19 And they say, `Lo, a festival of Jehovah <FI>is<Fi> in Shiloh, from time to time, which <FI>is<Fi> on the north of Beth-El, at the rising of the sun, by the highway which is going up from Beth-El to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.'

Judges 21:20 And they command the sons of Benjamin, saying, `Go--and ye have laid wait in the vineyards,

Judges 21:21 and have seen, and lo, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances--then ye have gone out from the vineyards, and caught for you each his wife out of the daughters of Shiloh, and gone to the land of Benjamin;

Judges 21:22 and it hath been, when their fathers or their brethren come in to plead unto us, that we have said unto them, Favour us <FI>by<Fi> them, for we have not taken <FI>to<Fi> each his wife in battle, for ye--ye have not given to them at this time <FI>that<Fi> ye are guilty.'

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "And they say Lo a festival of..." into verse 21's "and have seen and lo if the...", so "command" 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 "command" and "sons" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.