Judges 21:6

21:6 The Israelites regretted what had happened to ¹  their brother Benjamin. They said, “Today we cut off an entire ²  tribe from Israel!

Judges 21:15

21:15 The people regretted what had happened to ³  Benjamin because the Lord had weakened ⁴  the Israelite tribes.

Judges 21:17

21:17 The ⁵  remnant of Benjamin must be preserved. An entire Israelite tribe should not be wiped out. ⁶ 

[21:6]  ¹ tn Or “felt sorry for.”

[21:6]  ² tn Heb “cut off one.”

[21:15]  ³ tn Or “felt sorry for.”

[21:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “had made a gaping hole in.” The narrator uses imagery that compares Israel to a wall that has been breached.

[21:17]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text has “and they said” at the beginning of the verse. For stylistic reasons the translation treats v. 17 as a continuation of the remarks of the leaders in v. 16.

[21:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “An inheritance for the remnant belonging to Benjamin, and a tribe from Israel will not be wiped away.” The first statement lacks a verb. Some prefer to emend the text to read, “How can an inheritance remain for the remnant of Benjamin?”