Judges 21:11

11 And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain^[a] by man.

Judges 21:11 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 21:11

And this is the thing that ye shall do
Which they gave them in charge to execute:

ye shall utterly destroy every male;
without any reserve, young or old, married or unmarried:

and every woman that hath lain by man;
whether lawfully or unlawfully, in a married or unmarried state.

Judges 21:11 In-Context

9 For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.

10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.

11 And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.

12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

13 And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.

Footnotes

• [a] hath lain...: Heb. knoweth the lying with man