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Read the Bible

Contemporary English Version

Judges 21:3

and prayed, "Our Lord , you are the God of Israel. Why did you let this happen? Now one of our tribes is almost gone."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Nation;   Rashness;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Benjamin, Tribe of;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Gibeah;   Mizpah;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Offerings and Sacrifices;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Bethel;   Judges, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Benjamin;   Jabesh, Jabesh-Gilead;   Marriage;   Priests and Levites;   Samson;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Gibeah;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
and cried out, “Why, Lord God of Israel, has it occurred that one tribe is missing in Israel today?”
Hebrew Names Version
They said, the LORD, the God of Yisra'el, why has this happened in Yisra'el, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Yisra'el?
King James Version
And said, O Lord God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?
Lexham English Bible
And they said, "Why, Yahweh, God of Israel, has it happened today in Israel that one tribe is lacking from Israel?"
English Standard Version
And they said, "O Lord , the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?"
New Century Version
They said, " Lord , God of Israel, why has this terrible thing happened to us so that one tribe of Israel is missing today?"
New English Translation
They said, "Why, O Lord God of Israel, has this happened in Israel?" An entire tribe has disappeared from Israel today!"
Amplified Bible
They said, "O LORD, God of Israel, why has this come about in Israel, that there should be today one tribe missing from Israel?"
New American Standard Bible
And they said, "Why, LORD, God of Israel, has this happened in Israel, that one tribe is missing today from Israel?"
Geneva Bible (1587)
And sayde, O Lorde God of Israel, why is this come to passe in Israel, that this day one tribe of Israel should want?
Legacy Standard Bible
en gesê: Waarom, o HERE, God van Israel, het dit in Israel gebeur dat daar vandag een stam uit Israel vermis word?
Complete Jewish Bible
They said: " Adonai , why has this come about in Isra'el? Why should there be today in Isra'el one tribe missing?"
Darby Translation
and said, Jehovah, God of Israel, why is it come to pass in Israel, that there should be this day one tribe lacking in Israel?
Easy-to-Read Version
They said to God, " Lord , you are the God of the Israelites. Why has this terrible thing happened to us? Why has one tribe of the Israelites been taken away?"
George Lamsa Translation
And said, O LORD God of Israel, why has this disaster come to pass in Israel, that there should be today one tribe missing from Israel?
Good News Translation
" Lord God of Israel, why has this happened? Why is the tribe of Benjamin about to disappear from Israel?"
Literal Translation
And they said, O Jehovah, God of Israel, Why has this happened in Israel, to be lacking one tribe today from Israel?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and sayde: O LORDE God of Israel, wherfore is this come to passe in Israel this daye?
American Standard Version
And they said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel?
Bible in Basic English
And they said, O Lord, the God of Israel, why has this fate come on Israel, that today one tribe has been cut off from Israel?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And sayde: O Lorde God of Israel, why is this come to passe in Israel, that there shoulde be this day one tribe lacking in Israel?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And they said: 'O LORD, the God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel?'
King James Version (1611)
And said, O Lord God of Israel, why is this come to passe in Israel, that there should bee to day one tribe lacking in Israel?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
and said, Wherefore, O Lord God of Israel, has this come to pass, that to-day one tribe should be counted as missing from Israel?
English Revised Version
And they said, O LORD, the God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?
Berean Standard Bible
"Why, O LORD God of Israel," they cried out, "has this happened in Israel? Today in Israel one tribe is missing!"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and seiden, Lord God of Israel, whi is this yuel don in thi puple, that to dai o lynage be takun awey of vs?
Young's Literal Translation
and say, `Why, O Jehovah, God of Israel, hath this been in Israel -- to be lacking to-day, from Israel, one tribe?'
Update Bible Version
And they said, O Yahweh, the God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?
Webster's Bible Translation
And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel?
World English Bible
They said, Yahweh, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?
New King James Version
and said, "O LORD God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel?"
New Living Translation
"O Lord , God of Israel," they cried out, "why has this happened in Israel? Now one of our tribes is missing from Israel!"
New Life Bible
"O Lord, God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel? Why should there be one family group missing in Israel today?"
New Revised Standard
They said, "O Lord , the God of Israel, why has it come to pass that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and said, Wherefore, O Yahweh, God of Israel, hath this come about in Israel, - that there should be lacking, to-day, out of Israel, one tribe?
Douay-Rheims Bible
O Lord God of Israel, why is so great an evil come to pass in thy people, that this day one tribe should be taken away from among us?
Revised Standard Version
And they said, "O LORD, the God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
They said, "Why, O LORD, God of Israel, has this come about in Israel, so that one tribe should be missing today in Israel?"

Contextual Overview

1 When the Israelites had met at Mizpah before the war with Benjamin, they had made this sacred promise: "None of us will ever let our daughters marry any man from Benjamin." 2 After the war with Benjamin, the Israelites went to the place of worship at Bethel and sat there until sunset. They cried loudly and bitterly 3 and prayed, "Our Lord , you are the God of Israel. Why did you let this happen? Now one of our tribes is almost gone." 4 Early the next morning, the Israelites built an altar and offered sacrifices to please the Lord and to ask his blessing. 5 Then they asked each other, "Did any of the tribes of Israel fail to come to the place of worship? We made a sacred promise that anyone who didn't come to the meeting at Mizpah would be put to death." 6 The Israelites were sad about what had happened to the Benjamin tribe, and they said, "One of our tribes was almost wiped out. 7 Only a few men of Benjamin weren't killed in the war. We need to get wives for them, so the tribe won't completely disappear. But how can we do that, after promising in the Lord 's name that we wouldn't let them marry any of our daughters?" 8Again the Israelites asked, "Did any of the tribes stay away from the meeting at Mizpah?" After asking around, they discovered that no one had come from Jabesh in Gilead. 10So they sent twelve thousand warriors with these orders: "Attack Jabesh in Gilead and kill everyone, except the women who have never been married." 12 The warriors attacked Jabesh in Gilead, and returned to their camp in Canaan with four hundred young women.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

why is: Deuteronomy 29:24, Joshua 7:7-9, Psalms 74:1, Psalms 80:12, Proverbs 19:3, Isaiah 63:17, Jeremiah 12:1

Reciprocal: Judges 17:6 - no king

Cross-References

Genesis 17:19
But God answered: No! You and Sarah will have a son. His name will be Isaac, and I will make an everlasting promise to him and his descendants.
Genesis 21:6
and Sarah said, "God has made me laugh. Now everyone will laugh with me.
Genesis 21:12
But God said, "Abraham, don't worry about your slave woman and the boy. Just do what Sarah tells you. Isaac will inherit your family name,
Genesis 22:2
The Lord said, "Go get Isaac, your only son, the one you dearly love! Take him to the land of Moriah, and I will show you a mountain where you must sacrifice him to me on the fires of an altar."
Joshua 24:3
But I brought Abraham across the Euphrates River and led him through the land of Canaan. I blessed him by giving him Isaac, the first in a line of many descendants.
Matthew 1:2
From Abraham to King David, his ancestors were: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and his brothers (Judah's sons were Perez and Zerah, and their mother was Tamar), Hezron; Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Obed (his mother was Ruth), Jesse, and King David. From David to the time of the exile in Babylonia, the ancestors of Jesus were: David, Solomon (his mother had been Uriah's wife), Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram; Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, and Jehoiachin and his brothers.
Acts 7:8
God said to Abraham, "Every son in each family must be circumcised to show that you have kept your agreement with me." So when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. Later, Isaac circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob circumcised his twelve sons.
Romans 9:7
In fact, when God made the promise to Abraham, he meant only Abraham's descendants by his son Isaac. God was talking only about Isaac when he promised

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And said, O Lord God of Israel,.... Jehovah, the only living and true God, the Being of beings, eternal, immutable, omnipotent and omnipresent, the God of all Israel, of the twelve tribes of Israel, their covenant God and Father; who had shown favour to them in such a peculiar and gracious manner, as he had not to other nations, and therefore hoped he would still have a kind regard unto them, and suffer them to expostulate with him in the following manner:

why is this come to pass in Israel; expressing, as Abarbinel thinks, a concern for the 40,000 men of Israel which fell in the two first battles; but it manifestly refers to the case in the next words:

that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel; meaning the tribe of Benjamin, which was all destroyed, excepting six hundred men, and these had no wives to propagate the tribe; and therefore, unless some provision could be made for that, it must in a short time be totally extinct; for which they express great concern, it not being their intention when they made the above oath to extirpate them; but such were now the circumstances of things in Providence, that it must perish unless some way could be found to relieve it, and which their oath seemed to preclude; and this threw them into great perplexity.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The repetition of the name of Israel is very striking in connection with the title of Yahweh as “God of Israel.” It contains a very forcible pleading of the covenant, and memorial of the promises. The very name “Israel” comprehended all the twelve tribes; with one of them blotted out, the remnant would not be Israel.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 21:3. Why is this come to pass — This was a very impertinent question. They knew well enough how it came to pass. It was right that the men of Gibeah should be punished, and it was right that they who vindicated them should share in that punishment; but they carried their revenge too far, they endeavoured to exterminate both man and beast, Judges 20:48.


 
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