Judges 21:2

THE MESSAGE

Now, back in Bethel, the people sat in the presence of God until evening. They cried loudly; there was widespread lamentation. They said, "Why, O God , God of Israel, has this happened? Why do we find ourselves today missing one whole tribe from Israel?"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So the people went to Bethel and sat there before God until evening. They wept loudly and bitterly,

Hebrew Names Version
The people came to Beit-El, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.

King James Version
And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;

Lexham English Bible
And the people of Bethel came and sat there until evening before God, and they lifted their voices and wept bitterly.

English Standard Version
And the people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.

New Century Version
The people went to the city of Bethel and sat before God until evening, crying loudly.

New English Translation
So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably.

Amplified Bible
So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.

New American Standard Bible
So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and raised their voices and wept profusely.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the people came vnto ye house of God and abode there till euen before God, and lift vp their voyces, and wept with great lamentation,

Legacy Standard Bible
En toe die manskappe in Bet-el kom, het hulle daar gebly tot die aand toe voor die aangesig van God en hulle stem verhef en geween met 'n groot geween

Contemporary English Version
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

Complete Jewish Bible
The people came to Beit-El and stayed there before God till evening crying out and weeping.

Darby Translation
And the people came to Bethel, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly,

Easy-to-Read Version
The Israelites went to the city of Bethel. There they sat before God until evening. They cried loudly as they sat there.

George Lamsa Translation
And the people came to Beth-el, and abode there till evening before God, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly;

Good News Translation
So now the people of Israel went to Bethel and sat there in the presence of God until evening. Loudly and bitterly they mourned:

Literal Translation
And the people came to Bethel, and sat there before God until the evening. And they lifted up their voices and wept a great weeping.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the people came to the house of God (in Silo) & abode there before God vntill the euenynge, and lifte vp their voyce, and wepte sore,

American Standard Version
And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.

Bible in Basic English
And the people came to Beth-el, waiting there till evening before God, and gave themselves up to bitter weeping.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till euen, before God, & lift vp their voyces, and wept sore,

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.

King James Version (1611)
And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till euen before God, and lift vp their voices, and wept sore:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the people came to Baethel, and sat there until evening before God: and they lifted up their voice and wept with a great weeping;

English Revised Version
And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.

Berean Standard Bible
So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And `alle camen to the hows of God in Silo, and thei saten in the `siyt of hym `til to euentid, and thei reisiden the vois, and bigunnen to wepe with greet yellyng,

Young's Literal Translation
And the people come in to Beth-El, and sit there till the evening before God, and lift up their voice, and weep -- a great weeping,

Update Bible Version
And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept intensely.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept bitterly;

World English Bible
The people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.

New King James Version
Then the people came to the house of God, [fn] and remained there before God till evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly,

New Living Translation
Now the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly.

New Life Bible
So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening. In loud voices they cried,

New Revised Standard
And the people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So then the people came to Bethel, and abode there, until the evening, before God, - and lifted up their voice, and wept bitterly,

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they all came to the house of God in Silo, and sitting before him till the evening, lifted up their voices, and began to lament and weep, saying:

Revised Standard Version
And the people came to Bethel, and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.

Contextual Overview

¹ Back at Mizpah the men of Israel had taken an oath: "No man among us will give his daughter to a Benjaminite in marriage." ²Now, back in Bethel, the people sat in the presence of God until evening. They cried loudly; there was widespread lamentation. They said, "Why, O God , God of Israel, has this happened? Why do we find ourselves today missing one whole tribe from Israel?" ⁴ Early the next morning, the people got busy and built an altar. They sacrificed Whole-Burnt-Offerings and Peace-Offerings. ⁵ Then the Israelites said, "Who from all the tribes of Israel didn't show up as we gathered in the presence of God ?" For they had all taken a sacred oath that anyone who had not gathered in the presence of God at Mizpah had to be put to death. ⁶But the People of Israel were feeling sorry for Benjamin, their brothers. They said, "Today, one tribe is cut off from Israel. How can we get wives for those who are left? We have sworn by God not to give any of our daughters to them in marriage." ⁸They said, "Which one of the tribes of Israel didn't gather before God at Mizpah?" It turned out that no one had come to the gathering from Jabesh Gilead. When they took a roll call of the people, not a single person from Jabesh Gilead was there. ¹⁰So the congregation sent twelve divisions of their top men there with the command, "Kill everyone of Jabesh Gilead, including women and children. These are your instructions: Every man and woman who has had sexual intercourse you must kill. But keep the virgins alive." And that's what they did. ¹² And they found four hundred virgins among those who lived in Jabesh Gilead; they had never had sexual intercourse with a man. And they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. ¹³Then the congregation sent word to the Benjaminites who were at the Rimmon Rock and offered them peace. And Benjamin came. They gave them the women they had let live at Jabesh Gilead. But even then, there weren't enough for all the men. ¹⁵ The people felt bad for Benjamin; God had left out Benjamin—the missing piece from the Israelite tribes.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the house: Judges 21:12, Judges 20:18, Judges 20:23, Judges 20:26, Joshua 18:1

lifted: Judges 2:4, Genesis 27:38, 1 Samuel 30:4

Reciprocal: Numbers 11:18 - ye have wept Joshua 7:6 - until the eventide 1 Samuel 1:10 - wept sore 1 Samuel 11:4 - lifted up

Cross-References

Genesis 17:19
But God said, "That's not what I mean. Your wife, Sarah, will have a baby, a son. Name him Isaac (Laughter). I'll establish my covenant with him and his descendants, a covenant that lasts forever.

Genesis 18:10
One of them said, "I'm coming back about this time next year. When I arrive, your wife Sarah will have a son." Sarah was listening at the tent opening, just behind the man.

Genesis 21:17
Meanwhile, God heard the boy crying. The angel of God called from Heaven to Hagar, "What's wrong, Hagar? Don't be afraid. God has heard the boy and knows the fix he's in. Up now; go get the boy. Hold him tight. I'm going to make of him a great nation."

Genesis 21:24
Abraham said, "I swear it."

Genesis 21:25
At the same time, Abraham confronted Abimelech over the matter of a well of water that Abimelech's servants had taken. Abimelech said, "I have no idea who did this; you never told me about it; this is the first I've heard of it."

Luke 1:36
"And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God." And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now: I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say. Then the angel left her.

Acts 7:8
"Then he made a covenant with him and signed it in Abraham's flesh by circumcision. When Abraham had his son Isaac, within eight days he reproduced the sign of circumcision in him. Isaac became father of Jacob, and Jacob father of twelve ‘fathers,' each faithfully passing on the covenant sign.

Hebrews 11:11
By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant, old woman as she was at the time, because she believed the One who made a promise would do what he said. That's how it happened that from one man's dead and shriveled loins there are now people numbering into the millions.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the people came to the house of God,.... Not to the city Bethel, as the Targum, Septuagint, and other versions, but to Shiloh, where were the tabernacle and ark; and this is to be understood of the army after they had utterly destroyed the Benjaminites: hence we read of the camp in Shiloh, Judges 21:12, here they came not so much to rejoice, and be glad, and to return thanks for the victory they had at last obtained, as to lament the unhappy case of the tribe of Benjamin, and to have counsel and advice, and consider of ways and means to repair their loss:

and abode there till even before God; fasting and praying, instead of feasting and rejoicing:

and lifted up their voices, and wept sore; not so much, or at least not only for the 40,000 Israelites that were slain, but for the tribe of Benjamin, in danger of being lost, as follows.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

To the house of God - It should be, “to Bethel.” See Judges 20:18.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 21:2. The people came to the house of God — Literally, the people came בית־אל to Bethel; this is considered as the name of a place by the Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Septuagint.

And wept sore — Their revenge was satisfied, and now reflection brings them to contrition for what they had done.