English Standard Version
Judges 21:2
2And the people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.
Judges 21:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
- New International Version (NIV)The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then the people came to the house of God, and remained there before God till evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly,
- New Living Translation (NLT)Now the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly.
Context of Judges 21:2
1Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, "No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin." And the people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. 3And they said, "O Lord, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?" 4And the next day the people rose early and built there an altar and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
Read all of Judges 21Judges 21:2 word by word
וַיָּבֹ֤א הָעָם֙ בֵּֽית־אֵ֔ל וַיֵּ֤שְׁבוּ שָׁם֙ עַד־הָעֶ֔רֶב לִפְנֵ֖י הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיִּשְׂא֣וּ קוֹלָ֔ם וַיִּבְכּ֖וּ בְּכִ֥י גָדֽוֹל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- to the houseבֵּיתbayith · betweenH1004
- of Godבֵּֽיתְ־אֵלbêyth-'êl · BethelH1008
- of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- and abodeיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- there till evenעֶ֫רֶב‛ereb · eveningH6153
- beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- and lifted upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: loudH5375
- their voicesקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
- and weptבְּכִיbekîy · weepingH1065
- and weptבָּכָהbâkâh · to weepH1058
- soreגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
Cross-references for Judges 21:2
- Judges 21:12And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
- Judges 20:18The people of Israel arose and went up to Bethel and inquired of God, "Who shall go up first for us to fight against the people of Benjamin?" And the Lord said, "Judah shall go up first."
- Joshua 18:1Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them.
- Judges 2:4As soon as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept.
- Genesis 27:38Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
- 1 Samuel 30:4Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.
Commentaries on Judges 21:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The 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.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2To the house of God - It should be, “to Bethel.” See Judges 20:18.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-25These two epilogues (Judges 17–18 and 19–21) show that inspired but unstructured leadership cannot last. As society moved toward chaos and civil war, the phrase, In those days there was no king in Israel appears four times. The phrase, everyone did what was right in his own eyes is added twice (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). The era of inspired leadership declined and ended in disorder. Something important was missing.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-152-5. the people came to the house of God, ... and lifted up their voices, and wept sore--The characteristic fickleness of the Israelites was not long in being displayed; for scarcely had they cooled from the fierceness of their sanguinary vengeance, than they began to relent and rushed to the opposite extreme of self-accusation and grief at the desolation which their impetuous zeal had produced. Their victory saddened and humbled them. Their feelings on…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 21:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Judges 21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries