Judges 21:4

Judges 21:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
• New International Version (NIV)Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the next day the people rose early and built there an altar and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So it was, on the next morning, that the people rose early and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

Context of Judges 21:4

2The people went to Bethel and sat there in the presence of God until evening. They cried very loudly, 3“Lord God of Israel, why has this happened among us? Why should one tribe be missing today in Israel?” The next day the people got up early. They built an altar there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. 5The people asked, “Is there any family from Israel that did not take part in the assembly in the presence of the Lord?” They had taken a solemn oath that whoever had not come into the presence of the Lord at Mizpah must be put to death. 6The people of Israel felt sorry for their close relatives, the men of Benjamin. They said, “Today one tribe has been excluded from Israel.

Judges 21:4 word by word

וַֽיְהִי֙ מִֽמָּחֳרָ֔ת וַיַּשְׁכִּ֣ימוּ הָעָ֔ם וַיִּבְנוּ־שָׁ֖ם מִזְבֵּ֑חַ וַיַּעֲל֥וּ עֹל֖וֹת וּשְׁלָמִֽים׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it came to pass on the morrowמׇחֳרָתmochŏrâth mochŏrâthâm · morrowH4283
• that the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• rose earlyשָׁכַםshâkam · to riseH7925
• and builtבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• there an altarמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
• and offeredעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: offer upH5927
• burnt offeringsעֹלָה‛ôlâh ‛ôlâh · burnt offeringH5930
• and peace offeringsשֶׁ֫לֶםshelem · peace offeringH8002

Cross-references for Judges 21:4

• Psalms 78:34When he killed ⌞some of⌟ them, ⌞the rest⌟ searched for him. They turned from their sins and eagerly looked for God.
• Hosea 5:15I will go back to my place until they admit that they are guilty. Then they will search for me. In their distress they will eagerly look for me.”
• Judges 6:26Then, in the proper way, build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this fortified place. Take this second bull and sacrifice it as a burnt offering on the wood from the Asherah pole that you have cut down.”
• Exodus 20:24“You must build an altar for me made out of dirt. Sacrifice your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep, goats, and cattle on it. Wherever I choose to have my name remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
• 2 Samuel 24:18That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go, set up an altar for the Lord at Araunah the Jebusite’s threshing floor.”
• 1 Kings 8:64On that day the king designated the courtyard in front of the Lord’s temple as a holy place. He sacrificed the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat from the fellowship offerings because the bronze altar in front of the Lord was too small to hold all of them.
• Hebrews 13:10Those who serve at the tent have no right to eat what is sacrificed at our altar.

Commentaries on Judges 21:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Built there an altar - This affords some evidence that this was not a regular place of worship, else an altar would have been found in the place; and their act was not according to the law, as may be seen in several places of the Pentateuch. But there was neither king nor law among them, and they did whatever appeared right in their own eyes.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4It is not certain whether the brass altar was at Bethel at this time, or whether it may not have been elsewhere, e. g., at Shiloh with the tabernacle. Some, however, think that the altar here mentioned was “additional” to the brass altar, in consequence of the unusual number of sacrifices caused by the presence of the whole congregation (compare 1 Kings 8:64 note).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 21:4

• Nation
• Rashness

In the dictionaries

• Peace offerings
• JabeshGilead
• Spring
• Wolf
• Israel, History of
• Jabesh-Gilead
• Judges, Book of
• Judges, Period of
• Bethel

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