God’s Word Translation
Judges 21:5
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.
Judges 21:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the Lord? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the Lord to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
- New International Version (NIV)Then the Israelites asked, “Who from all the tribes of Israel has failed to assemble before the Lord?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah was to be put to death.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the people of Israel said, "Which of all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to the Lord?" For they had taken a great oath concerning him who did not come up to the Lord to Mizpah, saying, "He shall surely be put to death."
- New King James Version (NKJV)The children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up with the assembly to the Lord?” For they had made a great oath concerning anyone who had not come up to the Lord at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.”
Context of Judges 21:5
3“Lord God of Israel, why has this happened among us? Why should one tribe be missing today in Israel?” 4The next day the people got up early. They built an altar there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. The 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. 7What will we do to provide wives for the men who are left? We swore to the Lord that we would not let any of our daughters marry them.”
Read all of Judges 21Judges 21:5 word by word
וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מִ֠י אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹא־עָלָ֧ה בַקָּהָ֛ל מִכָּל־שִׁבְטֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶל־יְהוָ֑ה כִּי֩ הַשְּׁבוּעָ֨ה הַגְּדוֹלָ֜ה הָיְתָ֗ה לַ֠אֲשֶׁר לֹא־עָלָ֨ה אֶל־יְהוָ֧ה הַמִּצְפָּ֛ה לֵאמֹ֖ר מ֥וֹת יוּמָֽת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- among all the tribesשֵׁ֫בֶטshêbeţ · tribeH7626
- thatאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- cameעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
- not up with the congregationקָהָלqâhâl · assemblyH6951
- unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- For they had made a greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- oathשְׁבוּעָהshebû‛âh · oathH7621
- to Mizpehמִצְפָּהmitspâh · MizpahH4709
- He shall surelyמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
Cross-references for Judges 21:5
- Judges 21:1The men of Israel had taken this oath in Mizpah: “None of us will ever let our daughters marry anyone from Benjamin.”
- Judges 5:23“Curse Meroz!” said the Messenger of the Lord. “Bitterly curse those who live there! They did not come to help the Lord, to help the Lord and his heroes.”
- Leviticus 27:28“However, everything dedicated to the Lord for destruction—a person, an animal, or a field that belongs to you—must not be sold or bought back. Everything dedicated in that way is very holy. It belongs to the Lord.
- 1 Samuel 11:7Saul took a pair of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent them by messengers throughout the territory of Israel with the following message: “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who doesn’t follow Saul and Samuel ⌞into battle⌟.” So the people became terrified by the Lord, and they came out united ⌞behind Saul⌟.
- Jeremiah 48:10Cursed are those who neglect doing the Lord’s work. Cursed are those who keep their swords from killing.
Commentaries on Judges 21:5
- 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 21:5
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries