God’s Word Translation
Judges 21:6
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 21:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
- New International Version (NIV)Now the Israelites grieved for the tribe of Benjamin, their fellow Israelites. “Today one tribe is cut off from Israel,” they said.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the people of Israel had compassion for Benjamin their brother and said, "One tribe is cut off from Israel this day.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel today.
Context of Judges 21:6
4The 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. The 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.” 8Then they asked, “Is there any family from Israel that did not come into the presence of the Lord at Mizpah?” No one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the assembly in the camp.
Read all of Judges 21Judges 21:6 word by word
וַיִּנָּֽחֲמוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶל־בִּנְיָמִ֖ן אָחִ֑יו וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ נִגְדַּ֥ע הַיּ֛וֹם שֵׁ֥בֶט אֶחָ֖ד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- repentedנָחַםnâcham · to be sorry: comfortH5162
- them for Benjaminבִּנְיָמִיןbinyâmîyn · BenjaminH1144
- their brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- There is oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- tribeשֵׁ֫בֶטshêbeţ · tribeH7626
- cut offגָּדַעgâda‛ · to cut down/offH1438
- this dayיוֹםyôm · day: todayH3117
Cross-references for Judges 21:6
- Judges 21:15The congregation felt sorry for the people of Benjamin because the Lord had broken the unity of the tribes of Israel.
- Judges 11:35When he saw her, he tore his clothes in grief and said, “Oh no, Daughter! You’ve brought me to my knees! What disaster you’ve brought me! I made a foolish promise to the Lord. Now I can’t break it.”
- Judges 20:23The Israelites went and cried in the presence of the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, “Should we continue to wage war against our close relatives, the men of Benjamin?” The Lord answered, “Go fight them!”
- 2 Samuel 2:26Then Abner called to Joab, “Should this slaughter go on forever? Don’t you know this will end in bitterness? How long will it be before you will call off your troops from chasing their relatives?”
- Hosea 11:8“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboim? I have changed my mind. I am deeply moved.
- Luke 19:41When he came closer and saw the city, he began to cry.
Commentaries on Judges 21:6
- 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. 66. There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day--that is, in danger of becoming extinct; for, as it appears from Jud 21:7, they had massacred all the women and children of Benjamin, and six hundred men alone survived of the whole tribe. The prospect of such a blank in the catalogue of the twelve tribes, such a gap in the national arrangements, was too painful to contemplate, and immediate measures must be taken to prevent this great catastrophe.Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 21:6
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