New Living Translation
Judges 21:5
5Then they said, “Who among the tribes of Israel did not join us at Mizpah when we held our assembly in the presence of the Lord?” At that time they had taken a solemn oath in the Lord’s presence, vowing that anyone who refused to come would 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“O Lord, God of Israel,” they cried out, “why has this happened in Israel? Now one of our tribes is missing from Israel!” 4Early the next morning the people built an altar and presented their burnt offerings and peace offerings on it. Then they said, “Who among the tribes of Israel did not join us at Mizpah when we held our assembly in the presence of the Lord?” At that time they had taken a solemn oath in the Lord’s presence, vowing that anyone who refused to come would be put to death. 6The Israelites felt sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, “Today one of the tribes of Israel has been cut off. 7How can we find wives for the few who remain, since we have sworn by the Lord not to give them our daughters in marriage?”
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 Israelites had vowed at Mizpah, “We will never give our daughters in marriage to a man from the tribe of Benjamin.”
- Judges 5:23‘Let the people of Meroz be cursed,’ said the angel of the Lord. ‘Let them be utterly cursed, because they did not come to help the Lord— to help the Lord against the mighty warriors.’
- Leviticus 27:28“However, anything specially set apart for the Lord—whether a person, an animal, or family property—must never be sold or bought back. Anything devoted in this way has been set apart as holy, and it belongs to the Lord.
- 1 Samuel 11:7He took two oxen and cut them into pieces and sent the messengers to carry them throughout Israel with this message: “This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who refuses to follow Saul and Samuel into battle!” And the Lord made the people afraid of Saul’s anger, and all of them came out together as one.
- Jeremiah 48:10Cursed are those who refuse to do the Lord’s work, who hold back their swords from shedding blood!
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
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