Judges 21:2-8
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 21
2So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and raised their voices and wept profusely. 3And they said, 'Why, Lord, God of Israel, has this happened in Israel, that one tribe is missing today from Israel?' 4And it came about the next day that the people got up early and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5Then the sons of Israel said, 'Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not go up to the Lord in the assembly?' For they had taken a solemn oath concerning anyone who did not go up to the Lord at Mizpah, saying, 'He shall certainly be put to death.'
6And the sons of Israel were sorry for their brother Benjamin, and said, 'Today one tribe is cut off from Israel!
7What are we to do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters as wives?'
King James Version
Chapter 21
2And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore; 3And said, O Lord God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?
4And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5And 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.
6And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
7How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
8And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the Lord? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 21
2So the people went to Bethel and sat there before God until evening. They wept loudly and bitterly, 3and cried out, "Why, Lord God of Israel, has it occurred that one tribe is missing in Israel today?" 4The next day the people got up early, built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. 5The Israelites asked, "Who of all the tribes of Israel didn’t come to the Lord with the assembly?" For a great oath had been taken that anyone who had not come to the Lord at Mizpah would certainly be put to death.
6But the Israelites had compassion on their brothers, the Benjaminites, and said, "Today a tribe has been cut off from Israel.
7What should we do about wives for the survivors? We’ve sworn to the Lord not to give them any of our daughters as wives."
8They asked, "Which city among the tribes of Israel didn’t come to the Lord at Mizpah?" It turned out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp and the assembly.
New Living Translation
Chapter 21
2Now the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly. 3O 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.
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.
English Standard Version
Chapter 21
2And 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. 5And 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." 6And the people of Israel had compassion for Benjamin their brother and said, "One tribe is cut off from Israel this day. 7What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them any of our daughters for wives?"New International Version
Chapter 21
2The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. 3"Lord, God of Israel," they cried, "why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?"
6Now the Israelites grieved for the tribe of Benjamin, their fellow Israelites. "Today one tribe is cut off from Israel," they said.
7"How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?"
8Then they asked, "Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?" They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.
New King James Version
Chapter 21
2Then the people came to the house of God, and remained there before God till evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly, 3and said, “O Lord God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel?”
4So it was, on the next morning, that the people rose early and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5The 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.”
6And the children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel today.
7What shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them our daughters as wives?”
