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Monday, July 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Judges 21:2

So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Beth-El;   Church;   Nation;   Rashness;   Thompson Chain Reference - Dead, the;   Grief;   Joy-Sorrow;   Mourning;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Benjamin, Tribe of;   Evening, the;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Gibeah;   Mizpah;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Bethel;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Judges, Book of;   Sore;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Benjamin;   Jabesh, Jabesh-Gilead;   Marriage;   Priests and Levites;   Samson;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Gibeah;   Jotham;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Beth'el;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Intercession;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So the people went to Bethel and sat there before God until evening. They wept loudly and bitterly,
Hebrew Names Version
The people came to Beit-El, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.
King James Version
And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
Lexham English Bible
And the people of Bethel came and sat there until evening before God, and they lifted their voices and wept bitterly.
English Standard Version
And the people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.
New Century Version
The people went to the city of Bethel and sat before God until evening, crying loudly.
New English Translation
So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably.
Amplified Bible
So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.
New American Standard Bible
So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and raised their voices and wept profusely.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And the people came vnto ye house of God and abode there till euen before God, and lift vp their voyces, and wept with great lamentation,
Legacy Standard Bible
En toe die manskappe in Bet-el kom, het hulle daar gebly tot die aand toe voor die aangesig van God en hulle stem verhef en geween met 'n groot geween
Contemporary English Version
After the war with Benjamin, the Israelites went to the place of worship at Bethel and sat there until sunset. They cried loudly and bitterly
Complete Jewish Bible
The people came to Beit-El and stayed there before God till evening crying out and weeping.
Darby Translation
And the people came to Bethel, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly,
Easy-to-Read Version
The Israelites went to the city of Bethel. There they sat before God until evening. They cried loudly as they sat there.
George Lamsa Translation
And the people came to Beth-el, and abode there till evening before God, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly;
Good News Translation
So now the people of Israel went to Bethel and sat there in the presence of God until evening. Loudly and bitterly they mourned:
Literal Translation
And the people came to Bethel, and sat there before God until the evening. And they lifted up their voices and wept a great weeping.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the people came to the house of God (in Silo) & abode there before God vntill the euenynge, and lifte vp their voyce, and wepte sore,
American Standard Version
And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.
Bible in Basic English
And the people came to Beth-el, waiting there till evening before God, and gave themselves up to bitter weeping.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till euen, before God, & lift vp their voyces, and wept sore,
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.
King James Version (1611)
And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till euen before God, and lift vp their voices, and wept sore:
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the people came to Baethel, and sat there until evening before God: and they lifted up their voice and wept with a great weeping;
English Revised Version
And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And `alle camen to the hows of God in Silo, and thei saten in the `siyt of hym `til to euentid, and thei reisiden the vois, and bigunnen to wepe with greet yellyng,
Young's Literal Translation
And the people come in to Beth-El, and sit there till the evening before God, and lift up their voice, and weep -- a great weeping,
Update Bible Version
And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept intensely.
Webster's Bible Translation
And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept bitterly;
World English Bible
The people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.
New King James Version
Then the people came to the house of God, [fn] and remained there before God till evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly,
New Living Translation
Now the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly.
New Life Bible
So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening. In loud voices they cried,
New Revised Standard
And the people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So then the people came to Bethel, and abode there, until the evening, before God, - and lifted up their voice, and wept bitterly,
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they all came to the house of God in Silo, and sitting before him till the evening, lifted up their voices, and began to lament and weep, saying:
Revised Standard Version
And the people came to Bethel, and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.
THE MESSAGE
Now, back in Bethel, the people sat in the presence of God until evening. They cried loudly; there was widespread lamentation. They said, "Why, O God , God of Israel, has this happened? Why do we find ourselves today missing one whole tribe from Israel?"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.

Contextual Overview

1Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, "Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite." 2So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly.3"Why, O LORD God of Israel," they cried out, "has this happened in Israel? Today in Israel one tribe is missing!" 4The next day the people got up early, built an altar there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. 5The Israelites asked, "Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?" For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah would surely be put to death. 6And the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites, and said, "Today a tribe is cut off from Israel. 7What should we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them our daughters in marriage?" 8So they asked, "Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah?" And in fact, no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. 9For when the people were counted, none of the residents of Jabesh-gilead were there. 10So the congregation sent 12,000 of their most valiant men and commanded them: "Go and put to the sword those living in Jabesh-gilead, including women and children.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the house: Judges 21:12, Judges 20:18, Judges 20:23, Judges 20:26, Joshua 18:1

lifted: Judges 2:4, Genesis 27:38, 1 Samuel 30:4

Reciprocal: Numbers 11:18 - ye have wept Joshua 7:6 - until the eventide 1 Samuel 1:10 - wept sore 1 Samuel 11:4 - lifted up

Cross-References

Genesis 17:19
But God replied, "Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
Genesis 17:21
But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year."
Genesis 18:10
Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!" Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the tent.
Genesis 18:14
Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you-in about a year-and Sarah will have a son."
Genesis 21:16
Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, "I cannot bear to watch the boy die!" And as she sat nearby, she lifted up her voice and wept.
Genesis 21:17
Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, "What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies.
Genesis 21:24
And Abraham replied, "I swear it."
Genesis 21:25
But when Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech's servants had seized,
Luke 1:36
Look, even Elizabeth your relative has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is in her sixth month.
Acts 7:8
Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the people came to the house of God,.... Not to the city Bethel, as the Targum, Septuagint, and other versions, but to Shiloh, where were the tabernacle and ark; and this is to be understood of the army after they had utterly destroyed the Benjaminites: hence we read of the camp in Shiloh, Judges 21:12, here they came not so much to rejoice, and be glad, and to return thanks for the victory they had at last obtained, as to lament the unhappy case of the tribe of Benjamin, and to have counsel and advice, and consider of ways and means to repair their loss:

and abode there till even before God; fasting and praying, instead of feasting and rejoicing:

and lifted up their voices, and wept sore; not so much, or at least not only for the 40,000 Israelites that were slain, but for the tribe of Benjamin, in danger of being lost, as follows.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

To the house of God - It should be, “to Bethel.” See Judges 20:18.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 21:2. The people came to the house of God — Literally, the people came בית־אל to Bethel; this is considered as the name of a place by the Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Septuagint.

And wept sore — Their revenge was satisfied, and now reflection brings them to contrition for what they had done.


 
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