21:1 The Israelites had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will allow his daughter to marry a Benjaminite.” 21:2 So the people came to Bethel 1 and sat there before God until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably. 2 21:3 They said, “Why, O Lord God of Israel, has this happened in Israel?” An entire 3 tribe has disappeared from Israel today!”
21:4 The next morning the people got up early and built an altar there. They offered up burnt sacrifices and token of peace. 4 21:5 The Israelites asked, “Who from all the Israelite tribes has not assembled before the Lord?” They had made a solemn oath that whoever did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah must certainly be executed. 5 21:6 The Israelites regretted what had happened to 6 their brother Benjamin. They said, “Today we cut off an entire 7 tribe from Israel! 21:7 How can we find wives for those who are left? 8 After all, we took an oath in the Lord’s name not to give them our daughters as wives.”
1 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
2 tn Heb “and they lifted up their voice[s] and wept with great weeping.” Both the cognate accusative בְּכִי (bekhi, “weeping”) and the attributive adjective גָדוֹל (gadol, “great”) emphasize their degree of sorrow.
3 tn Heb “one.”
4 tn Or “peace offerings.”
5 tn Heb “A great oath there was concerning the one who did not go up before the Lord at Mizpah, saying, ‘He must surely be put to death.’”
6 tn Or “felt sorry for.”
7 tn Heb “cut off one.”
8 tn Heb “What should we do for them, for the remaining ones, concerning wives?”