Judges 20:26

26 Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

Judges 20:26 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 20:26

Then all the children of Israel and all the people went up,
and came unto the house of God
This looks as if the whole body of the army, with other people from parts adjacent, went up to the tabernacle of God in Shiloh:

and wept and sat there before the Lord;
not only wept, but continued weeping, and that not merely for their defeat, but for their sins, since it follows:

and fasted that day until even;
afflicted their bodies with fasting, which was a token of the humiliation of their souls for their sins:

and offered burnt offering's and peace offerings before the Lord,
to make atonement for their sins, and to implore success on their arms.

Judges 20:26 In-Context

24 So the children of Israel approached the children of Benjamin on the second day.
25 And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day, and cut down to the ground eighteen thousand more of the children of Israel; all these drew the sword.
26 Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
27 So the children of Israel inquired of the Lord (the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
28 and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, "Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?" And the Lord said, "Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand."

Footnotes 1

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.