Judges 21:2

2 The people went to Bethel,^[a] where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly.

Judges 21:2 in Other Translations

2 And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;

2 And the people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.

2 Now the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly.

2 Now, back in Bethel, the people sat in the presence of God until evening. They cried loudly; there was widespread lamentation.

2 So the people went to Bethel and sat there before God until evening. They wept loudly and bitterly,

Judges 21:2 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 21:2

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.

Judges 21:2 In-Context

1 The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”

2 The 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?”

4 Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.

5 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "to the house of God"