3 And 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?
3 "Lord, God of Israel," they cried, "why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?"
3 And they said, "O Lord, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?"
3 They said, "Why, O God, God of Israel, has this happened? Why do we find ourselves today missing one whole tribe from Israel?"
3 and said, "O Lord God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel?"
3 "O Lord, God of Israel," they cried out, "why has this happened in Israel? Now one of our tribes is missing from Israel!"
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Judges 21:3
Chapter Contents
The Israelites lament for the Benjamites.
Israel lamented for the Benjamites, and were perplexed by the oath they had taken, not to give their daughters to them in marriage. Men are more zealous to support their own authority than that of God. They would have acted better if they had repented of their rash oaths, brought sin-offerings, and sought forgiveness in the appointed way, rather than attempt to avoid the guilt of perjury by actions quite as wrong. That men can advise others to acts of treachery or violence, out of a sense of duty, forms a strong proof of the blindness of the human mind when left to itself, and of the fatal effects of a conscience under ignorance and error.