Judges 21 · Verse 3

Judges 21:3

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?
Judges 21:3, King James Version

Judges 21:3 in other translations

BSB“Why, O LORD God of Israel,” they cried out, “has this happened in Israel? Today in Israel one tribe is missing!”
WEBThey said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that there should be one tribe lacking in Israel today?”
ASVAnd they said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel?
YLTand say, ‘Why, O Jehovah, God of Israel, hath this been in Israel--to be lacking to-day, from Israel, one tribe?'
DARBYand said, Jehovah,God of Israel, why is it come to pass in Israel, that there should be this day one tribe lacking in Israel?
BBEAnd they said, O Lord, the God of Israel, why has this fate come on Israel, that today one tribe has been cut off from Israel?
WebsterAnd 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?

What does Judges 21:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 21:2-5

Jud 21:1-15. The People Bewail The Desolation of Israel. 2-5. the people came to the house of God, ... and lifted up their voices, and wept sore--The characteristic fickleness of the Israelites was not long in being displayed; for scarcely had they cooled from the fierceness of their sanguinary vengeance, than they began to relent and rushed to the opposite extreme of self-accusation and grief at the desolation…

Read the full comment on Judges 21:2-5 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 Why is this come to pass - This was a very impertinent question. They knew well enough how it came to pass. It was right that the men of Gibeah should be punished, and it was right that they who vindicated them should share in that punishment; but they carried their revenge too far, they endeavored to exterminate both man and beast, Jdg 20:48.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Judges 21:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּvai.Yo.me.Ruand they saidH559
לָמָ֗הla.Mah<to> why?H4100
יְהוָה֙Yah.wehO YahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֵ֣י'e.lo.Hei[the] God ofH430
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
הָ֥יְתָהHa.ye.tahhas it happenedH1961
זֹּ֖אתzotthis [thing]H2063
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑לbe.Yis.ra.'Elin IsraelH3478
לְהִפָּקֵ֥דle.hi.pa.Kedto be missingH6485
הַיּ֛וֹםhai.Yomthis dayH3117
מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֖לmi.Yis.ra.'Elfrom IsraelH3478
שֵׁ֥בֶטShe.veta tribeH7626
אֶחָֽד\׃'e.ChadoneH259

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Judges 21:3

  • Psalms 80:12

    Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?

  • Jeremiah 12:1

    Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?

  • Joshua 7:7-9

    And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?

  • Psalms 74:1

    Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?

  • Deuteronomy 29:24

    Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?

  • Proverbs 19:3

    The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord.

  • Isaiah 63:17

    O Lord, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
why is.
De 29:24; Jos 7:7-9; Ps 74:1; 80:12; Pr 19:3; Isa 63:17; Jer 12:1

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Judges 21:2

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

  • Judges 21:3

    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?

  • Judges 21:4

    And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

Read all of Judges 21

Judges 21:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Oh Jehová Dios de Israel, ¿por qué ha sucedido esto en Israel, que falte hoy de Israel una tribu?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et dirent: Éternel, Dieu d’Israël, pourquoi ceci est-il arrivé en Israël, qu’il manque aujourd’hui à Israël une tribu?
German
Elberfelder 1871		und sprachen: Warum, Jehova, Gott Israels, ist dieses in Israel geschehen, daß heute ein Stamm aus Israel vermißt wird?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quare, Domine Deus Israël, factum est hoc malum in populo tuo, ut hodie una tribus auferretur ex nobis?