Judges 21:3 (YLT)

Passage

and say, `Why, O Jehovah, God of Israel, hath this been in Israel--to be lacking to-day, from Israel, one tribe?'

Nearby Context

Judges 21:1 And the men of Israel have sworn in Mizpeh, saying, `None of us doth give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife.'

Judges 21:2 And the people come in to Beth-El, and sit there till the evening before God, and lift up their voice, and weep--a great weeping,

Judges 21:3 and say, `Why, O Jehovah, God of Israel, hath this been in Israel--to be lacking to-day, from Israel, one tribe?'

Judges 21:4 And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that the people rise early, and build there an altar, and cause to ascend burnt-offerings and peace-offerings.

Judges 21:5 And the sons of Israel say, `Who <FI>is<Fi> he that hath not come up in the assembly out of all the tribes of Israel unto Jehovah?' for the great oath hath been concerning him who hath not come up unto Jehovah to Mizpeh, saying, `He is surely put to death.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jehovah", "israel", "hath", "been", "israel--to", "lacking", and "to-day". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jehovah" and "israel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "And the people come in to Beth-El..." into verse 4's "And it cometh to pass on the...", so "jehovah" and "israel" belong inside that flow. In Judges context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jehovah" and "israel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.