And they said: This quote frame introduces the Israelites’ prayer to God. The general verb said may be rendered “prayed” (Contemporary English Version) or “cried” (New International Version) in this context. Good News Translation omits this clause by tying the following quote directly to the end of 21.2. Natural transitions and quote formulas should be used here.
O LORD, the God of Israel: See verse 4.6. In Hebrew this vocative expression comes after the interrogative word rendered why, but many languages will prefer to begin the prayer with it. Revised Standard Version adds the word O to show that it is a vocative expression. In some languages it will be more natural to say “Our LORD,” since the entire group is addressing God. The Israelites intensify their prayer by adding the title, the God of Israel. The tribal relationship has been broken, so this title evokes a sad note. Yahweh was the God of all the Israelites, including the Benjaminites. Some languages may need to say “the God whom Israel serves/worships.” In Hebrew this phrase is literally “God of Israel” (Good News Translation), which may be more natural in some languages. Contemporary English Version says “Our LORD, you are the God of Israel,” which may be a helpful model for some languages.
Why has this come to pass in Israel…?: This rhetorical question expresses the anguish of the people as they address the LORD. The Israelites are not actually asking God why the tragedy concerning the Benjaminites happened, since they themselves were involved in bringing it to pass. Interestingly, though they are described as weeping and crying out to God, they have not yet admitted their own evildoing and there are no signs of repentance here. The demonstrative pronoun this seems to refer specifically to the destruction of the Benjaminites, but it could include the entire situation, that is, the behavior of the men of Gibeah, the response of the Levite, and the three battles that led to such an incredible loss in human life. For this we might make explicit “this horrible thing” or “this tragedy.”
Come to pass renders the general Hebrew verb meaning “be.” It may be translated “happened” (Good News Translation, New International Version), “occurred,” or “come about.” In Israel could refer to where the tragedy occurred (in the country of Israel) or to whom (the people of Israel). There are three references to Israel within this short verse, a repetition that seems to convey the dismay and shock of the people. They cannot believe that such a horrible thing has happened in Israel. To render this cry of anguish and dismay, we might say “why has such a tragedy occurred in Israel…?” or “how has this happened to Israel…?” If the question form is not natural, we might say “look what has happened in Israel!” Contemporary English Version portrays the Israelites as accusing God (“Why did you let this happen?”), but this clearly says more than the text and should not be used as a model.
That there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel is literally “to be missing today from Israel one tribe,” which specifies what the pronoun this refers to above. One tribe refers of course to the Benjaminites. For the Hebrew word rendered tribe (shevet), see verse 18.1. Lacking renders a different form of the Hebrew verb translated “mustered” in verse 20.15, meaning “miss” or “lack” here. The people are exaggerating by saying this, since there were some survivors from the tribe of Benjamin. Good News Translation removes the exaggeration by saying they are “about to disappear,” and Contemporary English Version is similar with “almost gone.” But such overstatement is common, especially in this part of the book, so there seems no reason to change the text. In verse 21.6 the people say this tribe has been “cut off.” The use of the number one is significant and ties this account back to many other episodes in this book (see comments on verse 19.13). Today refers to the time of speaking, so Contemporary English Version and New Living Translation use the adverb “Now.” In Israel is a repetitive phrase meant to underline the sorry state of Israel (see comments above).
The quote in this verse is actually one sentence in Hebrew, but some versions prefer to express it as two questions (Good News Translation, New International Version). Possible models here are:
• “Yahweh, God of Israel, how can it be that Israel is missing one tribe today?”
• “Oh Yahweh, God of Israel, one of our tribes in Israel has ceased to exist! This should never have happened!”
Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .