Bible Strands
Judges 2:4
When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The angel of the LORD pronounces judgment on the Israelites for failing to drive out the Canaanites, warning that the remaining nations will become thorns and their gods a snare. Upon hearing this declaration, the entire assembly lifts their voices and weeps.
The words — The verb כְּ/דַבֵּ֞ר (ke./da.Ber) literally means "when [he] spoke" or "when he had spoken," indicating the completed utterance that precedes the reaction. The noun מַלְאַ֤ךְ (mal.'Akh) specifies the divine messenger who delivers the pronouncement.
The thread — The link between hearing a divine warning and responding with vocal grief recurs in 2 Corinthians 7:10 and James 4:9, which contrast godly sorrow with worldly grief.
Why it lands — The text records a moment of collective mourning without explaining its cause or prescribing a follow-up action. A reader must observe the immediate emotional response to a spoken judgment before drawing conclusions about repentance or its absence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
Cross-references
- 2 Corinthians 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
- James 4:9 Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.
- 1 Samuel 7:6 When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.
- Ezra 10:1 While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, a very large assembly of Israelites—men, women, and children—gathered around him, and the people wept bitterly as well.
- Proverbs 17:10 A rebuke cuts into a man of discernment deeper than a hundred lashes cut into a fool.
- Jeremiah 31:9 They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”
- Zechariah 12:10 Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
- Luke 6:21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
- Luke 7:38 As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. Then she kissed His feet and anointed them with the perfume.