The Meaning of Judges 21:25 Explained

Judges 21:25

KJV: In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

YLT: In those days there is no king in Israel; each doth that which is right in his own eyes.

Darby: In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.

ASV: In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

In those days  [there was] no king  in Israel:  every man  did  [that which was] right  in his own eyes. 

What does Judges 21:25 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Judges 21:25 concludes the story of the atrocity of the men of Gibeah and the Benjamites (chs19-21). This second vignette from the period of the judges began and ends with the same statement (cf. Judges 19:1). It reflects the failure of Israel in this event in its history to acknowledge the sovereignty of Yahweh in a practical way.
"The motivation for including this second narrative of the Bethlehem trilogy is evident. It reflects badly on Benjamin and by implication on the Saulide ancestry and dynasty. The Proverbs -David sentiment is crystal clear." [1]
However, the verse also summarizes the whole period of the judges surveyed in this book. It forms a fitting concluding statement that explains why life in Israel was as it was during this era. For this reason many Bible students regard this verse as the key verse in the book. [2]
" Judges 19-21gives us the ugliest story in the Bible. The key to it is that, at every stage, men were acting on the basis of what was right in their own eyes. As far as the men of Gibeah were concerned, rape was all right. To the farmer and the Levite in the house, homosexual rape was unthinkable, but other rape was acceptable. The men of Benjamin thought it was right to overlook sin and to defend evil men. To Israel, revenge and retaliation would be justified, and to solve their problems about marriage for the Benjamites, the massacre of innocent people and kidnapping could be condoned.
"The interesting thing is that none of this had anything [3] to do with idolatry or Baal worship. It began with individuals ignoring the law of God, doing what was right in their own eyes, and it led a whole nation into moral collapse." [2]9
The Israelites needed no judge or king to lead them into apostasy or battle. They did both on their own.

Chapter Summary: Judges 21

1  The people bewail the desolation of Benjamin
8  By the destruction of Jabesh Gilead they provide them four hundred wives
16  They advise the remainder to surprise the virgins that danced at Shiloh

What do the individual words in Judges 21:25 mean?

In days those [there was] no king in Israel everyone right in his own eyes did [what was]
בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֔ם אֵ֥ין מֶ֖לֶךְ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אִ֛ישׁ הַיָּשָׁ֥ר בְּעֵינָ֖יו יַעֲשֶֽׂה

בַּיָּמִ֣ים  In  days 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הָהֵ֔ם  those 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
אֵ֥ין  [there  was]  no 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
מֶ֖לֶךְ  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל  in  Israel 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
אִ֛ישׁ  everyone 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
הַיָּשָׁ֥ר  right 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: יָשָׁר 
Sense: straight, upright, correct, right.
בְּעֵינָ֖יו  in  his  own  eyes 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, cdc, third person masculine singular
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
יַעֲשֶֽׂה  did  [what  was] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.