And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

And inquired of him concerning their state. At that time the ark of the covenant of the Lord was there,

And the sons of Israel ask of Jehovah,, and there is the ark of the covenant of God in those days,

And the children of Israel made request to the Lord, (for the ark of the agreement of the Lord was there in those days,

And they inquired about their state. At that time, the ark of the covenant of the Lord was in that place.

And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God [was] (m) there in those days,
(m) That is, in Shiloh.

And the children of Israel inquired of the Lord,.... By the Word of the Lord, as the Targum, and which has the same expression in Judges 20:18 for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days; in Shiloh, where the tabernacle was.

Having made these preparations, they inquired of the Lord whether they should continue the war, and received this reply: "Go up (against Benjamin); for to-morrow I will give it unto thy hand" (ידך, the hand of the congregation carrying on the war). To this the supplementary remark is appended, that the ark of the covenant was at Bethel in those days, and the high priest served before it. The expression "in those days" implies that the ark of the covenant was only temporarily at Bethel, and therefore had been brought thither from the tabernacle at Shiloh during this war.