Judges 20
BSA1 Then all [the entire nation, every single one] the Israelites [sons of Jacob, God’s chosen people] from Dan [the northernmost city] to Beersheba [the southernmost city, a place of oath and covenant] and from the land [territory, region] of Gilead [a mountainous area, rocky region] came out [went forth, assembled], and the congregation [gathering, assembly] assembled [gathered together, united] as one man [united in purpose, a single entity] before the LORD [Yehovah] at Mizpah [a place of watchtower, a location of gathering]. word study 2 The leaders [chiefs, rulers] of all the people and all the tribes [clans, families] of Israel presented themselves in the assembly [gathering, congregation] of God’s [Elohim, the supreme God] people: 400,000 men [foot soldiers, warriors] on foot [infantry, marching], armed with swords [cutting instruments, weapons]. word study 3 (Meanwhile the Benjamites [sons of Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob] heard that the Israelites [descendants of Jacob] had gone up [to ascend, to rise] to Mizpah [a watchtower, a place of observation].) And the Israelites asked, “Tell us [speak to us, communicate with us], how [in what way, by what means] did this [the current situation, this evil act] wicked thing [morally wrong, evil, or bad] happen [come to be, come into existence]?” word study 4 So the Levite [a descendant of Levi, a priestly tribe], the husband [man, male person] of the murdered [slain, killed] woman, answered [responded, gave an answer]: “I [as a person, individually] and my concubine [servant-wife, companion] came to Gibeah [a city in Benjamin] in Benjamin [son of the right hand, a tribe of Israel] to spend the night [to lodge, rest]. word study 5 And during the night [time of darkness, period of adversity], the men [masters, leaders] of Gibeah [a city in Palestine, birthplace of King Saul] rose up [stood against, rebelled] against me and surrounded [went round, besieged] the house [dwelling place, home]. They intended [thought, planned] to kill [slay, destroy] me, but they abused [forced, humbled] my concubine [woman living with a man, but not his wife], and she died [passed away, met her end]. word study 6 Then I took [grasped, laid hold of] my concubine [woman living with me, but not my wife], cut her into pieces [divided her, hewed her in pieces], and sent her throughout [to all parts of] the land [field, country] of Israel’s [descendants of Jacob] inheritance [property, heritage], because they had committed [done, made] a lewd [wicked, shameful] and disgraceful [foolish, vile] act [deed, wickedness] in Israel [the people of God]. word study 7 Behold [look, take notice], all [every one of] you Israelites [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob], give [provide, offer] your advice [counsel, guidance] and verdict [judgment, decision] here [in this place, at this time] and now [at this moment, presently].” word study 8 Then all [the entire nation, every single one] the people stood as one [united, in agreement] man and said, “Not [none, no one] one of us will return [go back, turn back] to his tent [temporary dwelling, nomad’s home] or to his house [permanent residence, family home]. word study 9 Now [at this time, in this moment] this is what we will do to Gibeah [the city of Saul’s birth]: We will go against it [in battle, by force] as the lot [by divine decision, through casting stones] dictates [determines our course of action, guides us]. word study 10 We will take ten men [a tenth of the group] out of every hundred from all the tribes [clans or families] of Israel, and a hundred [one out of ten] out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand [a myriad, a large multitude], to supply [fetch or gather] provisions [food or victuals] for the army when they go to Gibeah [a city in Benjamin] in Benjamin to punish [render justice or recompense] them for the atrocity [folly or wickedness] they have committed [done or wrought] in Israel [the chosen people].” word study 11 So all [every single one] the men [individuals, males] of Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] gathered [assembled, came together] as one man [knit together], united [in agreement, with one mind] against [toward, in opposition to] the city [town, settlement]. word study 12 And the tribes [clans or families] of Israel sent men throughout the tribe [community or nation] of Benjamin, saying, “What [or how] is this [specific] wickedness [evil or moral harm] that has occurred [happened or come to pass] among you [in your midst]? word study 13 Hand over [deliver, give up] the wicked [base, sons of Belial] men of Gibeah [a city in Palestine, the region of Benjamin] so we can put them to death [execute, take their lives] and purge [cleanse, remove] Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, his descendants] of this evil [bad, moral harm].” But the Benjamites [sons of Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob] refused [would not, did not want to] to heed [listen to, obey] the voice [sound, words] of their fellow [brothers, relatives] Israelites [descendants of Jacob, the nation]. word study 14 And from their cities [towns, settlements] they came together [gathered, assembled] at Gibeah [the hill, a city in Benjamin] to go out [to come out, march out] and fight [engage in battle, wage war] against the Israelites [the children of Israel, God’s chosen people]. word study 15 On that day [at that specific time, in that particular moment] the Benjamites [sons of the right hand, descendants of Benjamin] mobilized [assembled, gathered] 26,000 [twenty-six thousand] swordsmen [men who drew the sword, warriors] from their cities [towns, urban areas], in addition to [apart from, besides] the 700 [seven hundred] select men [chosen, elite warriors] of Gibeah [a city in Palestine, the birthplace of King Saul]. word study 16 Among all [every single one, the entire group] these soldiers [experienced warriors, skilled fighters] there were 700 [seven hundred, a large number] select [chosen, specially picked] left-handers [lefthanded, having limited use of the right hand], each of whom could sling [to throw with a circular motion, to hurl] a stone [a rock, a small projectile] at a hair [a single strand, a tiny target] without missing [not erring, with complete accuracy]. word study 17 The Israelites [excluding], apart from Benjamin [son of the right hand], mobilized [numbered, reckoned] 400,000 [four hundred thousand] swordsmen [men who drew swords, warriors], each one [every individual] an experienced [seasoned, skilled] warrior [man of war, fighter]. word study 18 The Israelites set out, went up to Bethel [the house of God], and inquired of God [Elohim, the supreme Judge], “Who of us [which tribe] shall go up first [at the beginning] to fight against the Benjamites [the sons of Benjamin]?” “Judah [the tribe of praise] will be first [to lead the battle],” the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] replied. word study 19 The next morning [at the break of day, in the early light] the Israelites [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob] set out [rose up, began their journey] and camped [encamped, pitched their tents] near [against, opposite] Gibeah [a city in Palestine, the birthplace of King Saul]. word study 20 And the men [individuals, males] of Israel [descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] went out [to come out, depart] to fight [engage in battle, war] against Benjamin [son of the right hand, the youngest son of Jacob] and took up [arranged, set in order] their battle [war, conflict] positions [array, formation] at Gibeah [a city in Palestine, the birthplace of King Saul]. word study 21 And the Benjamites [children of Benjamin, sons of the right hand] came out [from, out of the city] of Gibeah [a city in Palestine, birthplace of King Saul] and cut down [destroyed, slew, ruined] 22,000 [two and twenty thousand, a large number] Israelites [descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] on the battlefield [in the war, on that day] that day [a literal 24-hour period, a figurative space of time]. word study 22 But the Israelite [men of Israel, the people of God] army took courage [strengthened themselves, encouraged one another] and again took their battle [war, military] positions in the same place [location, location where they had been before] where they had arrayed [set in order, arranged] themselves on the first day [24-hour period, a day of battle]. word study 23 They went up [ascended, rose] and wept [cried, shed tears] before the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] until evening [sunset, the end of the day], inquiring of Him [seeking counsel, asking for guidance], “Should we again [add, continue] draw near [approach, come close] for battle [war, conflict] against our brothers [relatives, kin] the Benjamites [sons of Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob]?” And the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] answered, “Go up [ascend, rise] against them [toward, in the direction of].” word study 24 On [the next, following] the second day the Israelites [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob] advanced [came near, drew close] against [toward, to] the Benjamites [sons of Benjamin, tribe of Benjamin]. word study 25 That same [second] day the Benjamites [sons of the right hand, tribe of Benjamin] came out [sallied forth, went out to meet] against them from Gibeah [a city in Palestine, birthplace of King Saul] and cut down [destroyed, slew] another 18,000 [eighteen thousand, a large number] Israelites [descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people], all [every one, the entire group] of them armed with [drawing, wielding] swords [cutting instruments, weapons of war]. word study 26 Then the Israelites [all the children of Israel], all the people [the entire nation], went up [ascended, came unto] to Bethel [the house of God], where they sat [dwelled, remained] weeping [crying, shedding tears] before the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God]. That day [the same day, at that time] they fasted [abstained from food, humbled themselves] until evening [sunset, the time of twilight] and presented [offered, brought forth] burnt offerings [sacrifices consumed by fire] and peace offerings [voluntary sacrifices, expressions of gratitude] to the LORD [the Lord God, Yehovah]. word study 27 And the Israelites [children of Israel, descendants of Jacob] inquired [asked, sought guidance] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]. (In those days [at that time, during that period] the ark [a box or chest] of the covenant [a promise or agreement, a treaty] of God [Elohim, the supreme God] was there [in that location, present], word study 28 and Phinehas [the son of Aaron, priest and mediator] son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, served before it.) The Israelites asked, “Should we again [yet once more] go out to battle [engage in war, fight] against our brothers [relatives, kin] the Benjamites [sons of Benjamin], or should we stop [cease, give up]?” The LORD [Yehovah, the sovereign God] answered, “Fight [go up, engage in battle], for tomorrow [the next day, a future time] I will deliver [give, put] them into your hand [power, control].” word study 29 So Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] set up [placed, positioned, to lie in wait] an ambush [liars in wait, surprise attack] around [surrounding, encompassing] Gibeah [the city of Saul, a place of significance]. word study 30 On the third [the next, following two days] day the Israelites [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob] went up [ascended, rose] against the Benjamites [sons of Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob] and arrayed [set themselves in order, positioned] themselves against Gibeah [a city in Benjamin, the birthplace of King Saul] as they had done [previously, at other times] before [on previous occasions, in the past]. word study 31 The Benjamites [sons of the right hand, descendants of Benjamin] came out against them and were drawn away [torn, pulled] from the city [a place with a wall or a watchman]. They began to attack [smite, strike] the people as before [at other times, like in the past], killing about thirty men [individuals, males] of Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, referring to his descendants] in the fields [flat areas of land, countryside] and on the roads [highways, public paths], one of which led up [ascended] to Bethel [the house of God, a significant location] and the other to Gibeah [a city in Palestine, the birthplace of King Saul]. word study 32 “We are defeating them [as at the first, like before] as before,” said the Benjamites [sons of Benjamin, descendants of the youngest son of Jacob]. But the Israelites [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob] said, “Let us retreat [flee, quickly leave] and draw them away [tear them from, separate them] from the city [town, settlement] onto the roads [highways, public paths].” word study 33 So all [every single one] the men [male individuals, Israelites] of Israel [God’s chosen people] got up [rose, stood] from their places [positions, locations] and arrayed [set in order, arranged] themselves at Baal-tamar [a place near Gibeah, meaning ’lord of the palms’], and the Israelites [God’s people] in ambush [lying in wait, hiding] charged [broke forth, came out] from their positions [places, locations] west [on the western side] of Gibeah [a city in Benjamin]. word study 34 Then 10,000 [ten thousand, a multitude of] select [chosen, hand-picked] men from all [the entirety of, every part of] Israel made a frontal assault [a fierce attack, a bold charge] against Gibeah, and the battle [war, conflict] was fierce [intense, severe, with much violence]. But the Benjamites did not realize [know, understand, perceive] that disaster [evil, calamity, a great affliction] was upon [near, close to, approaching] them. word study 35 The LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] defeated [smote, struck down] Benjamin [son of the right hand, the youngest son of Jacob] in the presence [face, before] of Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, referring to his descendants], and on that day [a literal 24-hour period, a figurative space of time] the Israelites [the descendants of Jacob] slaughtered [destroyed, ruined] 25,100 [twenty-five thousand and one hundred] Benjamites [the tribe that descended from Benjamin], all [every single one, the entirety] armed with swords [cutting instruments, tools for battle]. word study 36 Then the Benjamites [children of Benjamin, son of the right hand] realized they had been [smitten, struck down] defeated. Now the men of Israel [the descendants of Jacob] had retreated [given place, fallen back] before Benjamin [the tribe of Benjamin] because they were relying [trusting, having confidence] on the ambush [liers in wait, surprise attackers] they had set [laid, prepared] against Gibeah [the city of Benjamin]. word study 37 The men in [secret, hidden] ambush [lying in wait, to surprise] rushed suddenly [with haste, swiftly] against Gibeah; they advanced [drew themselves out, emerged] and put the whole [entire, all of] city [town, settlement] to the [edge of the, with the power of] sword [cutting instrument, weapon of war]. word study 38 The men [individuals, Israelites] of Israel had arranged [appointed, designated] a signal [sign, appointed time] with the men in ambush [lying in wait, hiding to attack]: When they sent up [causing to ascend, to rise] a great [large, abundant] cloud of smoke [flame with smoke, volume of smoke] from the city [town, settlement], word study 39 the men [warriors, soldiers] of Israel would turn [retreat, withdraw] in the battle [war, conflict]. When the Benjamites had begun [initiated, started] to strike [smite, attack] them down, killing about thirty men [individuals, persons] of Israel, they said, “They are defeated [overcome, struck down] before us as in the first [initial, primary] battle [fight, conflict].” word study 40 But when the column [pillar, cloud] of smoke [ascending to heaven] began to go up [to ascend, rise] from the city [town, settlement], the Benjamites [son of the right hand, tribe of Benjamin] looked behind them [after, backwards] and saw the whole city [entire, complete town] going up [ascending, rising] in smoke [flame, fire]. word study 41 Then the men [individuals, warriors] of Israel turned back [to overturn, to reverse] on them, and the men [individuals, warriors] of Benjamin were terrified [dismayed, alarmed] when they realized [saw, understood] that disaster [evil, calamity] had come upon [touched, afflicted] them. word study 42 So they fled [turned their backs, retreated] before the men [individuals, warriors] of Israel [God’s chosen people, descendants of Jacob] toward [in the direction of, to] the wilderness [desert, uninhabited land, a place of testing], but the battle [war, conflict, clash] overtook [caught up to, pursued closely] them, and the men [those who came out, warriors] coming out of the cities [towns, populated areas] struck [destroyed, slew] them down [killed, defeated] there [in the midst, among them]. word study 43 They surrounded [enclosed, compassed] the Benjamites [son of the right hand, the youngest son of Jacob], pursued [chased with hostile intent] them, and easily [with ease, at their resting place] overtook them in the vicinity [before, near] of Gibeah [a city in Palestine, the birthplace of King Saul] on the east [the direction of the sunrise, toward the sun-rising]. word study 44 And 18,000 [eighteen thousand, a large company of] Benjamites [sons of the right hand, the tribe of Benjamin] fell [were defeated, came to their death], all [every one of them, the whole of these] men [individuals, soldiers] of valor [strength, might, courageous warriors, Helech]. word study 45 Then the Benjamites turned [faced a new direction, to flee] and fled [to escape, to run away] toward the wilderness [a desert, a barren land] to the rock [a crag, a strong rock] of Rimmon, and Israel cut down [struck, slew] 5,000 men on the roads [highways, public paths]. And they overtook [pursued, caught up to] them at Gidom [a place of cutting down, a city in Palestine] and struck down [smote, killed] 2,000 [two thousand, a multitude] more [five thousand, a large number]. word study 46 That day [of great battle, when the fate of Benjamin was decided] 25,000 Benjamite [sons of the right hand, from the tribe of Benjamin] swordsmen [men who drew the sword, warriors] fell, all [every single one, without exception] men of valor [strong, courageous, and mighty warriors, having great strength and power]. word study 47 But 600 [six hundred] men turned [to face, to look at] and fled [to escape, to run away] into the wilderness [the desert, a barren land] to the rock [crag, a strong and secure place] of Rimmon [a Syrian deity, a place of refuge], where they stayed [to dwell, to remain] four [a period of time, a season] months [lunar cycles, a period of renewal]. word study 48 And the men [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob] of Israel turned back [to return, to turn again] against the other Benjamites [children of Benjamin, son of the right hand] and put to the sword [smote with the edge of the sword, killed] all the cities [towns, settlements], including the animals [beasts, livestock] and everything else they found [all that came to hand, all that was discovered]. And they burned down [set on fire, consumed with flames] all the cities [towns, villages] in their path [that they came to, that they found]. word study