Judges 20:32

Judges 20:32 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways.
• New International Version (NIV)While the Benjamites were saying, “We are defeating them as before,” the Israelites were saying, “Let’s retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the people of Benjamin said, "They are routed before us, as at the first." But the people of Israel said, "Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the children of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, as at first.” But the children of Israel said, “Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.”

Context of Judges 20:32

30On the third day, their other soldiers stood in the same places as before. They were ready to fight. 31The soldiers of Benjamin came out of Gibeah to attack them. But the Israelites moved away from the city so that Benjamin's soldiers chased after them. The men of Benjamin began to kill the Israelites, as they had done before. They killed about 30 Israelites in the fields and on the roads that went to Bethel and Gibeah. The soldiers of Benjamin were saying, ‘We are winning against them, as we have done before!’ But the Israelites were saying, ‘We will continue to run away so that their soldiers chase us. We will lead them away from the city onto the roads.’ 33When the men of Israel reached Baal Tamar, they stopped there. They stood in their places, ready to fight. At the same time, the Israelite soldiers who had hidden themselves on the west side of Gibeah ran out of their places. 3410,000 Israelite soldiers who knew how to fight well attacked Gibeah. There was a big battle. The men of Benjamin did not realize that they were in a lot of trouble.

Judges 20:32 word by word

וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י בִנְיָמִ֔ן נִגָּפִ֥ים הֵ֛ם לְפָנֵ֖ינוּ כְּבָרִאשֹׁנָ֑ה וּבְנֵ֧י יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל אָמְר֗וּ נָנ֙וּסָה֙ וּֽנְתַקְּנֻ֔הוּ מִן־הָעִ֖יר אֶל־הַֽמְסִלּֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Benjaminבִּנְיָמִיןbinyâmîyn · BenjaminH1144
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• smitten downנָגַףnâgaph · to strikeH5062
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• us, as at the firstרִאשׁוֹןri'shôn ri'shôn · firstH7223
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• Let us fleeנוּסnûs · to fleeH5127
• and drawנָתַקnâthaq · to tearH5423
• them from the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• unto the highwaysמְסִלָּהmesillâh · highwayH4546

Cross-references for Judges 20:32

• Joshua 8:15Joshua and his army let the men of Ai chase after them. They pretended to be afraid. They ran towards the desert.

Commentaries on Judges 20:32

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 32Let us - draw them from the city - They had two reasons for this: They had placed an ambuscade behind Gibeah, which was to enter and burn the city as soon as the Benjamites had left it. 2. It would seem that the slingers, by being within the city and its fortifications, had great advantage against the Israelites by their slings, whom they could not annoy with their swords, unless they got them to the plain country.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 29-44On the third day, they used similar tricks and surprise attacks as when they took over Ai (Joshua 8:1–29).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 29-4829-48. And Israel set liers-in-wait round about Gibeah--A plan was formed of taking that city by stratagem, similar to that employed in the capture of Ai [Jos 8:9].Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 20:32

• Ambush
• Armies
• Strategy

In the dictionaries

• Benjamin
• Israel
• Benjamin, Benjaminite
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Children of Israel
• Congregation
• Fetch
• Gibeah
• Glean

Commentaries on Judges 20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary