Judges 20:34

Judges 20:34 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them.
• New International Version (NIV)Then ten thousand of Israel’s able young men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize how near disaster was.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And there came against Gibeah 10,000 chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was hard, but the Benjaminites did not know that disaster was close upon them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And ten thousand select men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not know that disaster was upon them.

Context of Judges 20:34

32The 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. 10,000 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. 35The Lord destroyed Benjamin's army as the Israelites attacked them. Israel's soldiers killed more than 25,000 soldiers of Benjamin's army that day. 36Finally, the men of Benjamin realized that they had lost the battle. This is how it happened: Israel's soldiers let Benjamin's army chase after them. They trusted the soldiers who were hiding around Gibeah to attack the city.

Judges 20:34 word by word

וַיָּבֹאוּ֩ מִנֶּ֨גֶד לַגִּבְעָ֜ה עֲשֶׂרֶת֩ אֲלָפִ֨ים אִ֤ישׁ בָּחוּר֙ מִכָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְהַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה כָּבֵ֑דָה וְהֵם֙ לֹ֣א יָדְע֔וּ כִּֽי־נֹגַ֥עַת עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם הָרָעָֽה׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And there cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• againstנֶ֫גֶדneged · beforeH5048
• Gibeahגִּבְעָהgib‛âh · GibeahH1390
• tenעֶשֶׂר‛eώer ‛ăώârâh · tenH6235
• thousandאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
• chosenבָּחַרbâchar · to chooseH977
• menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• out of all Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• and the battleמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
• was soreכָּבֵדkâbad kâbêd · to honor: heavyH3513
• but they knewיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• not that evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451
• nearנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060

Cross-references for Judges 20:34

• Judges 20:29This time, the Israelites made some of their soldiers hide in places around Gibeah.
• Joshua 8:14The king of Ai saw that Israel's army had arrived. Early the next morning, the king and his army hurried out of the city. They wanted to fight against Israel's army at the same place as before, on the hill near the Jordan Valley. But the king of Ai did not know that some Israelite soldiers were hiding behind the city.
• Job 21:13Wicked people have plenty of money through their whole lives. Even when they die, they do not suffer.
• Proverbs 4:19But the life of wicked people is like a very dark road. They cannot even see what causes them to fall.
• Proverbs 29:6The sin of an evil person becomes a trap that catches him. But a righteous person sings with joy.
• Ecclesiastes 8:11People who are guilty should receive their punishment quickly. If that does not happen, other people also want to do evil things.
• Ecclesiastes 9:12Nobody knows the time when trouble may come to them. A fish does not know when somebody will catch it in a net. A bird does not know when somebody will catch it in a trap. In the same way, terrible trouble suddenly happens to people when they do not expect it.
• Isaiah 3:10Tell the righteous people that they are in a good place. They will enjoy the results of the good things that they have done.
• Isaiah 47:11But trouble will suddenly come to you. Your magic words will not stop it. Trouble will come and destroy you. You cannot pay anyone to take it away. It will suddenly hit you, before you even recognize it.
• Matthew 24:44So you must also be ready. The Son of Man will come at a time when you are not thinking about it.’
• Luke 21:34But be careful, and watch how you live. Do not eat or drink too much. Do not waste your time like that. Do not waste time by having troubles in your mind about your life. If you do, that day will surprise you. It will come when you are not looking.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:3At that time, people will be saying, ‘We are safe and there is no trouble for us.’ But then, when they are not ready for it, great punishment will suddenly happen to them. It will be impossible for them to run away. Pain will suddenly come to them, like a woman who is giving birth to a baby.

Commentaries on Judges 20:34

• 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 20:34

• Ambush
• Armies
• Strategy

In the dictionaries

• Gibeah
• Israel
• Congregation
• Fetch
• Glean
• Trust
• Wickedness
• Wolf
• Archery
• Israel, History of

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