Judges 20:42

Judges 20:42 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.
• New International Version (NIV)So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the wilderness, but they could not escape the battle. And the Israelites who came out of the towns cut them down there.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them. And those who came out of the cities were destroying them in their midst.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them, and whoever came out of the cities they destroyed in their midst.

Context of Judges 20:42

40Then they turned and they saw the tall pillar of smoke. It was rising from their city up to the sky. 41The Israelite soldiers saw the sign and they attacked the soldiers of Benjamin. The men of Benjamin suddenly became very afraid. They realized that they were in a lot of trouble. So they ran away on the road towards the desert while the Israelites chased after them. But they could not escape from the Israelites. Israelite men came out from their towns and killed them in the battle. 43They attacked Benjamin's soldiers from all sides and they continued to chase them. They were killing them all the way to a place on the east of Gibeah. 44They killed 18,000 strong soldiers of Benjamin's tribe.

Judges 20:42 word by word

וַיִּפְנ֞וּ לִפְנֵ֨י אִ֤ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אֶל־דֶּ֣רֶךְ הַמִּדְבָּ֔ר וְהַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה הִדְבִּיקָ֑תְהוּ וַאֲשֶׁר֙ מֵהֶ֣עָרִ֔ים מַשְׁחִיתִ֥ים אוֹת֖וֹ בְּתוֹכֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Therefore they turnedפָּנָהpânâh · to turnH6437
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• unto the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: directionH1870
• of the wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
• but the battleמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
• overtookדָּבַקdâbaq · to cleaveH1692
• out of the citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• they destroyedשָׁחַתshâchath · to ruinH7843
• in the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432

Cross-references for Judges 20:42

• Lamentations 1:3The enemies have taken Judah's people away as slaves. The slaves have only trouble and difficult work. They now live among strangers. They have no rest, and they live far away from home. They cannot go away from those who do cruel things to them.
• Hosea 9:9The Israelites do very wicked things, like the terrible sins that they did at Gibeah. God will not forget the wicked things that they have done. He will surely punish them for their sins.
• Hosea 10:9The Lord says, ‘People of Israel, you have continued to do bad things, since the time that you were at Gibeah. When the people did evil things at Gibeah, war destroyed them as a result.

Commentaries on Judges 20:42

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 42The way of the wilderness - i. e., the wilderness which extended from Jericho to the hills of Bethel. Them which came out of the cities - These must be the Benjamites Judges 20:15. Hence, “in the midst of them” must mean “in their own cities”, where they severally fled for refuge, but failed to find shelter Judges 20:48. Anathoth, Alemath, Ramah, Ataroth, Geba, Michmash, Ai, Bethel, Migron, etc., would probably be the cities meant, all lying east and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 36-48This section provides another description of the battle.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 20:42

• Armies
• Strategy

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Congregation
• Fetch
• Gibeah
• 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