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 men of Benjamin shouted, “They’re defeated as before!” But the men of Israel had said, “Let’s flee in order to lead them from the city to the roads.” 33So the men of Israel left their positions. They formed their battle line at Baal Tamar. Meanwhile, those waiting in ambush rushed from their position to the west of Gibeah. Then 10,000 of Israel’s best men attacked Gibeah. The battle was fierce. But Benjamin’s men didn’t realize their own evil was about to overtake them. 35So the Lord defeated them in front of Israel. On that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 men from Benjamin who were armed with swords. 36Then the men of Benjamin realized they were defeated. The Israelites had allowed the men of Benjamin to take back some ground. The Israelites relied on those waiting in ambush near Gibeah.

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 20:29Then Israel placed troops in ambush around Gibeah.
• Joshua 8:14When the king of Ai saw the main camp, he and all his troops got up early in the morning. They rushed out toward the plains to meet Israel for battle, just where ⌞Joshua⌟ expected. However, the king didn’t know there were troops behind the city waiting to attack him.
• Job 21:13They spend their days in happiness, and they go peacefully to the grave.
• Proverbs 4:19The way of wicked people is like deep darkness. They do not know what makes them stumble.
• Proverbs 29:6To an evil person sin is bait in a trap, but a righteous person runs away from it and is glad.
• Ecclesiastes 8:11When a sentence against a crime isn’t carried out quickly, people are encouraged to commit crimes.
• Ecclesiastes 9:12No one knows when his time will come. Like fish that are caught in a cruel net or birds caught in a snare, humans are trapped by a disaster when it suddenly strikes them.
• Isaiah 3:10Tell the righteous that blessings will come to them. They will taste the fruit of their labor.
• Isaiah 47:11But evil will happen to you. You won’t know how to keep it away. Disaster will strike you. You won’t be able to stop it. Destruction will overtake you suddenly. You won’t expect it.
• Matthew 24:44Therefore, you, too, must be ready because the Son of Man will return when you least expect him.
• Luke 21:34“Make sure that you don’t become drunk, hung over, and worried about life. Then that day could suddenly catch you by surprise
• 1 Thessalonians 5:3When people say, “Everything is safe and sound!” destruction will suddenly strike them. It will be as sudden as labor pains come to a pregnant woman. They won’t be able to escape.

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