New International Version
Judges 20:3
3(The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, “Tell us how this awful thing happened.”
Judges 20:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell us, how was this wickedness?
- English Standard Version (ESV)(Now the people of Benjamin heard that the people of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the people of Israel said, "Tell us, how did this evil happen?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the children of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wicked deed happen?”
- New Living Translation (NLT)(Word soon reached the land of Benjamin that the other tribes had gone up to Mizpah.) The Israelites then asked how this terrible crime had happened.
Context of Judges 20:3
1Then all Israel from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came together as one and assembled before the Lord in Mizpah. 2The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, four hundred thousand men armed with swords. (The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, “Tell us how this awful thing happened.” 4So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, “I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died.
Read all of Judges 20Judges 20:3 word by word
וַֽיִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י בִנְיָמִ֔ן כִּֽי־עָל֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל הַמִּצְפָּ֑ה וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל דַּבְּר֕וּ אֵיכָ֥ה נִהְיְתָ֖ה הָרָעָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Benjaminבִּנְיָמִיןbinyâmîyn · BenjaminH1144
- heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- were gone upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
- to Mizpehמִצְפָּהmitspâh · MizpahH4709
- Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Tellדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- how wasהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
- this wickednessרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
Cross-references for Judges 20:3
- Proverbs 22:3The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
- Matthew 5:25“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.
- Luke 12:58As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.
- Luke 14:31“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
- Judges 19:22While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him.”
Commentaries on Judges 20:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Tell us, how was this wickedness? - They had heard before, by the messengers he sent with the fragments of his wife's body; but they wish to hear it, in full council, from himself.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The tribe of Benjamin likely got the message (Judges 19:29), so they knew trouble was coming.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh--Some suppose that Benjamin had been passed over, the crime having been perpetrated within the territory of that tribe [Jud 19:16]; and that, as the concubine's corpse had been divided into twelve pieces [Jud 19:29]--two had been sent to Manasseh, one respectively to the western and eastern divisions. It is more probable that Benjamin had received a formal summons…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 20:3
In the dictionaries
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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries