Judges 20:16

Judges 20:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.
• New International Version (NIV)Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Among all these were 700 chosen men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Among all this people were seven hundred select men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair’s breadth and not miss.

Context of Judges 20:16

14But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. 15And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men. Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss. 17And the men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war. 18And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.

Judges 20:16 word by word

מִכֹּ֣ל׀ הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֗ה שְׁבַ֤ע מֵאוֹת֙ אִ֣ישׁ בָּח֔וּר אִטֵּ֖ר יַד־יְמִינ֑וֹ כָּל־זֶ֗ה קֹלֵ֧עַ בָּאֶ֛בֶן אֶל־הַֽשַּׂעֲרָ֖ה וְלֹ֥א יַחֲטִֽא׃ פRead the interlinear

• peopleעַם‛am · people: soldiersH5971
• sevenשֶׁ֫בַעsheba‛ shib‛âh · sevenH7651
• hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
• chosenבָּחַרbâchar · to chooseH977
• menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• lefthandedאִטֵּר'iţţêr · lefthandedH334
• lefthandedיָדyâd · handH3027
• lefthandedיָמִיןyâmîyn · rightH3225
• slingקָלַעqâla‛ · to slingH7049
• stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
• hairשַׂעֲרָהώa‛ărâh · hairH8185
• missחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398

Cross-references for Judges 20:16

• Judges 3:15But when the children of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
• 1 Chronicles 12:2They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows from a bow, even of Saul’s brethren of Benjamin.
• 1 Samuel 17:40And he took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a bag; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
• 1 Samuel 25:29Yet a man hath risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thy enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the middle of a sling.
• 2 Chronicles 26:14And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the army shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, and slings to cast stones.

Commentaries on Judges 20:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Left-handed - They were ambidexters - could use the right hand and the left with equal ease and effect. See the note on Judges 3:15. Could sling stones at a hair - and not miss - יחטא ולא velo yachati, and not sin: ; Sept. Here we have the true import of the term sin; it signifies simply to miss the mark, and is well translated in the New Testament by ̔, from , negative, and , to hit the mark. Men miss the mark of true happiness in aiming at sensual…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15-17Verses 15-17 Comparing the numbers here with those in Judges 20:16 See Judges 3:15, and note. In the Septuagint and Vulgate the 700 chosen men of Gibeah are represented as the seven hundred left-handed slingers.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16left-handeders: See study note on Judges 3:15. The sling was like the one David used to kill Goliath (1 Samuel 17:40–51). The slinger placed a stone in a small pouch attached to a leather strap. He swung it around his head to build speed, then released one end to launch the stone. A slinger could attack from a distance, unlike a swordsman.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-1714-17. the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah--Allowing their valor to be ever so great, nothing but blind passion and unbending obstinacy could have impelled them to take the field against their brethren with such a disparity of numbers.Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 20:16

• Benjamin
• Left-Handed
• Sling
• Stones

In the dictionaries

• Chosen
• Congregation
• Fetch
• Games
• Gibeah
• Glean
• Lefthanded
• Sling
• Trust
• Wickedness

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