But Adoni-Bezek fled. They pursued him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.
Parallel translations
- KJV But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
- BSB As Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, seized him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
- NKJV Then Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
- NASB But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
- NLT Adoni-bezek escaped, but the Israelites soon captured him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The fleeing king is caught and his thumbs and big toes are cut off. It matters as a deliberate, fitting act of justice that the next verse explains.
Overview
This mutilation, harsh to modern ears, was understood as a measured retribution that the king himself acknowledges as just. Severing thumbs and toes incapacitated a warrior and humiliated a ruler. The act sets up Adoni-Bezek's own confession that he is reaping what he sowed, illustrating the biblical principle of just recompense.
Cross-references & the web
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Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 1:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.