Among Benjamin’s elite troops, 700 were left-handed, and each of them could sling a rock and hit a target within a hairsbreadth without missing.
Parallel translations
- WEB Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed. Every one of them could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
- KJV Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.
- BSB Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing.
- 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.
- NASB Out of all these people seven hundred choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
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
Benjamin fielded 700 elite left-handed slingers of deadly accuracy, showing the tribe's formidable military strength.
Overview
In defending the guilty men of Gibeah, Benjamin mustered a small but skilled army, including these renowned left-handed slingers (a recurring trait of Benjamin, whose name ironically means 'son of the right hand'; cf. Ehud in 3:15). Their precision underscores that Israel's coming victory would not be by superior weaponry but by God's hand. The detail heightens the tragedy: gifted warriors were squandered defending sin rather than serving the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Judg 3:15But when the children of Israel cried to Yahweh, Yahweh raised up a savior for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. The children of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
- 1 Chr 12:2They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow. They were of Saul’s relatives of the tribe of Benjamin.
- 1 Sam 25:29Though men may rise up to pursue you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord will be bound in the bundle of life with Yahweh your God. He will sling out the souls of your enemies, as from the hollow of a sling.
- 1 Sam 17:40He took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag which he had. His sling was in his hand; and he came near to the Philistine.
- 1 Sam 17:49–50David put his hand in his bag, took a stone, and slung it, and struck the Philistine in his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
- 2 Chr 26:14Uzziah prepared for them, even for all the army, shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 20:16 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.