And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.
Parallel translations
- WEB The children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day destroyed twenty-two thousand of the Israelite men down to the ground.
- BSB And the Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield that day.
- NKJV Then the children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day cut down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites.
- NASB Then the sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and struck to the ground on that day twenty-two thousand men of Israel.
- NLT But Benjamin’s warriors, who were defending the town, came out and killed 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield that day.
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 sallied out and killed 22,000 Israelites on the first day, a shocking defeat for the larger army.
Overview
Despite their overwhelming numbers and God's directive that Judah go first, Israel suffered a catastrophic loss. The text does not yet explain why, but it exposes Israel's presumption: they had inquired about strategy without deep repentance over the moral decay running through the whole nation. The defeat humbles them and begins to drive them to true seeking of the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 12:1Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?
- Judg 20:25And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.
- Hos 10:9O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.
- 2 Chr 28:10And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the LORD your God?
- Eccl 9:1–3For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.
- Ps 77:19Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.
- Gen 49:27Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
- Ps 73:18–19Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
- Ps 33:16There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
- Deut 23:9When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing.
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 20:21 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.