Benjamin went out 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.
Parallel translations
- KJV And 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.
- BSB That same day the Benjamites came out against them from Gibeah and cut down another 18,000 Israelites, all of them armed with swords.
- NKJV And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day, and cut down to the ground eighteen thousand more of the children of Israel; all these drew the sword.
- NASB And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah the second day and struck to the ground again eighteen thousand men of the sons of Israel; all of these drew the sword.
- NLT but the men of Benjamin killed another 18,000 Israelites, all of whom were experienced with the sword.
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 again routed Israel, killing 18,000 more swordsmen on the second day.
Overview
A second devastating loss (now 40,000 total) makes plain that Israel cannot prevail by might or numbers, even with God's word to go up. The Lord allows these defeats to humble a nation that had drifted into doing 'what was right in his own eyes' (21:25). Only after thorough humbling and proper worship (v.26-28) will victory come, teaching that God grants triumph on his terms, not ours.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Judg 20:21The children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day destroyed twenty-two thousand of the Israelite men down to the ground.
- Rom 11:33Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!
- Ps 97:2Clouds and darkness are around him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
- Gen 18:25Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?”
- Job 9:12–13Behold, he snatches away. Who can hinder him? Who will ask him, ‘What are you doing?’
- Rom 3:5But if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God, what will we say? Is God unrighteous who inflicts wrath? I speak like men do.
- Rom 2:5But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath, revelation, and of the righteous judgment of God;
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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 20:25 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.