That same day the Benjamites came out against them from Gibeah and cut down another 18,000 Israelites, all of them armed with swords.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- 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.
- 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 20:21And the Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield that day.
- Rom 11:33O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!
- Ps 97:2Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.
- Gen 18:25Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
- Job 9:12–13If He takes away, who can stop Him? Who dares to ask Him, ‘What are You doing?’
- Rom 3:5But if our unrighteousness highlights the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust to inflict His wrath on us? I am speaking in human terms.
- Rom 2:5But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
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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.