That day 25,000 Benjamite swordsmen fell, all men of valor.
Parallel translations
- WEB So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword. All these were men of valor.
- KJV So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour.
- ESV So all who fell that day of Benjamin were 25,000 men who drew the sword, all of them men of valor.
- NKJV So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of valor.
- NASB So all those of Benjamin who fell that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were valiant men.
- NLT So that day the tribe of Benjamin lost 25,000 strong warriors armed with swords,
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
In all, 25,000 Benjamite swordsmen fell that day, all men of valor.
Overview
This summary tally of the slain underscores the near-total destruction of Benjamin's fighting force. The repeated description as 'men of valor' deepens the tragedy of gifted lives lost to a cause that defended evil. Out of an army of about 26,000, only a small remnant would survive (v.47).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Judg 20:35The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.
- Judg 20:15On that day the Benjamites mobilized 26,000 swordsmen from their cities, in addition to the 700 select men of Gibeah.
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 20:46 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.