Judges 20:34
New International Version
Then ten thousand of Israel’s able young men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize how near disaster was.

New Living Translation
There were 10,000 elite Israelite troops who advanced against Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that Benjamin didn’t realize the impending disaster.

English Standard Version
And there came against Gibeah 10,000 chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was hard, but the Benjaminites did not know that disaster was close upon them.

Berean Standard Bible
Then 10,000 select men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not realize that disaster was upon them.

King James Bible
And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them.

New King James Version
And ten thousand select men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not know that disaster was upon them.

New American Standard Bible
When ten thousand choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, the battle became fierce; but Benjamin did not know that disaster was close to them.

NASB 1995
When ten thousand choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, the battle became fierce; but Benjamin did not know that disaster was close to them.

NASB 1977
When ten thousand choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, the battle became fierce; but Benjamin did not know that disaster was close to them.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then 10,000 choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle became heavy; but Benjamin did not know that calamity was about to reach them.

Amplified Bible
When the ten thousand choice [fighting] men from all Israel came against Gibeah, the battle was hard and fierce; but the Benjamites did not realize that disaster was about to strike them.

Christian Standard Bible
Then ten thousand fit young men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce, but the Benjaminites did not know that disaster was about to strike them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then 10,000 choice men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce, but the Benjaminites did not know that disaster was about to strike them.

American Standard Version
And there came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore; but they knew not that evil was close upon them.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And ten thousand men came from next to Gebah, chosen men of all Israel, and the battle was severe, and they did not know that evil had fallen upon them

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And there came over against Gabaa ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel; and the fight was severe; and they knew not that evil was coming upon them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And to march from the west side of the city. And other ten thousand men chosen out of all Israel attacked the inhabitants of the city. And the battle grew hot against the children of Benjamin: and they understood not that present death threatened them on every side.

English Revised Version
And there came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was close upon them.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then 10,000 of Israel's best men attacked Gibeah. The battle was fierce. But Benjamin's men didn't realize their own evil was about to overtake them.

Good News Translation
Ten thousand men, specially chosen out of all Israel, attacked Gibeah, and the fighting was hard. The Benjaminites had not realized that they were about to be destroyed.

International Standard Version
As 10,000 of Israel's best soldiers came to fight Gibeah, the battle became fierce, but the army of Benjamin didn't know that disaster was close at hand.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And there came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore; but they knew not that evil was close upon them.

Literal Standard Version
And they come in from the front against Gibeah—ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel—and the battle [is] grievous, and they have not known that the calamity is reaching toward them.

Majority Standard Bible
Then 10,000 select men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not realize that disaster was upon them.

New American Bible
and advanced against Gibeah with ten thousand picked men from all Israel. The fighting was severe, but no one knew that a disaster was closing in.

NET Bible
Ten thousand men, well-trained soldiers from all Israel, then made a frontal assault against Gibeah--the battle was fierce. But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was at their doorstep.

New Revised Standard Version
There came against Gibeah ten thousand picked men out of all Israel, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was close upon them.

New Heart English Bible
There came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was severe; but they didn't know that disaster was close upon them.

Webster's Bible Translation
And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was severe: but they knew not that evil was near them.

World English Bible
Ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel came over against Gibeah, and the battle was severe; but they didn’t know that disaster was close to them.

Young's Literal Translation
And they come in over against Gibeah -- ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel -- and the battle is grievous, and they have not known that the evil is striking against them.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Civil War Against Benjamin
33So all the men of Israel got up from their places and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar, and the Israelites in ambush charged from their positions west of Gibeah. 34Then 10,000 select men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not realize that disaster was upon them. 35The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.…

Cross References
Joshua 8:14
When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, he hurried out early in the morning with the men of the city to engage them in battle at an appointed place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set up against him behind the city.

Judges 20:35
The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.

Job 21:13
They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace.


Treasury of Scripture

And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them.

ten thousand

Judges 20:29
And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.

knew not

Joshua 8:14
And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he wist not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city.

Job 21:13
They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.

Proverbs 4:19
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

Jump to Previous
Attack Battle Benjamin Benjaminites Benjamites Children Choice Chosen Close Conscious Disaster Evil Hard Heavy Israel Israel's Picked Severe Sore Ten Thousand Violent
Jump to Next
Attack Battle Benjamin Benjaminites Benjamites Children Choice Chosen Close Conscious Disaster Evil Hard Heavy Israel Israel's Picked Severe Sore Ten Thousand Violent
Judges 20
1. The Levite in a general assembly declared his wrong
8. The decree of the assembly
12. The Benjamites, being cited, make head against the Israelites
18. The Israelites in two battles lose forty thousand
26. They destroy by a plan all the Benjamites, except six hundred.














(34) Ten thousand chosen men.--Though the verse is obscurely expressed, the meaning probably is that this was the number of the ambuscade of picked warriors. If it means that this was the Israelite force left after the slaughter of 40,000, we are not told the number of the ambush.

The battle was sore.--It would be a battle in which the Benjamites were now attacked both in front and rear.

But.--Rather, and.

They knew not that evil was near them--i.e., as we should say, "that the hour of their ruin had come," or, as the Vulg. has it, quod ex omni parte illis instaret interitus, "that destruction was threatening them on every side." (Comp. Isaiah 47:10.)

Verse 34. - Against Gibeah, i.e. against the army of Gibeah. The sense seems to be that the 10,000 Israelites who had been fleeing before Benjamin, and drawing them away from the city, now faced them, and commenced a resolute attack upon them, which at first the Benjamites, not knowing of the ambushment in their rear met with equal resolution, so that "the battle was sore." But the result, the details of which are given at length in vers. 36-46, was that 25,100 Benjamites fell that day (see ver. 46).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then 10,000
עֲשֶׂרֶת֩ (‘ă·śe·reṯ)
Number - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6235: Ten

select
בָּחוּר֙ (bā·ḥūr)
Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singular
Strong's 970: Selected, a youth

men
אִ֤ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

from all
מִכָּל־ (mik·kāl)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

made a frontal
מִנֶּ֨גֶד (min·ne·ḡeḏ)
Preposition-m
Strong's 5048: A front, part opposite, a counterpart, mate, over against, before

assault
וַיָּבֹאוּ֩ (way·yā·ḇō·’ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

against Gibeah,
לַגִּבְעָ֜ה (lag·giḇ·‘āh)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1390: Gibeah -- 'hill', three cities in Palestine

and the battle
וְהַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה (wə·ham·mil·ḥā·māh)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4421: A battle, war

was fierce.
כָּבֵ֑דָה (kā·ḇê·ḏāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 3513: To be heavy, weighty, or burdensome

But the Benjamites
וְהֵם֙ (wə·hêm)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1992: They

did not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

realize
יָדְע֔וּ (yā·ḏə·‘ū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 3045: To know

that
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

disaster [was]
הָרָעָֽה׃ (hā·rā·‘āh)
Article | Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 7451: Bad, evil

upon
נֹגַ֥עַת (nō·ḡa·‘aṯ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine singular
Strong's 5060: To touch, lay the hand upon, to reach, violently, to strike

them.
עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם (‘ă·lê·hem)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against


Links
Judges 20:34 NIV
Judges 20:34 NLT
Judges 20:34 ESV
Judges 20:34 NASB
Judges 20:34 KJV

Judges 20:34 BibleApps.com
Judges 20:34 Biblia Paralela
Judges 20:34 Chinese Bible
Judges 20:34 French Bible
Judges 20:34 Catholic Bible

OT History: Judges 20:34 There came over against Gibeah ten thousand (Jd Judg. Jdg)
Judges 20:33
Top of Page
Top of Page