Judges 20

KJ3 Literal Translation — Chapter 20 of 21

1 And all the sons of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and the land of Gilead, to Jehovah at Mizpeh.

2 And the leaders of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of all the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen drawing sword.

3 And the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpeh. And the sons of Israel said, Speak up. How did this evil happen?

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Chapter Summary

The Levite in a general assembly declares his wrong. 8 They demand the rapists.12 The Benjamites defy the assembly. 18 The men of Benjamin kill 22,000, then 18,000 men of the eleven tribes. 26 In the third battle, they destroy all the men of Benjamin except six hundred.

Key Hebrew Words

בְלִיַּ֜עַל worthlessness H1100 · TWOT 246g
נַחֲלַ֣ת possession H5159 · TWOT 1342a
חֲמֵ֥שֶׁת five H2568 · TWOT 686a
עַמּ֣וּד pillar H5982 · TWOT 1637c
עָ֥רְכוּ value H6186 · TWOT 1694b

People & Context

Israel Assembles at Mizpeh

Four hundred thousand men of Israel gather as one congregation before Jehovah at Mizpeh to address the atrocity.

Levite Testifies Before the Assembly

The Levite explains to the assembly how the men of Gibeah sought to kill him and raped his concubine to death.

Israel Resolves to Attack Gibeah

The entire assembly vows not to return home until they punish Gibeah. They draw lots to organize food supplies for the army.

Timeline

Israel Assembles at Mizpeh

Four hundred thousand men of Israel gather as one congregation before Jehovah at Mizpeh to address the atrocity.

Judges 20:1-2
Levite Testifies Before the Assembly

The Levite explains to the assembly how the men of Gibeah sought to kill him and raped his concubine to death.

Judges 20:3-7
Israel Resolves to Attack Gibeah

The entire assembly vows not to return home until they punish Gibeah. They draw lots to organize food supplies for the army.

Judges 20:8-11

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Word-for-word literal translation with Hebrew interlinear, Strong's numbers, and audio.

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