Judges 20:42
They fled before the Israelites toward the wilderness, but they were overtaken, and those who came out of the cities destroyed them.
Additional Resources
Other Translations
King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)
Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.
KJV1611 – Modern English
Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel toward the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.
King James Version 1611 (Original)
Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.
American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers
Therefore they turned{H6437} their backs before{H6440} the men{H376} of Israel{H3478} unto the way{H1870} of the wilderness;{H4057} but the battle{H4421} followed{H1692} hard after them; and they that came out of the cities{H5892} destroyed{H7843} them in the midst{H8432} thereof.
King James Version with Strong's Numbers
Therefore they turned{H6437}{(H8799)} their backs before{H6440} the men{H376} of Israel{H3478} unto the way{H1870} of the wilderness{H4057}; but the battle{H4421} overtook{H1692}{(H8689)} them; and them which came out of the cities{H5892} they destroyed{H7843}{(H8688)} in the midst{H8432} of them.
Coverdale Bible (1535)
And they turned them before the men of Israel in the waye to the wyldernesse, but the battayll folowed vpon them. And them of the cite destroyed they amoge them.
Geneva Bible (1560)
Therefore they fled before the men of Israel vnto the way of the wildernesse, but the battell ouertooke them: also they which came out of the cities, slew them among them.
Bishops' Bible (1568)
And therfore they turned their backes before the men of Israel, vnto the way that leadeth to the wildernesse, but the battel ouertoke them: And besyde that, they which came out of the citie, destroied the in the middle of the.
Authorized King James Version (1611)
Therefore they turned [their backs] before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which [came] out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.
Webster's Bible (1833)
Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of it.
Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)
and they turn before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness, and the battle hath followed them; and those who `are' from the city are destroying them in their midst;
American Standard Version (1901)
Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and they that came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst thereof.
American Standard Version (1901)
Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and they that came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst thereof.
Bible in Basic English (1941)
So turning their backs on the men of Israel, they went in the direction of the waste land; but the fight overtook them; and those who came out of the town were heading them off and putting them to the sword.
World English Bible (2000)
Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in its midst.
NET Bible® (New English Translation)
They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down.
Referenced Verses
- Josh 8:15 : 15 Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them and fled toward the wilderness.
- Josh 8:24 : 24 When Israel finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open field and in the wilderness where they had pursued them, and they had all fallen by the edge of the sword until they were completely destroyed, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the sword.
- Lam 1:3 : 3 Judah has gone into exile, suffering and hard service. She lives among the nations but finds no rest. All her pursuers have overtaken her in narrow places.
- Hos 9:9 : 9 They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity; He will punish their sins.
- Hos 10:9 : 9 From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel, and there they have remained. Will not war overtake them in Gibeah because of their wickedness?
Similar Verses (AI)
These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.
- Judg 20:39-413 verses84%
39 When the Israelites turned in the battle, the Benjaminites had begun killing about thirty Israelites and thought, 'We are defeating them as in the first battle.'
40 But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjaminites turned back and saw the entire city going up in smoke toward the sky.
41 Then the Israelites turned on them, and the Benjaminites were terrified because they saw that disaster had overtaken them.
- Judg 20:43-486 verses82%
43 They surrounded the Benjaminites, pursued them, and overran them until they were opposite Gibeah on the east side.
44 Eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell, all valiant warriors.
45 The rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, but the Israelites killed five thousand of them along the roads. They pursued them as far as Gidom and struck down another two thousand.
46 That day, twenty-five thousand sword-wielding men of Benjamin fell, all of them valiant warriors.
47 But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness, to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed for four months.
48 The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put the cities to the sword, including the people, livestock, and everything they found. They also set fire to all the cities they came upon.
- Judg 20:30-378 verses81%
30 On the third day, the Israelites went up against the Benjaminites and took up their positions against Gibeah, as they had done before.
31 The Benjaminites came out to meet them and were drawn away from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as they had done before—about thirty men—in the open country, on the roads leading to Bethel and Gibeah.
32 The Benjaminites thought, "We are defeating them as before." But the Israelites said, "Let us retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads."
33 All the men of Israel rose up from their places and took their positions at Baal Tamar, while the Israelite ambush broke out of its place west of Gibeah.
34 Ten thousand of Israel's finest men advanced against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was closing in on them.
35 The LORD struck down Benjamin before Israel, and the Israelites killed twenty-five thousand one hundred Benjaminites that day, all armed with swords.
36 Then the Benjaminites saw that they were defeated. The Israelites had given ground to the Benjaminites because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah.
37 The men in ambush hurried and rushed upon Gibeah. They spread out and struck the entire city with the sword.
- Judg 20:19-224 verses79%
19 The next morning the Israelites got up and camped near Gibeah.
20 The Israelites went out to fight the Benjaminites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah.
21 The Benjaminites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day.
22 But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day.
- Judg 20:24-252 verses79%
24 Then the Israelites approached the Benjaminites on the second day.
25 On the second day, the Benjaminites came out from Gibeah to meet the Israelites and struck down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords.
- Judg 20:12-154 verses79%
12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What is this awful crime that has been committed among you?"
13 Now hand over the wicked men of Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel." But the Benjaminites would not listen to their fellow Israelites.
14 Instead, the Benjaminites gathered from their cities to Gibeah to go out to battle against the Israelites.
15 On that day, the Benjaminites mustered twenty-six thousand men armed with swords from their towns, not counting the seven hundred elite troops from Gibeah.
- Josh 8:20-223 verses76%
20 When the men of Ai looked back, they saw the smoke of the city rising to the sky, and they had no power to flee in any direction. The Israelites who had fled toward the wilderness now turned against their pursuers.
21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city and that its smoke was rising, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai.
22 The others came out from the city to meet them, so the men of Ai were surrounded by the Israelites, some on one side and some on the other. They struck them down until no survivors or fugitives were left.
- 74%
15 Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them and fled toward the wilderness.
- 73%
22 When all the Israelites who had hidden in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they also joined the battle in hot pursuit.
- 72%
17 The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand soldiers armed with swords, all experienced warriors.
- 72%
4 They camped against them and destroyed the crops of the land all the way to Gaza, leaving nothing for the Israelites to live on—not even sheep, cattle, or donkeys.
- 72%
15 The people of Israel grieved for Benjamin because the LORD had created a gap in the tribes of Israel.
- 72%
8 The LORD gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them down and pursued them as far as Greater Sidon, Misrephoth Maim, and the valley of Mizpeh to the east. They struck them down until no survivors remained.
- 72%
15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them to bring disaster on them, as the LORD had said and sworn to them. And they were in great distress.
- 72%
10 We will take ten men out of every hundred, a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand across all the tribes of Israel. They will gather provisions for the army, so we can act against Gibeah in Benjamin for their disgraceful act in Israel.
- 72%
16 The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands.
- 72%
19 The young men of the provincial leaders marched out of the city, followed by the army.
- 71%
24 When they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and struck down the Moabites, who fled before them. The Israelites invaded the land and continued to strike down the Moabites.
- 71%
17 Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. They left the city unguarded and pursued Israel.
- 71%
12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
- 71%
14 So they passed on and continued their journey. The sun set as they came near Gibeah, which belongs to the tribe of Benjamin.
- 71%
24 When the men of Judah came to the place overlooking the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.
- 71%
10 They burned all the towns where the Midianites had lived and all their encampments with fire.
- 71%
20 So Joshua and the Israelites completely defeated them with a great slaughter, almost wiping them out. But a few survivors managed to retreat to their fortified cities.