Judges 20:37

Contemporary English Version

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The men in ambush had rushed quickly against Gibeah; they advanced and put the whole city to the sword.

Hebrew Names Version
The liers-in-wait hurried, and rushed on Gevah; and the liers-in-wait drew themselves along, and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.

King James Version
And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.

Lexham English Bible
And the ambush came quickly and advanced against Gibeah, and it put the whole city to the sword.

English Standard Version
Then the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush moved out and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.

New Century Version
The men in hiding rushed into Gibeah, spread out, and killed everyone in the city with their swords.

New English Translation
The men hiding in ambush made a mad dash to Gibeah. They attacked and put the sword to the entire city.

Amplified Bible
Then the men in ambush quickly rushed and attacked Gibeah; and the men in ambush also deployed and struck the entire city with the edge of the sword.

New American Standard Bible
the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And they that lay in wait hasted, and brake forth toward Gibeah, & the ambushment drewe themselues along, and smote all the citie with the edge of the sword.

Legacy Standard Bible
Toe het die hinderlaag vinnig na Gíbea gestorm--en die hinderlaag het getrek en die hele stad met die skerpte van die swaard verslaan.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then the men who had been lying in wait rushed in on Giv‘ah, drew their swords and destroyed the city.

Darby Translation
And the ambush hasted, and fell upon Gibeah; and the ambush drew along, and smote the whole city with the edge of the sword.

Easy-to-Read Version
The men who were hiding rushed into the city of Gibeah. They spread out and killed everyone in the city with their swords.

George Lamsa Translation
And the men who were in ambush quietly made an attack against Gibeah; then the men in ambush moved forward and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.

Good News Translation
These men ran quickly toward Gibeah; they spread out in the city and killed everyone there.

Literal Translation
And the ambush hurried and came against Gibeah, and the ambush drew itself out and struck all of the city by the mouth of the sword.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the watch made haist also, & brake forth vnto Gibea, and wente vpon it, and smote all the cite with the edge of ye swerde.

American Standard Version
And the liers-in-wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers-in-wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.

Bible in Basic English
And the watchers, rushing on Gibeah and overrunning it, put all the town to the sword without mercy.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the lyers in wayte hasted, & brake foorth against Gibea, & the embushment drewe them selues along, and smote all the citie with the edge of the sworde.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the liers-in-wait hastened, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers-in-wait drew forth, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.

King James Version (1611)
And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed vpon Gibeah, and the liers in wait drew themselues along, and smote all the citie with the edge of the sword.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And when they retreated, then the liers in wait rose up, and they moved toward Gabaa, and the whole ambush came forth, and they smote the city with the edge of the sword.

English Revised Version
And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.

Berean Standard Bible
The men in ambush rushed suddenly against Gibeah; they advanced and put the whole city to the sword.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne thei hadden rise sudenli fro hid places, and Beniamyn yaf backis to the sleeris, thei entriden in to the citee, and smytiden it by the scharpnesse of swerd.

Young's Literal Translation
and the ambush have hasted, and push against Gibeah, and the ambush draweth itself out, and smiteth the whole of the city by the mouth of the sword.

Update Bible Version
And the ambushers hurried, and rushed on Gibeah; and the ambushers drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew [themselves] along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.

World English Bible
The liers-in-wait hurried, and rushed on Gibeah; and the liers-in-wait drew themselves along, and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.

New King James Version
And the men in ambush quickly rushed upon Gibeah; the men in ambush spread out and struck the whole city with the edge of the sword.

New Living Translation
Then those who were hiding rushed in from all sides and killed everyone in the town.

New Life Bible
The men who had been hiding were quick to rush against Gibeah. They destroyed all of the city with the sword.

New Revised Standard
The troops in ambush rushed quickly upon Gibeah. Then they put the whole city to the sword.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, the liers in wait, hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah, - and the liers in wait marched forward, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they that were in ambush arose on a sudden out of their coverts, and whilst Benjamin turned their backs to the slayers, went into the city, and smote it with the edge of the sword.

Revised Standard Version
And the men in ambush made haste and rushed upon Gib'e-ah; the men in ambush moved out and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.

THE MESSAGE
The ambush erupted and made quick work of Gibeah. The ambush spread out and massacred the city. The strategy for the main body of the ambush was that they send up a smoke signal from the city. Then the men of Israel would turn in battle. When that happened, Benjamin had killed about thirty Israelites and thought they were on their way to victory, yelling out, "They're on the run, just as in the first battle!" But then the signal went up from the city—a huge column of smoke. When the Benjaminites looked back, there it was, the whole city going up in smoke.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.

Contextual Overview

²⁶The people of Israel went to the place of worship at Bethel, where the sacred chest was being kept. They sat on the ground, crying and not eating for the rest of the day. Then about sunset, they offered sacrifices to please the Lord and to ask his blessing. Phinehas the priest then prayed, "Our Lord , the people of Benjamin are our relatives. Should we stop fighting or attack them again?" "Attack!" the Lord answered. "Tomorrow I will let you defeat them." ²⁹ The Israelites surrounded Gibeah, but stayed where they could not be seen. ³⁰ Then the next day, they took the same positions as twice before, ³¹but this time they had a different plan. They said, "When the men of Benjamin attack, we will run off and let them chase us away from the town and into the country roads." The soldiers of Benjamin attacked the Israelite army and started pushing it back from the town. They killed about thirty Israelites in the fields and along the road between Gibeah and Bethel. The men of Benjamin were thinking, "We're mowing them down like we did before." The Israelites were running away, but they headed for Baal-Tamar, where they regrouped. They had set an ambush, and they were sure it would work. Ten thousand of Israel's best soldiers had been hiding west of Gibeah, and as soon as the men of Benjamin chased the Israelites into the countryside, these ten thousand soldiers made a surprise attack on the town gates. They dashed in and captured Gibeah, killing everyone there. Then they set the town on fire, because the smoke would be the signal for the other Israelite soldiers to turn and attack the soldiers of Benjamin. The fighting had been so heavy around the soldiers of Benjamin, that they did not know the trouble they were in. But then they looked back and saw clouds of smoke rising from the town. They looked in front and saw the soldiers of Israel turning to attack. This terrified them, because they realized that something horrible was happening. And it was horrible—over twenty-five thousand soldiers of Benjamin died that day, and those who were left alive knew that the Lord had given Israel the victory. ⁴² The men of Benjamin headed down the road toward the desert, trying to escape from the Israelites. But the Israelites stayed right behind them, keeping up their attack. Men even came out of the nearby towns to help kill the men of Benjamin, ⁴³ who were having to fight on all sides. The Israelite soldiers never let up their attack. They chased and killed the warriors of Benjamin as far as a place directly east of Gibeah, ⁴⁴ until eighteen thousand of these warriors lay dead. ⁴⁵ Some other warriors of Benjamin turned and ran down the road toward Rimmon Rock in the desert. The Israelites killed five thousand of them on the road, then chased the rest until they had killed two thousand more. ⁴⁶ Twenty-five thousand soldiers of Benjamin died that day, all of them experienced warriors. ⁴⁷ Only six hundred of them finally made it into the desert to Rimmon Rock, where they stayed for four months.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the liers in wait hasted: Joshua 8:19

drew themselves along: or, made a long sound with the trumpets, Exodus 19:13, Joshua 6:5

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the liers in wait hasted,.... When the time was come agreed upon for them to rise out of their ambush:

and rushed upon Gibeah; at unawares, with great force and violence entered the city, and took possession of it; or "extended" x, or spread themselves unto it; before they lay close in a narrow compass, but now they put themselves in a regular order, and marched rank and file, and reached from the meadows in which they were, Judges 20:33, to the city:

and the liers in wait drew themselves along; along the city, in every part of it, spread themselves all over it, and made themselves masters of every corner of it; or "made a long sound" y with a trumpet, protracted that to a great length, which was done to terrify the inhabitants, or to let the Israelites know they were possessed of the city:

and smote all the city with the edge of the sword; old men, women, and children, who were not able to bear arms.

x יפשטו "extenderunt se", Tigurine version. y ימשך "pertraxerunt buccinae sonitum", Paguninus; so Jarchi and Limchi.