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Judges 20
New International Version
Judges 20
New International Version
The Israelites Punish the Benjamites
20 Then all Israel(A) from Dan to Beersheba(B) and from the land of Gilead came together as one(C) and assembled(D) before the Lord in Mizpah.(E) 2 The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, four hundred thousand men(F) armed with swords. 3 (The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, “Tell us how this awful thing happened.”
4 So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, “I and my concubine came to Gibeah(G) in Benjamin to spend the night.(H) 5 During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me.(I) They raped my concubine, and she died.(J) 6 I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel’s inheritance,(K) because they committed this lewd and outrageous act(L) in Israel. 7 Now, all you Israelites, speak up and tell me what you have decided to do.(M)”
8 All the men rose up together as one, saying, “None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. 9 But now this is what we’ll do to Gibeah: We’ll go up against it in the order decided by casting lots.(N) 10 We’ll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeah[a] in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for this outrageous act done in Israel.” 11 So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city.(O)
12 The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What about this awful crime that was committed among you?(P) 13 Now turn those wicked men(Q) of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.(R)”
But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. 14 From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. 15 At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred able young men from those living in Gibeah. 16 Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed,(S) each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
17 Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle.
18 The Israelites went up to Bethel[b](T) and inquired of God.(U) They said, “Who of us is to go up first(V) to fight(W) against the Benjamites?”
The Lord replied, “Judah(X) shall go first.”
19 The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. 20 The Israelites went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. 21 The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites(Y) 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. 23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord(Z) until evening,(AA) and they inquired of the Lord.(AB) They said, “Shall we go up again to fight(AC) against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites?”
The Lord answered, “Go up against them.”
24 Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. 25 This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites,(AD) all of them armed with swords.
26 Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord.(AE) They fasted(AF) that day until evening and presented burnt offerings(AG) and fellowship offerings(AH) to the Lord.(AI) 27 And the Israelites inquired of the Lord.(AJ) (In those days the ark of the covenant of God(AK) was there, 28 with Phinehas son of Eleazar,(AL) the son of Aaron, ministering before it.)(AM) They asked, “Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites, or not?”
The Lord responded, “Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.(AN)”
29 Then Israel set an ambush(AO) around Gibeah. 30 They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. 31 The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn away(AP) from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads—the one leading to Bethel(AQ) and the other to Gibeah. 32 While the Benjamites were saying, “We are defeating them as before,”(AR) the Israelites were saying, “Let’s retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads.”
33 All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place(AS) on the west[c] of Gibeah.[d] 34 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(AT) how near disaster was.(AU) 35 The Lord defeated Benjamin(AV) before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. 36 Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten.
Now the men of Israel had given way(AW) before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush(AX) they had set near Gibeah. 37 Those who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword.(AY) 38 The Israelites had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke(AZ) from the city,(BA) 39 and then the Israelites would counterattack.
The Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the Israelites (about thirty), and they said, “We are defeating them as in the first battle.”(BB) 40 But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the whole city going up in smoke.(BC) 41 Then the Israelites counterattacked,(BD) and the Benjamites were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come(BE) on them. 42 So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the wilderness, but they could not escape the battle. And the Israelites who came out of the towns cut them down there. 43 They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily[e] overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. 44 Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters.(BF) 45 As they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon,(BG) the Israelites cut down five thousand men along the roads. They kept pressing after the Benjamites as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more.
46 On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite(BH) swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. 47 But six hundred of them turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. 48 The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire.(BI)
Footnotes
- Judges 20:10 One Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts Geba, a variant of Gibeah
- Judges 20:18 Or to the house of God; also in verse 26
- Judges 20:33 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Judges 20:33 Hebrew Geba, a variant of Gibeah
- Judges 20:43 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Suci 20
Biblija: suvremeni hrvatski prijevod
Suci 20
Biblija: suvremeni hrvatski prijevod
Izraelci ratuju protiv Benjaminovog plemena
20 Skupila se cijela zajednica izraelskog naroda. Ljudi su došli iz svih područja Izraela, od Dana do Beer Šebe[a] i iz zemlje Gilead[b]. Udružili su se pred BOGOM u Mispi. 2 Vođe cijeloga naroda, svih Izraelovih plemena, zauzeli su svoja mjesta na saboru Božjeg naroda. Bilo je četiristo tisuća ljudi naoružanih mačevima. 3 Benjaminovci su čuli da se Izraelci okupljaju u Mispi.
Izraelci su rekli: »Želimo čuti kako se dogodio ovaj strašni zločin.«
4 Levit, muž ubijene žene, odgovorio je: »Došao sam sa svojom ženom ropkinjom u grad Gibeu u Benjaminovoj zemlji. Ondje smo prenoćili. 5 Tijekom noći došli su građani Gibee i opkolili kuću u kojoj sam odsjeo. Htjeli su me ubiti. Silovali su moju ženu ropkinju i ona je umrla. 6 Uzeo sam njezino tijelo i isjekao ga. Komade tijela razaslao sam u sve krajeve Izraela jer je ovaj strašan zločin počinjen u Izraelu. 7 Govorite sad, Izraelci! Donesite odluku što trebamo učiniti.«
8 Cijeli je narod složno ustao i rekao: »Nitko od nas neće otići u svoj šator. Nitko se neće vratiti svojoj kući. 9 Ovako ćemo učiniti s Gibeom. Bacit ćemo kocku i odabrati ljude. 10 Iz svakoga izraelskog plemena uzet ćemo desetoricu iz svake postrojbe od sto, sto ljudi iz svake postrojbe od tisuću te tisuću ljudi iz svake postrojbe od deset tisuća. Oni će biti zaduženi za nabavu hrane za vojsku, a vojska će kazniti građane Gibee u Benjaminovoj zemlji za zločin koji su počinili u Izraelu.«
11 Svi su se Izraelci okupili u Gibei, složni u namjeri da kazne građane Gibee. 12 Izraelska su plemena poslala glasnike širom Benjaminovog plemena. Pitali su: »Kakav se to zločin dogodio među vama? 13 Izručite nam te propalice iz Gibee. Pogubit ćemo ih i ukloniti zlo iz Izraela.«
No Benjaminovci nisu htjeli poslušati svoju braću Izraelce, 14 nego su iz svih gradova došli u Gibeu, spremni za borbu protiv Izraelaca. 15 Tog se dana iz gradova Benjaminovaca okupilo dvadeset i šest tisuća ljudi naoružanih mačevima. Od stanovnika Gibee postrojilo se sedamsto najboljih ratnika. 16 Među cijelom je vojskom bilo sedamsto najboljih ljevorukih ratnika, od kojih je svaki mogao kamenom iz praćke pogoditi muhu[c]. 17 A sva izraelska plemena, osim Benjaminovaca, okupila su četiristo tisuća vrsnih ratnika naoružanih mačevima.
Prva bitka
18 Izraelci su otišli u Betel. Ondje su uputili pitanje Bogu: »Tko od nas treba prvi krenuti u bitku protiv Benjaminovaca?«
BOG je odgovorio: »Neka prvo ide Judino pleme.«
19 Sljedećeg su jutra Izraelci ustali i utaborili se pored Gibee. 20 Krenuli su u bitku protiv Benjaminovaca, rasporedivši se ispred grada. 21 Benjaminovci su izašli iz grada. Tog je dana na bojnom polju palo dvadeset i dvije tisuće Izraelaca.
Druga bitka
22 Izraelci su ipak skupili hrabrost i još jednom se rasporedili za bitku, na istome mjestu kao i prvog dana.
23 Otišli su k BOGU i plakali pred njim do večeri. Pitali su BOGA: »Trebamo li opet krenuti u bitku protiv naše braće Benjaminovaca?«
A BOG je odgovorio: »Krenite na njih.«
24 I tako su se Izraelci i drugi dan sukobili s Benjaminovcima, 25 a oni su i drugi dan izišli iz Gibee, spremni za bitku. Pobili su osamnaest tisuća Izraelaca, sve samih vrsnih ratnika vičnih maču.
Treća bitka i pokolj Benjaminovaca
26 Tada su se svi Izraelci, cijela vojska, okupili u Betelu. Sjedili su i plakali pred BOGOM. Postili su cijeli taj dan do večeri i prinosili BOGU žrtve paljenice i slavljenice.
27 Izraelci su ponovo uputili pitanje BOGU. (U to se vrijeme Božji kovčeg saveza nalazio u Betelu. 28 Opsluživao ga je Pinhas, Eleazarov sin i Aronov unuk.)
Izraelci su pitali: »Trebamo li ponovo poći u bitku protiv naše braće Benjaminovaca ili da odustanemo?«
BOG je odgovorio: »Idite! Sutra ću vam dati pobjedu.«
29 Izraelci su postavili ljude u zasjedu svuda oko Gibee. 30 Krenuli su i treći dan protiv Benjaminovaca. Kao i prije, rasporedili su se ispred grada. 31 Benjaminovci su izašli u napad. Povlačeći se, Izraelci su ih mamili dalje od grada. Kao i prije, vojska Benjaminovaca počela je nanositi gubitke izraelskoj vojsci. Na otvorenom polju, na putovima za Betel i za Gibeu, ubijeno je tridesetak Izraelaca.
32 Dok su Benjaminovci mislili da pobjeđuju kao i prije, Izraelci su se naizgled povlačili. Tako su ih pokušavali namamiti dalje od grada, na otvoreni prostor.
33 Svi su Izraelci napustili svoje položaje i rasporedili se kod mjesta zvanog Baal Tamar. Tada su, skriveni u zasjedi zapadno od Gibee, krenuli u napad. 34 Deset je tisuća najboljih izraelskih ratnika napalo grad. Bitka je bila teška. Benjaminovci nisu slutili da ih čeka propast.
35 BOG je porazio Benjaminovce pred Izraelcima. Izraelci su tog dana pobili dvadeset i pet tisuća i sto ratnika iz Benjaminovog plemena. 36 Tada su Benjaminovci shvatili da su poraženi.
Izraelci su se povlačili pred Benjaminovcima, pouzdavajući se u zasjedu koju su postavili pored Gibee. 37 Vojnici su iz zasjede krenuli u napad na Gibeu. Upali su u grad i mačevima pobili sve stanovnike. 38 S ljudima, koji su ostali u zasjedi pored grada, bio je dogovoren znak. Izraelska je vojska čekala da ugleda veliki oblak dima koji se diže iz grada. 39 Na taj znak Izraelci su trebali krenuti u bitku.
Benjaminovci su počeli nanositi gubitke izraelskoj vojsci. Pobili su tridesetak ljudi, misleći da pobjeđuju kao i u prvoj bitci.
40 Tada se iz grada počeo dizati veliki oblak dima. Benjaminovci su se osvrnuli i vidjeli da je cijeli grad u plamenu. 41 Zatim su Izraelci krenuli u napad. Benjaminovce je obuzeo užas. Znali su da ih čeka propast. 42 Bježali su pred Izraelcima u pustinju. No našli su se usred bitke, među ubojitom vojskom iz izraelskih gradova. 43 Izraelci su opkolili Benjaminovce. Bespoštedno su ih progonili. Istočno od Gibee, konačno su ih i porazili. 44 Poginulo je osamnaest tisuća vrsnih ratnika iz Benjaminovog plemena. 45 Benjaminovci su se tada okrenuli i pobjegli prema pustinji, do mjesta zvanog Rimonska stijena. No Izraelci su duž putova pobili pet tisuća Benjaminovih vojnika. I dalje su ih progonili, sve do mjesta zvanog Gidom. Tu su Izraelci pobili još dvije tisuće ljudi. 46 Tog je dana poginulo ukupno dvadeset i pet tisuća Benjaminovih hrabrih ratnika. 47 Šesto je ljudi uspjelo pobjeći u pustinju. Sklonili su se kod Rimonske stijene i ostali ondje četiri mjeseca.
48 Izraelci su se zatim vratili u Benjaminovu zemlju. Po svim su gradovima mačevima poubijali i ljude i životinje. Uništili su sve što su našli i spalili svaki grad u koji su ušli.
Judges 20
New King James Version
Judges 20
New King James Version
Israel’s War with the Benjamites
20 So (A)all the children of Israel came out, from (B)Dan to (C)Beersheba, as well as from the land of Gilead, and the congregation gathered together as one man before the Lord (D)at Mizpah. 2 And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers (E)who drew the sword. 3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.)
Then the children of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wicked deed happen?”
4 So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “My concubine and (F)I went into Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, to spend the night. 5 (G)And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me, (H)but instead they ravished my concubine so that she died. 6 So (I)I took hold of my concubine, cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel, because they (J)committed lewdness and outrage in Israel. 7 Look! All of you are children of Israel; (K)give your advice and counsel here and now!”
8 So all the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, nor will any turn back to his house; 9 but now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: We will go up (L)against it by lot. 10 We will take ten men out of every hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, to make provisions for the people, that when they come to Gibeah in Benjamin, they may repay all the vileness that they have done in Israel.” 11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united together as one man.
12 (M)Then the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you? 13 Now therefore, deliver up the men, (N)the [a]perverted men who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and (O)remove the evil from Israel!” But the children of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brethren, the children of Israel. 14 Instead, the children of Benjamin gathered together from their cities to Gibeah, to go to battle against the children of Israel. 15 And from their cities at that time (P)the children of Benjamin numbered twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered seven hundred select men. 16 Among all this people were seven hundred select men who were (Q)left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair’s breadth and not miss. 17 Now besides Benjamin, the men of Israel numbered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.
18 Then the children of Israel arose and (R)went up to [b]the house of God to (S)inquire of God. They said, “Which of us shall go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin?”
The Lord said, (T)“Judah first!”
19 So the children of Israel rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah. 20 And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel put themselves in battle array to fight against them at Gibeah. 21 Then (U)the children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day cut down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites. 22 And the people, that is, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves and again formed the battle line at the place where they had put themselves in array on the first day. 23 (V)Then the children of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and asked counsel of the Lord, saying, “Shall I again draw near for battle against the children of my brother Benjamin?”
And the Lord said, “Go up against him.”
24 So the children of Israel approached the children of Benjamin on the second day. 25 And (W)Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day, and cut down to the ground eighteen thousand more of the children of Israel; all these drew the sword.
26 Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, (X)went up and came to [c]the house of God and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 27 So the children of Israel inquired of the Lord ((Y)the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, 28 (Z)and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, (AA)stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?”
And the Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”
29 Then Israel (AB)set men in ambush all around Gibeah. 30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in battle array against Gibeah as at the other times. 31 So the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. They began to strike down and kill some of the people, as at the other times, in the highways (AC)(one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah) and in the field, about thirty men of Israel. 32 And the children of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, as at first.”
But the children of Israel said, “Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.” 33 So all the men of Israel rose from their place and put themselves in battle array at Baal Tamar. Then Israel’s men in ambush burst forth from their position in the plain of Geba. 34 And ten thousand select men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. (AD)But [d]the Benjamites did not know that disaster was upon them. 35 The Lord [e]defeated Benjamin before Israel. And the children of Israel destroyed that day twenty-five thousand one hundred Benjamites; all these drew the sword.
36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. (AE)The men of Israel had given ground to the Benjamites, because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah. 37 (AF)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. 38 Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of (AG)smoke rise up from the city, 39 whereupon the men of Israel would turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun [f]to strike and kill about thirty of the men of Israel. For they said, “Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.” 40 But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, the Benjamites (AH)looked behind them, and there was the whole city going up in smoke to heaven. 41 And when the men of Israel turned back, the men of Benjamin panicked, for they saw that disaster had come upon them. 42 Therefore they [g]turned their backs before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them, and whoever came out of the cities they destroyed in their midst. 43 They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them, and easily trampled them down as far as the front of Gibeah toward the east. 44 And eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all these were men of valor. 45 Then [h]they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of (AI)Rimmon; and they cut down five thousand of them on the highways. Then they pursued them relentlessly up to Gidom, and killed two thousand of them. 46 So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were [i]men of valor.
47 (AJ)But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they stayed at the rock of Rimmon for four months. 48 And the men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword—from every city, men and beasts, all who were found. They also set fire to all the cities they came to.
Footnotes
- Judges 20:13 Lit. sons of Belial
- Judges 20:18 Or Bethel
- Judges 20:26 Or Bethel
- Judges 20:34 Lit. they
- Judges 20:35 Lit. struck
- Judges 20:39 Lit. to strike the slain ones
- Judges 20:42 fled
- Judges 20:45 LXX the rest
- Judges 20:46 valiant warriors
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Biblija: suvremeni hrvatski prijevod (SHP)
Biblija: suvremeni hrvatski prijevod (SHP) © 2019 Bible League International
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.