Judges 20:3
in Judges 20(Meanwhile the Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) And the Israelites asked, “Tell us, how did this wicked thing happen?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpah.) And the children of Israel said, Tell us, how was this wickedness brought to pass?
KJV
(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell us, how was this wickedness?
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This verse in Judges 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseTell us, how was this wickedness? - They had heard before, by the messengers he sent with the fragments of his wife’s body; but they wish to hear it, in full council, from himself.
This site's exposition
Tell us, how did this wicked thing happen
on Judges 20:3-5
Benjamin hears where Israel has gathered and sends nobody, so eleven tribes hear a charge against the twelfth in its absence. The Levite says “They intended to kill me”, where 19:22 records the men demanding to have relations with him, and he omits 19:25, where he sent his concubine out to them himself. Both accounts stand in the book as written, and the narrator sets his speech down without comment.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It is only the testimony of the Levite himself that is here recorded, but it is probable his servant, and the old man, were examined, and gave in their testimony, for that more than one were examined appears by the original (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
), which is, Tell you us; and the law was that none should be put to death, much less so many, upon the testimony of one witness only. The Levite gives a particular account of the matter: that he came into Gibeah only as a traveller to lodge there, not giving the least shadow of suspicion that he designed them any ill turn (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh,....
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ | vaiyishmeu | and they heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בִנְיָמִ֔ן | vinyamin | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עָל֥וּ | ʾalu | they had gone up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| בְנֵֽי־ | venei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הַמִּצְפָּ֑ה | hamitzpah | <the> Mizpah | H4709 → | 40 times |
| וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| דַּבְּר֕וּ | daberu | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֵיכָ֥ה | ʾeikhah | how? | H349 → | |
| נִהְיְתָ֖ה | nihyetah | did it occur | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הָרָעָ֥ה | haraah | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| הַזֹּֽאת׃ | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
וַֽיִּשְׁמְעוּ֙and they heard
vaiyishmeuH8085 →1159 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] descendants of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
בִנְיָמִ֔ןBenjamin
vinyaminH1144 →166 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
עָל֥וּthey had gone up
ʾaluH5927 →890 times
בְנֵֽי־[the] people of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הַמִּצְפָּ֑ה<the> Mizpah
hamitzpahH4709 →40 times
וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙and they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
דַּבְּר֕וּspeak
daberuH1696 →1141 times
אֵיכָ֥הhow?
ʾeikhahH349 →
נִהְיְתָ֖הdid it occur
nihyetahH1961 →3559 times
הָרָעָ֥הthe evil
haraahH7451 →662 times
הַזֹּֽאת׃<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 22:3The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.
it leads to
- Proverbs 27:12
The prudent see danger and take cover; but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
- Proverbs 14:16
A wise man fears and turns from evil, but a fool is careless and reckless.
- Proverbs 29:1
A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
- Proverbs 27:12
Through
Matthew 5:25Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and…
it leads to
- Luke 12:58–59
Make every effort to reconcile with your adversary while you are on your way to the magistrate. Otherwise, he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to…
- Proverbs 25:8
do not bring hastily to court. Otherwise, what will you do in the end when your neighbor puts you to shame?
- Hebrews 3:13
But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
- Isaiah 55:6–7
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Luke 14:31–32
Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
- Luke 12:58–59
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.