Judges Chapter 20 verse 42 Holy Bible
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.
read chapter 20 in ASV
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.
read chapter 20 in BBE
Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of them.
read chapter 20 in DARBY
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.
read chapter 20 in KJV
Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them who came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.
read chapter 20 in WBT
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.
read chapter 20 in WEB
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;
read chapter 20 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 42. - Therefore they turned their backs, etc. The narrative now at length advances one step. The result of the Benjamites finding themselves between the ambushment and the army of Israel was that they took to flight in an easterly direction (ver. 43) toward the wilderness, i.e. the wilderness described in Joshua 16:1 as "the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout Mount Bethel," where the direction of the wilderness relative to Ephraim is also described as being "on the east." In like manner Zedekiah fled towards the plain (arabah) or plains of Jericho - a term nearly synonymous with wilderness (2 Kings 25:4, 5). Them which came out of the cities, etc. This is a very obscure passage, and is very variously explained. Those which came out of the cities must be the same as are so described in ver. 15, and designates the Benjamites who were not inhabitants of Gibeah. The simplest way, therefore, to understand the passage is to render it without reference to the accents: "And the battle overtook him and those that were from the cities (i.e. the men of Gibeah and the rest of the Benjamites), destroying him (the whole Benjamite army) in the midst of him," i.e. going right into the midst of them, and destroying right and left. Some, however, render it in the midst of it, i.e. of the wilderness. The plural participle destroying agrees with the singular noun of multitude, the battle or war, meaning all the men of war.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(42) Unto the way of the wilderness.--The wilderness is that known as "the wilderness of Bethaven" ( Joshua 18:12). It is described in Joshua 16 as "the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout Mount Bethel." (See Robinson, Bibl. Res. 1:572.) The first thought of fugitives in Eastern Palestine was to get to one of the fords of the Jordan (2Samuel 15:23; 2Kings 25:4-5).Them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.--This obscure clause is rendered differently in different versions. If the English Version be correct, as it probably is, the meaning must be that the Benjamites fled to their own cities, and were pursued thither and slain by the Israelites.
