Judges Chapter 20 verse 9 Holy Bible
But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: `we will go up' against it by lot;
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But this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by the decision of the Lord;
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But now this is what we will do to Gib'e-ah: we will go up against it by lot,
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But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it;
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But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah: we will go up by lot against it;
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But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: [we will go up] against it by lot;
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and now, this `is' the thing which we do to Gibeah -- against it by lot!
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Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 9. - We will go up by lot against it. The words we will go up are not in the Hebrew, but are supplied by the Septuagint, who very likely found in their Hebrew copy the word na'aleh, we will go up, which has since (perchance) fallen out of the Hebrew text from its resemblance to the following word 'aleha against it. The sense will then be, Not one of us will shrink from the dangers of the war; but we will cast lots who shall go up against Gibeah, and who shall be employed in collecting victuals for the army, 40,000 having to be told off for the latter service. And exactly in the same spirit (if indeed the answer was not actually given by lot) they inquired of the Lord who should go up first (in ver. 18), and, we may presume also, who should follow in the subsequent attacks, though this is omitted for brevity. Others, however, think the words against it by lot are purposely abrupt, and that the meaning is that Israel would deal with Gibeah as they had done with the Canaanites, viz., destroy their city, and divide its territory by lot among the other tribes, after the analogy of Joshua 18:8-10. But this interpretation is not borne out by what actually happened, nor is the phrase a likely one to have been used.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(9) We will go up by lot against it.--The English Version follows the LXX. and other versions in supplying "we will go up." This is like the decision of the Amphictyonic counsel against the guilty city of Crissa (Grote, iv. 85). But perhaps it should be rendered "we will cast the lot upon it," to divide its territory when conquered.
