21 and the sons of Benjamin come out from Gibeah, and destroy in Israel on that day two and twenty thousand men -- to the earth.
and Benjamin cometh out to meet them from Gibeah on the second day, and destroy among the sons of Israel again eighteen thousand men -- to the earth; all these are drawing sword.
Benjamin! a wolf teareth; In the morning he eateth prey, And at evening he apportioneth spoil.'
and now, sons of Judah and Jerusalem ye are saying to subdue for men-servants and for maid-servants to you; but are there not with you causes of guilt before Jehovah your God?
The king is not saved by the multitude of a force. A mighty man is not delivered, By abundance of power.
In the sea `is' Thy way, And Thy paths `are' in many waters, And Thy tracks have not been known.
But all this I have laid unto my heart, so as to clear up the whole of this, that the righteous and the wise, and their works, `are' in the hand of God, neither love nor hatred doth man know, the whole `is' before them. The whole `is' as to the whole; one event is to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean, and to him who is sacrificing, and to him who is not sacrificing; as `is' the good, so `is' the sinner, he who is swearing as he who is fearing an oath. This `is' an evil among all that hath been done under the sun, that one event `is' to all, and also the heart of the sons of man is full of evil, and madness `is' in their heart during their life, and after it -- unto the dead.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Judges 20
Commentary on Judges 20 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 20
Into the book of the wars of the Lord the story of this chapter must be brought, but it looks as sad and uncomfortable as any article in all that history; for there is nothing in it that looks in the least bright or pleasant but the pious zeal of Israel against the wickedness of the men of Gibeah, which made it on their side a just and holy war; but otherwise the obstinacy of the Benjamites in protecting their criminals, which was the foundation of the war, the vast loss which the Israelites sustained in carrying on the war, and (though the righteous cause was victorious at last) the issuing of the war in the almost utter extirpation of the tribe of Benjamin, make it, from first to last, melancholy. And yet this happened soon after the glorious settlement of Israel in the land of promise, upon which one would have expected every thing to be prosperous and serene. In this chapter we have,
Jdg 20:1-11
Here is,
Jdg 20:12-17
Here is,
Jdg 20:18-25
We have here the defeat of the men of Israel in their first and second battle with the Benjamites.
Jdg 20:26-48
We have here a full account of the complete victory which the Israelites obtained over the Benjamites in the third engagement: the righteous cause was victorious at last, when the managers of it amended what had been amiss; for, when a good cause suffers, it is for want of good management. Observe then how the victory was obtained, and how it was pursued.