Judges 20:5 And during the night, the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house. They intended to kill me, but they abused my concubine, and she died.

◄ Judges 20:5 ►

New International Version
During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died.

New Living Translation
That night some of the leading citizens of Gibeah surrounded the house, planning to kill me, and they raped my concubine until she was dead.

English Standard Version
And the leaders of Gibeah rose against me and surrounded the house against me by night. They meant to kill me, and they violated my concubine, and she is dead.

Berean Standard Bible
And during the night, the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house. They intended to kill me, but they abused my concubine, and she died.

King James Bible
And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead.

New King James Version
And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me, but instead they ravished my concubine so that she died.

New American Standard Bible
But the citizens of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night, threatening me. They intended to kill me; instead, they raped my concubine so that she died.

NASB 1995
“But the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me; instead, they ravished my concubine so that she died.

NASB 1977
“But the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me; instead, they ravished my concubine so that she died.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me; instead, they violated my concubine, and she died.

Amplified Bible
But the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me, but instead they raped my concubine [so brutally] that she died.

Christian Standard Bible
Citizens of Gibeah came to attack me and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me, but they raped my concubine, and she died.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Citizens of Gibeah ganged up on me and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me, but they raped my concubine, and she died.

American Standard Version
And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about me by night; me they thought to have slain, and my concubine they forced, and she is dead.

Contemporary English Version
Later that night, the men of Gibeah surrounded the house. They wanted to kill me, but instead they raped and killed my wife.

English Revised Version
And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night; me they thought to have slain, and my concubine they forced, and she is dead.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The citizens of Gibeah came to attack me. They surrounded the house [where I was staying] that night. They intended to kill me, but instead, they raped my concubine until she died.

Good News Translation
The men of Gibeah came to get me and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me; instead they raped my concubine, and she died.

International Standard Version
But the officials of Gibeah attacked me and surrounded the house because of me. They intended to kill me, but instead they tortured my mistress to death.

Majority Standard Bible
And during the night, the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house. They intended to kill me, but they abused my concubine, and she died.

NET Bible
The leaders of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying. They wanted to kill me; instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died.

New Heart English Bible
And the leaders of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me, and they raped my secondary wife, and she is dead.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead.

World English Bible
The men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house by night. They intended to kill me and they raped my concubine, and she is dead.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
and the masters of Gibeah rise against me—and they go around the house against me by night—they thought to slay me, and they have humbled my concubine, and she dies;

Young's Literal Translation
and rise against me do the masters of Gibeah -- and they go round the house against me by night -- me they thought to slay, and my concubine they have humbled, and she dieth;

Smith's Literal Translation
And the lords of Gibeah will rise upon me and will encompass the house against me by night; they purposed to kill me: and my concubine they humbled, and she died.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
And behold the men of that city in the night beset the house wherein I was, intending to kill me, and abused my wife with an incredible fury of lust, so that at last she died.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And behold, the men of that city, at night, surrounded the house in which I was staying, intending to kill me. And they abused my wife with such an incredible fury of lust that in the end she died.

New American Bible
The lords of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded me in the house at night. I was the one they intended to kill, but they abused my concubine and she died.

New Revised Standard Version
The lords of Gibeah rose up against me, and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me, and they raped my concubine until she died.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset me in the house during the night, and they sought to kill me; and they raped my concubine, and she died.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And the Masters of Gaba stood against me and they surrounded the house against me in the night. They sought to kill me, and they violated my Concubine and she died

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night; me they thought to have slain, and my concubine they forced, and she is dead.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the men of Gabaa rose up against me, and compassed the house by night against me; they wished to slay me, and they have humbled my concubine, and she is dead.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

The Decree of the Assembly
…4So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered: “I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5And during the night, the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house. They intended to kill me, but they abused my concubine, and she died. 6Then I took my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance, because they had committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Genesis 19:4-5
Before they had gone to bed, all the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house. / They called out to Lot, saying, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have relations with them!”

Deuteronomy 22:25-27
But if the man encounters a betrothed woman in the open country, and he overpowers her and lies with her, only the man who has done this must die. / Do nothing to the young woman, because she has committed no sin worthy of death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him. / When he found her in the field, the betrothed woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.

Hosea 9:9
They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.

Hosea 10:9
Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not the battle in Gibeah overtake the sons of iniquity?

2 Samuel 13:11-14
And when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said, “Come lie with me, my sister!” / “No, my brother!” she cried. “Do not violate me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing! / Where could I ever take my shame? And you would be like one of the fools in Israel! Please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” ...

2 Samuel 13:28-29
Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant!” / So Absalom’s young men did to Amnon just as Absalom had ordered. Then all the other sons of the king got up, and each one fled on his mule.

2 Samuel 20:14-22
Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel-beth-maacah and through the entire region of the Berites, who gathered together and followed him. / And Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel-beth-maacah and built a siege ramp against the outer rampart of the city. As all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to topple it, / a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen! Listen! Please tell Joab to come here so that I may speak with him.” ...

1 Kings 21:13
And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.

Psalm 94:21
They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

Proverbs 1:11-12
If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause, / let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit.

Isaiah 59:7
Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.

Jeremiah 5:26-28
For among My people are wicked men; they watch like fowlers lying in wait; they set a trap to catch men. / Like cages full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become powerful and rich. / They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the rights of the needy.

Matthew 23:34-35
Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town. / And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Mark 12:1-8
Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a wine vat, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey. / At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. / But they seized the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. ...

Luke 11:47-51
Woe to you! For you build tombs for the prophets, but it was your fathers who killed them. / So you are witnesses consenting to the deeds of your fathers: They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. / Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and others they will persecute.’ ...

Treasury of Scripture

And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about on me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead.

And the men

Judges 19:22
Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.

beset

Genesis 19:4-8
But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: …

and my concubine

Judges 19:25,26
But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go…

forced [heb] humbled

Deuteronomy 22:24
Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.

Ezekiel 22:10,11
In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution…

Jump to Previous

Beset Concubine Dead Death Died House Instead Intended Intending Kill Meant Night Purpose Raped Ravished Rise Rose Round Servant-Wife Sides Slain Surrounded Thought Together Townsmen Used Violently

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Beset Concubine Dead Death Died House Instead Intended Intending Kill Meant Night Purpose Raped Ravished Rise Rose Round Servant-Wife Sides Slain Surrounded Thought Together Townsmen Used Violently

Judges 20

1. The Levite in a general assembly declared his wrong
8. The decree of the assembly
12. The Benjamites, being cited, make head against the Israelites
18. The Israelites in two battles lose forty thousand
26. They destroy by a plan all the Benjamites, except six hundred.

Berean Study Bible

And the leaders of Gibeah
The term "leaders" here refers to the prominent men or elders of the city of Gibeah, a town in the territory of Benjamin. In Hebrew, the word used is "ba'alei," which can mean "masters" or "lords," indicating those with authority and responsibility. Historically, Gibeah was a significant city, and its leaders were expected to uphold justice and righteousness. However, their actions in this narrative reveal a deep moral and spiritual corruption, highlighting the period's chaotic and lawless nature, as described in Judges: "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25).

rose up against me
This phrase indicates an act of aggression and hostility. The Hebrew root "qum" means to rise or stand up, often used in contexts of confrontation or rebellion. The Levite, who is recounting this event, emphasizes the deliberate and violent nature of the leaders' actions. This rising up against him symbolizes a broader rebellion against God's covenant and order, reflecting the spiritual decline of Israel during the time of the Judges.

and surrounded the house at night
The act of surrounding the house at night suggests a premeditated and cowardly attack, taking advantage of the cover of darkness. In ancient times, night was often associated with evil deeds and danger, as it provided concealment for malicious activities. This imagery evokes a sense of impending doom and highlights the vulnerability of the Levite and his concubine. It also serves as a metaphor for the spiritual darkness that had enveloped Israel, where justice and righteousness were overshadowed by sin and lawlessness.

intending to kill me
The intention to kill underscores the severity of the threat faced by the Levite. The Hebrew word "harag" means to slay or murder, indicating a deliberate and malicious intent. This reflects the extreme moral decay in Gibeah, where human life was devalued, and violence was rampant. In a broader biblical context, this mirrors the consequences of turning away from God's commandments, leading to a society where life is not cherished, and evil prevails.

and they raped my concubine
This phrase reveals the horrific and brutal nature of the crime committed. The Hebrew word "anah" means to afflict or oppress, often used in contexts of sexual violence. The concubine's suffering is a tragic consequence of the leaders' depravity and the community's failure to protect the vulnerable. This act of violence is not only a personal tragedy but also a national disgrace, highlighting the need for repentance and a return to God's righteous standards.

and she died
The death of the concubine is the tragic culmination of the events in Gibeah. Her death serves as a powerful indictment of the moral and spiritual state of Israel. In the Hebrew text, the word "muth" means to die, emphasizing the finality and seriousness of the crime. This event becomes a catalyst for the subsequent civil war between the tribes of Israel and Benjamin, illustrating the destructive consequences of sin and the urgent need for justice and reconciliation in the community.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(5) The men of Gibeah.--Literally, the lords of Gibeah, as in Judges 9:2. We cannot infer that they were heathen inhabitants of the town, though they behaved as if they were. If the phrase implies that they were men in positions of authority, it perhaps shows why there was no rescue and little resistance. This is also probable, because there could not have been the same unwillingness to give up to justice a few lawless and insignificant offenders.

Thought to have slain me.--Obviously some circumstances of the assault have been omitted in Judges 19:22-25. The Levite colours the whole story in the way most favourable to himself.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 5. - And thought to have slain me. This was so far true that it is likely he was in fear of his life; but he doubtless shaped his narrative so as to conceal his own cowardice in the transaction. We have a similar example of an unfaithful narration of facts in the letter of Claudius Lysias to Felix (Acts 23:27). The men of Gibeah. The masters, as in Judges 9:2, meaning the citizens.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

And during the night,
לָ֑יְלָה (lā·yə·lāh)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3915: A twist, night, adversity

the men
בַּעֲלֵ֣י (ba·‘ă·lê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1167: A master, a husband, owner

of Gibeah
הַגִּבְעָ֔ה (hag·giḇ·‘āh)
Article | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1390: Gibeah -- 'hill', three cities in Palestine

rose up
וַיָּקֻ֤מוּ (way·yā·qu·mū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 6965: To arise, stand up, stand

against me
עָלַי֙ (‘ā·lay)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

and surrounded
וַיָּסֹ֧בּוּ (way·yā·sōb·bū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5437: To turn about, go around, surround

the house.
הַבַּ֖יִת (hab·ba·yiṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

They intended
דִּמּ֣וּ (dim·mū)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 1819: To compare, to resemble, liken, consider

to kill me,
לַהֲרֹ֔ג (la·hă·rōḡ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 2026: To smite with deadly intent

but they raped
עִנּ֖וּ (‘in·nū)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 6031: To be bowed down or afflicted

my concubine,
פִּילַגְשִׁ֥י (pî·laḡ·šî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 6370: A concubine, a paramour

and she died.
וַתָּמֹֽת׃ (wat·tā·mōṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 4191: To die, to kill

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OT History: Judges 20:5 The men of Gibeah rose against me (Jd Judg. Jdg)