Judges 20:27

Contemporary English Version

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then the Israelites inquired of the Lord. In those days, the ark of the covenant of God was there,

Hebrew Names Version
The children of Yisra'el asked of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

King James Version
And the children of Israel enquired of the Lord , (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

Lexham English Bible
And the Israelites inquired of Yahweh (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,

English Standard Version
And the people of Israel inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

New Century Version
The Israelites asked the Lord a question. (In those days the Ark of the Agreement with God was there at Bethel.

New English Translation
The Israelites asked the Lord (for the ark of God's covenant was there in those days;

Amplified Bible
And the sons of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there [at Bethel] in those days,

New American Standard Bible
And the sons of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the children of Israel asked the Lorde (for there was the Arke of the couenat of God in those dayes,

Legacy Standard Bible
En die kinders van Israel het die HERE geraadpleeg--want die verbondsark van God was in dié dae daar,

Complete Jewish Bible
and asked Adonai what to do. The ark for the covenant of God was there at that time;

Darby Translation
And the children of Israel inquired of Jehovah (and the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

Easy-to-Read Version
The men of Israel asked the Lord a question. (In those days God's Box of the Agreement was there at Bethel.

George Lamsa Translation
And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of the LORD was there in those days;

Good News Translation
God's Covenant Box was there at Bethel in those days, and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, was in charge of it. The people asked the Lord , "Should we go out to fight our brothers the Benjaminites again, or should we give up?" The Lord answered, "Fight. Tomorrow I will give you victory over them."

Literal Translation
And the sons of Israel asked of Jehovah (and the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the children of Israel axed at the LORDE (the Arke of the couenaunt of God was there at that tyme,

American Standard Version
And the children of Israel asked of Jehovah (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

Bible in Basic English
And the children of Israel made request to the Lord, (for the ark of the agreement of the Lord was there in those days,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the children of Israel asked the Lord: (for there was the arke of the appoyntment of God, in those dayes:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the children of Israel asked of the LORD--for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

King James Version (1611)
And the children of Israel enquired of the Lord, (for the Arke of ye couenant of God was there in those daies,

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
for the ark of the Lord God was there in those days,

English Revised Version
And the children of Israel asked of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

Berean Standard Bible
Then the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days, the ark of the covenant of God was there,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and axiden of her staat. In that tyme the arke of boond of pees of God was there in Silo;

Young's Literal Translation
And the sons of Israel ask of Jehovah, -- and there [is] the ark of the covenant of God in those days,

Update Bible Version
And the sons of Israel asked of Yahweh (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

Webster's Bible Translation
And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God [was] there in those days,

World English Bible
The children of Israel asked of Yahweh (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

New King James Version
So the children of Israel inquired of the LORD (the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

New Living Translation
The Israelites went up seeking direction from the Lord . (In those days the Ark of the Covenant of God was in Bethel,

New Life Bible
The people of Israel asked the Lord what to do. (For the special box with the Law of God was there in those days.

New Revised Standard
And the Israelites inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the sons of Israel asked of Yahweh, - there, being the ark of the covenant of God, in those days;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And inquired of him concerning their state. At that time the ark of the covenant of the Lord was there,

Revised Standard Version
And the people of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

THE MESSAGE
And they again inquired of God . The Chest of God's Covenant was there at that time with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, as the ministering priest. They asked, "Shall we again march into battle against the Benjaminites, our brothers? Or should we call it quits?" And God said, "Attack. Tomorrow I'll give you victory."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The sons of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

Contextual Overview

²⁶The people of Israel went to the place of worship at Bethel, where the sacred chest was being kept. They sat on the ground, crying and not eating for the rest of the day. Then about sunset, they offered sacrifices to please the Lord and to ask his blessing. Phinehas the priest then prayed, "Our Lord , the people of Benjamin are our relatives. Should we stop fighting or attack them again?" "Attack!" the Lord answered. "Tomorrow I will let you defeat them." ²⁹ The Israelites surrounded Gibeah, but stayed where they could not be seen. ³⁰ Then the next day, they took the same positions as twice before, ³¹but this time they had a different plan. They said, "When the men of Benjamin attack, we will run off and let them chase us away from the town and into the country roads." The soldiers of Benjamin attacked the Israelite army and started pushing it back from the town. They killed about thirty Israelites in the fields and along the road between Gibeah and Bethel. The men of Benjamin were thinking, "We're mowing them down like we did before." The Israelites were running away, but they headed for Baal-Tamar, where they regrouped. They had set an ambush, and they were sure it would work. Ten thousand of Israel's best soldiers had been hiding west of Gibeah, and as soon as the men of Benjamin chased the Israelites into the countryside, these ten thousand soldiers made a surprise attack on the town gates. They dashed in and captured Gibeah, killing everyone there. Then they set the town on fire, because the smoke would be the signal for the other Israelite soldiers to turn and attack the soldiers of Benjamin. The fighting had been so heavy around the soldiers of Benjamin, that they did not know the trouble they were in. But then they looked back and saw clouds of smoke rising from the town. They looked in front and saw the soldiers of Israel turning to attack. This terrified them, because they realized that something horrible was happening. And it was horrible—over twenty-five thousand soldiers of Benjamin died that day, and those who were left alive knew that the Lord had given Israel the victory. ⁴² The men of Benjamin headed down the road toward the desert, trying to escape from the Israelites. But the Israelites stayed right behind them, keeping up their attack. Men even came out of the nearby towns to help kill the men of Benjamin, ⁴³ who were having to fight on all sides. The Israelite soldiers never let up their attack. They chased and killed the warriors of Benjamin as far as a place directly east of Gibeah, ⁴⁴ until eighteen thousand of these warriors lay dead. ⁴⁵ Some other warriors of Benjamin turned and ran down the road toward Rimmon Rock in the desert. The Israelites killed five thousand of them on the road, then chased the rest until they had killed two thousand more. ⁴⁶ Twenty-five thousand soldiers of Benjamin died that day, all of them experienced warriors. ⁴⁷ Only six hundred of them finally made it into the desert to Rimmon Rock, where they stayed for four months.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

inquired: Judges 20:18, Judges 20:23, Numbers 27:21

the ark: Joshua 18:1, 1 Samuel 4:3, 1 Samuel 4:4, Psalms 78:60, Psalms 78:61, Jeremiah 7:12, The loss of two battles at length brought this stiff-necked people to enquire of the Lord; for all the company at this time met at Shiloh, and kept a day of fasting and prayer with great earnestness and solemnity. "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear." Isaiah 59:1

Reciprocal: Exodus 25:22 - and I will Exodus 28:30 - General Numbers 10:33 - the ark Deuteronomy 20:2 - General 1 Samuel 14:18 - Bring hither 1 Chronicles 15:29 - as the ark Jeremiah 21:2 - Inquire John 11:51 - being

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the children of Israel inquired of the Lord,.... By the Word of the Lord, as the Targum, and which has the same expression in

Judges 20:18 for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days; in Shiloh, where the tabernacle was.