Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel is literally “And they turned before the men of Israel.” Therefore renders the Hebrew waw conjunction here, introducing a consequence or result. It may also be translated “So” (New International Version) or omitted, as in Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version. The pronoun they refers to the Benjaminites, who realized to what extent their lives were at risk. Turned their backs renders the same Hebrew verb (panah) translated “looked” in verse 20.40, but here it means “turn to flee.” This clause may be rendered “So they turned and fled from the Israelites” or “They tried to escape from the Israelites.” However, since this passage is marked by the use of various verbs meaning “turn,” it would be well to keep this feature in the translation.

In the direction of the wilderness is literally “to the way/road of the desert.” Once again the narrator seems to purposely use words that evoke the past history of the Israelites. The Hebrew word for wilderness (midbar; see verse 1.16) is the same one used for the Sinai Desert, where the Israelites wandered, following the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire (see Exo 19.1). However, here the wilderness refers to the uninhabited lands between Gibeah and the Jordan River. If there is no word for wilderness, translators may say “place where nobody lived.”

But the battle overtook them: But renders well the Hebrew waw conjunction, since it introduces something unexpected. Despite their attempt to run away, the Benjaminites could not escape. The battle overtook them is an unusual expression. It means the Israelite soldiers caught up with the fleeing Benjaminites. Here the word battle is personified, which may be possible in some languages. If not, the battle might be translated “the Israelites” (Contemporary English Version). Overtook renders a Hebrew verb that usually means “cling” (see, for example, Ruth 1.14). This may be yet another ironic link to other more positive stories in the Old Testament. In this context, however, it means “caught up with” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). New International Version restructures this clause, saying “but they could not escape the battle.” Good News Translation is similar with “but they could not escape.”

And those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of them: This clause poses some problems for translators. Who are those who came out of the cities? The plural word cities suggests that other Israelites came from various towns around Gibeah to fight the Benjaminites. However, several versions change the cities to “the city/town” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible), that is, Gibeah, since it is likely that the Israelite ambushers left Gibeah and killed the fleeing Benjaminites after they had destroyed the town. Parole de Vie even makes this explicit by saying “the [Israelite] soldiers who came from Gibeah.” But Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers the plural reading cities. Translators will have to decide how to resolve this problem and may add a footnote about it, as in New Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.

For the Hebrew verb rendered destroyed, see verse 20.35. Destroyed them is literally “destroyed him,” but the singular pronoun “him” obviously refers to the Benjaminites. In the midst of them would seem to refer to the cities. However, the Hebrew text says literally “in his [or, its] midst.” Since the singular pronoun “him” refers to the Benjaminites in the previous phrase, Revised English Bible believes they are also in view here and proposes “among them.” But in this context the pronoun “his [or, its]” could also refer to the wilderness. New International Version follows this interpretation, saying “there,” and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh is similar with “in it.” Translators can choose either interpretation, and if necessary, the alternative can be put in a footnote.

Translation models for this verse are:

• So they tried to escape from the Israelites by fleeing toward the wilderness. However, the Israelites caught up with them, and those in the [surrounding] cities* came out and killed them then and there.
* Some scholars think “cities” should read “city,” meaning the ambushers came out of Gibeah to kill the fleeing Benjaminites.

• So they turned and fled by the road of the desert. But the Israelite soldiers caught up with them, and the other soldiers arriving from the city* began to slaughter them right there.
* The Hebrew text has “cities.”

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .