The Israelites demand justice, asking that the tribe of Benjamin hand over the men of Gibeah responsible for the crime.

Now therefore, which is literally “And now,” renders the same introductory Hebrew expression as at the beginning of verse 20.9. On the basis of the charges just mentioned, the people of Israel want to see justice done. We might say “So now.”

Give up the men: Give up may be rendered “hand over” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation), “surrender” (New International Version), or “deliver.” Once again the word men comes to the forefront, as it has throughout this story.

The base fellows in Gibe-ah: This phrase describes the men the Benjaminites are to surrender. For base fellows (literally “sons of Belial”), see verse 19.22.

That we may put them to death: In Old Testament times the community was responsible for carrying out justice. According to God’s Law, these men deserved to die. The pronoun we refers to the Israelites, not including the Benjaminites, so it is an exclusive pronoun. Put … to death renders a causative form of the Hebrew verb meaning “die,” so we might say “so we can kill them” (similarly Good News Translation) or “so we can execute them” (New Living Translation). This is the same sentence structure as the words spoken by the evil men of Gibeah, who said, “Bring him out the man who came into your house, that we may know him” (verse 19.22). This similar structure might be a coincidence, but is probably yet another stylistic feature the narrator uses to bring irony to the story.

And put away evil from Israel: The Old Testament views murder as an act that pollutes the entire community as well as the land. Removing the offender is an act of cleansing and removes guilt from that community. Examples of this are Achan in verse 7 and the Gibeonites in verse 2 Sam 21. Put away renders a Hebrew verb meaning “burn,” but here it is used figuratively to mean “remove completely.” For the Hebrew word rendered evil, see verse 20.3, where it is translated “wickedness.” In this context it refers to immorality. If possible, it is good to maintain the same rendering within this passage. Israel may refer to the people as a whole or to the land. Both are possible interpretations. So translators may say “remove this evil from the nation/people of Israel” or “… from the entire land of Israel.”

But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brethren, the people of Israel: Here is yet another very sad comment that has great significance as the story here unfolds. Though clearly related by blood, the Benjaminites would not listen to the rest of the Israelites, their own brothers. There is an interesting shift here. In verse 20.12 the narrator mentions “the tribes of Israel” and “the tribes of Benjamin,” but here he uses the expressions “the sons [or, children] of Benjamin” (the Benjaminites) and “the sons [or, children] of Israel” (the people of Israel). Certainly these phrases underline the fact that these tribes were all “children” of the same ancestor, Jacob (see Gen 29.1–30.24). But renders well the Hebrew waw conjunction, since the Benjaminites did not respond as expected. They were obviously guilty of a wrongdoing, but they would not admit it. Would not listen renders two verbs in Hebrew, literally “were not willing to listen.” The Hebrew verb rendered listen (shamaʿ) can also mean “obey” (see verse 2.2), and here it means the Benjaminites refused to hand over the criminals from the town of Gibeah. Listen to the voice of is a very strong expression in Hebrew (see verse 2.20), here meaning they refused or rejected the Israelites’ request.

For the Hebrew word rendered brethren (ʾach), see verse 18.8. As in many languages and cultures, this term can refer to cousins, and more widely to any relatives, no matter how distant the relation. Even though these tribes had been in existence for centuries, still their origins went back to the same ancestor, Jacob. Thus these tribes were brethren. The use of this term foreshadows and underlines the tragedy of the bloody civil war to follow. Here their brethren is parallel to the people of Israel (literally “the sons [or, children] of Israel”). The use of the word “children” certainly emphasizes the fact that all the Israelites were children of the same ancestor. The Hebrew word for brethren is a general term, which can include females, so translators might use a wider term, such as “kinsfolk” (New Revised Standard Version) or “relatives.” New International Version and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh speak of “fellow Israelites,” but this rendering does not communicate the strong message behind the word brethren.

The narrator tells this story from the viewpoint of the rest of Israelites, so he strongly condemns the Benjaminites for what they did. Translators should try to convey the sad and solemn tone here.

Translation models for this verse are:

• So now, hand over those evil men from Gibeah so we can execute them and wipe away this evil from our land!” But the Benjaminites refused to listen to their brothers, the Israelites.

• Now then, hand over those wicked men to us, so we can put them to death and get rid of this evil in Israel.” However, the Benjaminites rejected this request of their [own] blood relatives, the [other] Israelites.

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 .