So the Benjaminites saw that they were defeated: The Benjaminites finally understood that they had been defeated. The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered So may be translated “Then” (New Revised Standard Version, New International Version) or “Consequently” in this context. Since the subsection draws to a close here, other possible connectors are “With that,” “So it was that,” and even “Finally.” The verb saw may be rendered “realized” (Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Were defeated renders a passive form of the Hebrew verb translated “defeated” in verse 20.35. If some languages prefer an active verb, translators might say “Finally, the Benjaminites realized that the Israelites had defeated them” or “So it was that the Benjaminites understood that they had lost the battle.”

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 .