20 Then all the Israelites agreed to come together. They came from everywhere in Israel, from Dan in the north as far as Beersheba in the south. They also came from the Gilead region on the east side of the Jordan River. They all came together at Mizpah, to meet with the Lord . 2 The leaders of all Israel's tribes stood there with the people of God. There were 400,000 Israelite men who had their weapons, ready to fight. 3 By this time, the people of Benjamin's tribe had heard the news that the other tribes were meeting in Mizpah.
Then the Israelites asked, ‘Tell us how this evil thing happened.’
4 So the Levite, the husband of the dead woman, told them. He said, ‘My slave wife and I arrived in Gibeah to sleep there for the night. It is a town that belongs to the people of Benjamin's tribe. 5 That night some important men of Gibeah came to the house to attack me. They stood all around the house. They wanted to kill me, but they took hold of my wife instead. They made her have sex with them, and she died. 6 I took her body home and I cut it into 12 pieces. I sent the pieces everywhere in the land of Israel. I did this to show what a terrible thing these men had done. 7 So now all you people of Israel must decide what you will do about it.’
8 All the people stood up together. They all promised, ‘None of us will go home. Not one of us will return to his house. 9 Instead, this is what we will do to the people of Gibeah. We will use lots to decide who should attack the city. 10 We will take ten men from every 100 men in each tribe. We will take 100 men from every 1,000 men, and 1,000 men from every 10,000 men. Those men will find food for the other soldiers. That will be their job. Then the other soldiers will be able to attack Gibeah. They will punish Gibeah's people as they deserve for the terrible thing that they have done.’ 11 So all the Israelites agreed together that they would attack Gibeah, in the land of Benjamin.
12 The Israelite tribes sent men with a message to all the places in Benjamin. They said, ‘You must know that some of your men have done an evil thing. 13 Send those wicked men of Gibeah out to us. We must punish them with death. Only that will remove this terrible sin from Israel.’
But the people of Benjamin did not agree to do that. 14 Instead, they came from all their towns and they met together at Gibeah to fight against the other Israelites. 15 26,000 soldiers came to Gibeah with their weapons, ready to fight. There were also 700 brave soldiers already in Gibeah. 16 In Benjamin's army there were 700 men who used their left hands to fight. Each of them could use a sling to throw a stone at a very small thing. They could even hit a hair!
17 The other Israelite tribes, without Benjamin, had an army of 400,000 soldiers who knew how to use their weapons. 18 They went to Bethel. [ a ] They asked God which tribe should go first to attack Benjamin's army. The Lord replied, ‘Judah must go first.’
19 The next morning, the Israelites got up and they prepared to attack Gibeah. 20 The Israelite army marched forward to fight against Benjamin's army. They stood in their places around the city. 21 Benjamin's soldiers came out of Gibeah to attack. They killed 22,000 Israelites in the battle that day.
22-23 The Israelite soldiers told each other to be brave. They went to meet with the Lord and they wept until the evening. They asked the Lord , ‘Should we march out again to fight against our relatives, the men of Benjamin?’ The Lord said, ‘Yes, attack them.’ So they went to stand in the same places around the city as they had done the day before.
24 The Israelites went to fight against Benjamin's army on the second day. 25 This time, when the soldiers of Benjamin came out of Gibeah to attack them, they killed another 18,000 Israelite soldiers in the battle.
26 Then the whole Israelite army went back to Bethel to meet with the Lord . They sat there and they wept. They did not eat any food that day until evening. They offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord .
27-28 The Covenant Box was in Bethel at that time. Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, was the priest who served the Lord there. The Israelites asked the Lord , ‘Should we march out to fight against our relatives, the men of Benjamin, again? Or should we leave them?’ The Lord said, ‘Attack them. Tomorrow I will put them under your power.’
29 This time, the Israelites made some of their soldiers hide in places around Gibeah. 30 On the third day, their other soldiers stood in the same places as before. They were ready to fight. 31 The soldiers of Benjamin came out of Gibeah to attack them. But the Israelites moved away from the city so that Benjamin's soldiers chased after them. The men of Benjamin began to kill the Israelites, as they had done before. They killed about 30 Israelites in the fields and on the roads that went to Bethel and Gibeah.
32 The soldiers of Benjamin were saying, ‘We are winning against them, as we have done before!’ But the Israelites were saying, ‘We will continue to run away so that their soldiers chase us. We will lead them away from the city onto the roads.’
33 When the men of Israel reached Baal Tamar, they stopped there. They stood in their places, ready to fight. At the same time, the Israelite soldiers who had hidden themselves on the west side of Gibeah ran out of their places. 34 10,000 Israelite soldiers who knew how to fight well attacked Gibeah. There was a big battle. The men of Benjamin did not realize that they were in a lot of trouble.
35 The Lord destroyed Benjamin's army as the Israelites attacked them. Israel's soldiers killed more than 25,000 soldiers of Benjamin's army that day. 36 Finally, the men of Benjamin realized that they had lost the battle.
This is how it happened: Israel's soldiers let Benjamin's army chase after them. They trusted the soldiers who were hiding around Gibeah to attack the city. 37-38 The Israelites had agreed a sign with their men who were hiding. When those men ran into Gibeah and they destroyed everything there, they would make the sign. They would light a big fire so that the smoke went up into the sky. 39 Then the other Israelite soldiers would turn round to attack the soldiers who were chasing them.
Benjamin's soldiers had begun to kill the Israelites. When they had killed about 30 of them, they said, ‘Look! We are winning again, as we always do!’ 40 Then they turned and they saw the tall pillar of smoke. It was rising from their city up to the sky. 41 The Israelite soldiers saw the sign and they attacked the soldiers of Benjamin. The men of Benjamin suddenly became very afraid. They realized that they were in a lot of trouble. 42 So they ran away on the road towards the desert while the Israelites chased after them. But they could not escape from the Israelites. Israelite men came out from their towns and killed them in the battle. 43 They attacked Benjamin's soldiers from all sides and they continued to chase them. They were killing them all the way to a place on the east of Gibeah.
44 They killed 18,000 strong soldiers of Benjamin's tribe. 45 The rest of Benjamin's soldiers ran towards the desert, as far as the rock of Rimmon. The Israelites killed 5,000 of them as they ran along the roads. They chased them to Gidom, and they killed 2,000 more of Benjamin's soldiers there.
46 On that day, 25,000 soldiers of Benjamin's tribe died. They were all brave men who knew how to fight well. 47 But 600 soldiers turned and ran away to the rock of Rimmon. They stayed there for four months.
48 The Israelites returned to the land that belonged to Benjamin's tribe. They killed the people and animals in all the towns there. As they came to each town, they destroyed it with fire.
20 So all the Israelites joined together. They all came together to stand before the Lord in the city of Mizpah. People came from everywhere in Israel. [ a ] Even the Israelites from Gilead [ b ] were there. 2 The leaders of all the tribes of Israel were there. They took their places in the public meeting of God’s people. There were 400,000 soldiers with swords in that place. 3 The people from the tribe of Benjamin heard that the Israelites were meeting together in Mizpah. The Israelites said, “Tell us how this terrible thing happened.”
4 So the Levite, the husband of the woman who had been murdered, told them the story. He said, “My slave woman and I came to the city of Gibeah in the area of Benjamin. We spent the night there. 5 But during the night the men of the city of Gibeah came to the house where I was staying. They surrounded the house, and they wanted to kill me. They raped my slave woman, and she died. 6 So I took her and cut her into pieces. Then I sent one piece to each of the tribes of Israel. I sent the 12 pieces to the lands we have received. I did that because the people of Benjamin have done this terrible thing in Israel. 7 Now, all you men of Israel, speak up. Give your decision about what we should do.”
8 Then all the people stood up at the same time. They said together, “None of us will go home. No, not one of us will go back to his house. 9 Now this is what we will do to the city of Gibeah. We will throw lots to let God show us who will lead the attack. 10 We will choose ten men from every 100 from all the tribes of Israel. And we will choose 100 men from every 1000. We will choose 1000 men from every 10,000. These men we have chosen will get supplies for the army. Then the army will go to the city of Gibeah in the area of Benjamin. The army will punish those people for the terrible thing they did among the Israelites.”
11 So all the men of Israel gathered together at the city of Gibeah, united together and in agreement as to what they were doing. 12 The tribes of Israel sent men to the tribe of Benjamin with this message: “What about this terrible thing that some of your men have done? 13 Send the bad men from the city of Gibeah to us so that we can put them to death. We must remove the evil from among the Israelites.”
But the people from the tribe of Benjamin would not listen to the messengers from their relatives, the other Israelites. 14 The people from the tribe of Benjamin left their cities and went to the city of Gibeah. They went to Gibeah to fight against the other tribes of Israel. 15 The people from the tribe of Benjamin got 26,000 soldiers together who were trained for war. They also had 700 trained soldiers from the city of Gibeah. 16 There were also 700 trained soldiers who were trained to fight with their left hand. [ c ] Each one of them could use a sling with great skill. They all could use a sling to throw a stone at a hair and not miss!
17 All the tribes of Israel, except Benjamin, gathered together 400,000 fighting men with swords. Each one was a trained soldier. 18 The Israelites went up to the city of Bethel. At Bethel they asked God, “Which tribe will be first to attack the tribe of Benjamin?”
The Lord answered, “The tribe of Judah will go first.”
19 The next morning the Israelites got up. They made a camp near the city of Gibeah. 20 Then the army of Israel took their positions for battle against the army of Benjamin at the city of Gibeah. 21 Then the army of Benjamin came out of the city of Gibeah. The army of Benjamin killed 22,000 men in the army of Israel during the battle that day.
22-23 The Israelites went to the Lord and cried until evening. They asked the Lord , “Should we go to fight the people of Benjamin again? They are our relatives.”
The Lord answered, “Go fight against them.” The men of Israel encouraged each other. So they again went out to fight, as they had done the first day.
24 Then the army of Israel came near the army of Benjamin. This was the second day of the war. 25 The army of Benjamin came out of the city of Gibeah to attack the army of Israel on the second day. This time, the army of Benjamin killed another 18,000 men from the army of Israel. All the men in the army of Israel were trained soldiers.
26 Then all the Israelites went up to the city of Bethel. There they sat down and cried to the Lord . They did not eat anything all day, until evening. They also offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord . 27 The men of Israel asked the Lord a question. (In those days God’s Box of the Agreement was there at Bethel. 28 Phinehas was the priest who served God there. Phinehas was the son of Eleazar. Eleazar was the son of Aaron.) The Israelites asked, “The people of Benjamin are our relatives. Should we again go to fight against them? Or should we stop fighting?”
The Lord answered, “Go. Tomorrow I will help you defeat them.”
29 Then the army of Israel hid some men all around the city of Gibeah. 30 The army of Israel went to fight against the city of Gibeah on the third day. They got ready for battle as they had done before. 31 The army of Benjamin came out of the city of Gibeah to fight the army of Israel. The army of Israel backed up and let the army of Benjamin chase them. In this way the army of Benjamin was tricked into leaving the city far behind them.
The army of Benjamin began to kill some of the men in the army of Israel, as they had done before. They killed about 30 men from Israel. They killed some of them in the fields, and they killed some of them on the roads. One road led to the city of Bethel. The other road led to the city of Gibeah. 32 The men of Benjamin said, “We are winning as before!”
The men of Israel were running away, but it was a trick. They wanted to lead the men of Benjamin away from their city and onto the roads. 33 So all the men ran away. They stopped at a place named Baal Tamar. Some of the men of Israel were hiding west of Gibeah. They ran from their hiding places. 34 10,000 of Israel’s best-trained soldiers attacked the city of Gibeah. The fighting was very heavy. But the army of Benjamin did not know that a terrible thing was about to happen to them.
35 The Lord used the army of Israel and defeated the army of Benjamin. On that day the army of Israel killed 25,100 soldiers from Benjamin. All of them had been trained for war. 36 So the people of Benjamin saw that they were defeated.
The army of Israel had moved back because they were depending on the surprise attack. They had men hiding near Gibeah. 37 The men who were hiding rushed into the city of Gibeah. They spread out and killed everyone in the city with their swords. 38 Now the men of Israel had made a plan with the men who were hiding. The men who were hiding were supposed to send a special signal. They were supposed to make a big cloud of smoke.
39-41 The army of Benjamin had killed about 30 Israelite soldiers. So the men of Benjamin were saying, “We are winning, as before.” But then a big cloud of smoke began to rise from the city. The men of Benjamin turned around and saw the smoke. The whole city was on fire. Then the army of Israel stopped running away. They turned around and began to fight. The men of Benjamin were afraid because they knew that a terrible thing had happened to them.
42 So the army of Benjamin ran away from the army of Israel. They ran toward the desert. But they could not escape the fighting. And the men of Israel came out of the cities and killed them. 43 The men of Israel surrounded the men of Benjamin and began chasing them. They did not let them rest. They defeated them in the area east of Gibeah. 44 So 18,000 brave and strong fighters from the army of Benjamin were killed.
45 The army of Benjamin turned around and ran toward the desert. They ran to a place called the Rock of Rimmon, but the army of Israel killed 5000 soldiers from Benjamin along the roads. They kept chasing the men of Benjamin. They chased them as far as a place named Gidom. The army of Israel killed 2000 more men from Benjamin in that place.
46 On that day 25,000 men of the army of Benjamin were killed. All of them fought bravely with their swords. 47 But 600 men from Benjamin ran into the desert to the place called the Rock of Rimmon and stayed there for four months. 48 The men of Israel went back to the land of Benjamin. They killed the people and all the animals in every city. They destroyed everything they could find and burned every city they came to.
20 Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the Lord in Mizpeh.
2 And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.
3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell us, how was this wickedness?
4 And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.
5 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.
6 And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.
7 Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel.
8 And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house.
9 But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it;
10 And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.
11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you?
13 Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel.
14 But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.
15 And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.
16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.
17 And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.
18 And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the Lord said, Judah shall go up first.
19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.
20 And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah.
21 And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.
22 And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day.
23 (And the children of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until even, and asked counsel of the Lord , saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the Lord said, Go up against him.)
24 And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day.
25 And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.
26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the Lord , and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord .
27 And the children of Israel enquired of the Lord , (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
28 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the Lord said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.
29 And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.
30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.
31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
32 And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways.
33 And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah.
34 And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them.
35 And the Lord smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword.
36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah.
37 And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.
38 Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city.
39 And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle.
40 But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven.
41 And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them.
42 Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.
43 Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.
44 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valour.
45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them.
46 So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour.
47 But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.
48 And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.
20 Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one person to the Lord at ( A ) Mizpah. 2 And the [ a ] leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot [ b ] soldiers ( B ) who drew the sword. 3 (Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, “Tell us , how did this wickedness take place?” 4 So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. 5 But the [ c ] ( C ) citizens of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night, [ d ] threatening me. They intended to kill me; instead, they ( D ) raped my concubine so that she died. 6 And I ( E ) took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance; for ( F ) they have committed an outrageous sin and vile act in Israel. 7 Behold, all you sons of Israel, ( G ) give your [ e ] response and advice here.”
8 Then all the people rose up as one person, saying, “Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us go home. 9 But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up against it by lot. 10 And we will take ten men out of a hundred throughout the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand to [ f ] supply provisions for the people, so that when they come to [ g ] Gibeah of Benjamin, they may [ h ] punish them for all the vile sin that they have committed in Israel.” 11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, [ i ] united as one man.
12 Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire [ j ] tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has taken place among you? 13 Now then, turn over the men, the [ k ] ( H ) worthless men who are in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and ( I ) remove this wickedness from Israel.” But the sons of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel. 14 Instead, the sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel. 15 From the cities on that day the ( J ) sons of Benjamin were [ l ] counted, twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were [ m ] counted, seven hundred choice men. 16 Out of all these people seven hundred ( K ) choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
17 Then the men of Israel besides Benjamin were [ n ] counted, four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.
18 Now the sons of Israel set out, went up to Bethel, and ( L ) inquired of God and said, “Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?” Then the Lord said, “Judah shall go up first.”
19 So the sons of Israel got up in the morning and camped against Gibeah. 20 The men of Israel went to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel lined up for battle against them at Gibeah. 21 Then the sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and [ o ] ( M ) struck to the ground on that day twenty-two thousand men of Israel. 22 But the people, the men of Israel, showed themselves courageous and lined up for battle again in the place where they had lined themselves up on the first day. 23 And ( N ) the sons of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and ( O ) inquired of the Lord , saying, “Shall we again advance for battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin?” And the Lord said, “Go up against him.”
24 So the sons of Israel [ p ] came against the sons of Benjamin on the second day. 25 And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah the second day and struck to the ground again eighteen thousand men of the sons of Israel; all of these drew the sword. 26 Then ( P ) all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel, and they wept and remained there before the Lord , and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord . 27 And the sons of Israel ( Q ) inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, 28 and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, Aaron’s son, stood before it to minister in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I stop?” And the Lord said, “Go up, ( R ) for tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”
29 ( S ) So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah. 30 And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and lined up against Gibeah as at other times. 31 ( T ) When the sons of Benjamin went out against the people, they were lured away from the city, and they began to strike and kill some of the people as at other times, on the roads (one of which goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah), and in the field, about thirty men of Israel. 32 And the sons of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, like the first time.” But the sons of Israel said, “Let’s flee, so that we may draw them away from the city to the roads.” 33 Then all the men of Israel rose from their place and lined up at Baal-tamar; ( U ) and the men of Israel in ambush charged from their place, from Maareh-geba. 34 When ten thousand choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, the battle became [ q ] fierce; ( V ) but [ r ] Benjamin did not know that disaster was [ s ] close to them. 35 And the Lord struck Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that [ t ] day, all who drew the sword.
36 So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were [ u ] defeated. ( W ) When the men of Israel gave [ v ] ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah, 37 ( X ) the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. 38 Now the agreed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was ( Y ) that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city. 39 Then the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel, ( Z ) for they said, “Undoubtedly they are [ w ] defeated before us, as in the first battle.” 40 But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, Benjamin looked ( AA ) behind them; and behold, the entire city was going up in smoke to heaven. 41 Then the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified; for they saw that ( AB ) disaster was [ x ] close to them. 42 Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel to flee in the ( AC ) direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them while those who attacked from the cities were annihilating them in the midst of them. 43 ( AD ) They surrounded Benjamin, pursued them without rest, and trampled them down opposite Gibeah toward the [ y ] east. 44 So eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all of these were valiant men. 45 [ z ] The rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of ( AE ) Rimmon, but they [ aa ] caught five thousand of them on the roads and overtook them [ ab ] at Gidom, and [ ac ] killed two thousand of them. 46 So all those of Benjamin who fell that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were valiant men. 47 But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon; and they remained at the rock of Rimmon for four months. 48 The men of Israel then turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found.
20 Then all Israel ( A ) from Dan to Beersheba ( B ) and from the land of Gilead came together as one ( C ) and assembled ( D ) before the Lord in Mizpah. ( E ) 2 The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, four hundred thousand men ( F ) armed with swords. 3 (The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, “Tell us how this awful thing happened.”
4 So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, “I and my concubine came to Gibeah ( G ) in Benjamin to spend the night. ( H ) 5 During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. ( I ) They raped my concubine, and she died. ( J ) 6 I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel’s inheritance, ( K ) because they committed this lewd and outrageous act ( L ) in Israel. 7 Now, all you Israelites, speak up and tell me what you have decided to do. ( M ) ”
8 All the men rose up together as one, saying, “None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. 9 But now this is what we’ll do to Gibeah: We’ll go up against it in the order decided by casting lots. ( N ) 10 We’ll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeah [ a ] in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for this outrageous act done in Israel.” 11 So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city. ( O )
12 The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What about this awful crime that was committed among you? ( P ) 13 Now turn those wicked men ( Q ) of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel. ( R ) ”
But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. 14 From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. 15 At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred able young men from those living in Gibeah. 16 Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed, ( S ) each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
17 Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle.
18 The Israelites went up to Bethel [ b ] ( T ) and inquired of God. ( U ) They said, “Who of us is to go up first ( V ) to fight ( W ) against the Benjamites?”
The Lord replied, “Judah ( X ) shall go first.”
19 The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. 20 The Israelites went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. 21 The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites ( Y ) on the battlefield that day. 22 But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. 23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord ( Z ) until evening, ( AA ) and they inquired of the Lord . ( AB ) They said, “Shall we go up again to fight ( AC ) against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites?”
The Lord answered, “Go up against them.”
24 Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. 25 This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, ( AD ) all of them armed with swords.
26 Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord . ( AE ) They fasted ( AF ) that day until evening and presented burnt offerings ( AG ) and fellowship offerings ( AH ) to the Lord . ( AI ) 27 And the Israelites inquired of the Lord . ( AJ ) (In those days the ark of the covenant of God ( AK ) was there, 28 with Phinehas son of Eleazar, ( AL ) the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) ( AM ) They asked, “Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites, or not?”
The Lord responded, “Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands. ( AN ) ”
29 Then Israel set an ambush ( AO ) around Gibeah. 30 They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. 31 The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn away ( AP ) from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads—the one leading to Bethel ( AQ ) and the other to Gibeah. 32 While the Benjamites were saying, “We are defeating them as before,” ( AR ) the Israelites were saying, “Let’s retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads.”
33 All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place ( AS ) on the west [ c ] of Gibeah. [ d ] 34 Then ten thousand of Israel’s able young men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize ( AT ) how near disaster was. ( AU ) 35 The Lord defeated Benjamin ( AV ) before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. 36 Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten.
Now the men of Israel had given way ( AW ) before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush ( AX ) they had set near Gibeah. 37 Those who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword. ( AY ) 38 The Israelites had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke ( AZ ) from the city, ( BA ) 39 and then the Israelites would counterattack.
The Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the Israelites (about thirty), and they said, “We are defeating them as in the first battle.” ( BB ) 40 But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the whole city going up in smoke. ( BC ) 41 Then the Israelites counterattacked, ( BD ) and the Benjamites were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come ( BE ) on them. 42 So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the wilderness, but they could not escape the battle. And the Israelites who came out of the towns cut them down there. 43 They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily [ e ] overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. 44 Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters. ( BF ) 45 As they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, ( BG ) the Israelites cut down five thousand men along the roads. They kept pressing after the Benjamites as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more.
46 On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite ( BH ) swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. 47 But six hundred of them turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. 48 The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire. ( BI )
