1 Then all the children of Israel went
out, and the congregation was assembled
as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba,
with the land of Gilead, to the LORD at
Mizpah.
2 The chiefs 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 who
drew sword.
3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard
that the children of Israel had gone up to
Mizpah.) The children of Israel said, “Tell
us, how did this wickedness happen?”
4 The Levite, the husband of the woman
who was murdered, answered, “I came
into Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and
my concubine, to spend the night.
5 The men of Gibeah rose against me,
and surrounded the house by night. They
intended to kill me and they raped my
concubine, and she is dead.
6 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, you children of Israel, all of
you, give here your advice and counsel.”
8 All the people arose as one man, saying,
“None of us will go to his tent, neither will
any of us turn to his house.
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 of one hundred
throughout all the tribes of Israel,
and one hundred of one thousand, and a
thousand out of ten thousand to get food
for the people, that they may do, when they
come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to
all the folly that the men of Gibeah have
done in Israel.” 11 So all the men of Israel were gathered
against the city, knit together as one man.
12 The tribes of Israel sent men through
all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What
Judges 20:13 279 Judges 20:35
wickedness is this that has happened
amongst you?
13 Now therefore deliver up the men, the
wicked fellows who are in Gibeah, that we
may put them to death and put away evil
from Israel.”
But Benjamin would not listen to the
voice of their brothers, the children of Israel.
14 The children of Benjamin gathered
themselves together out of the cities to
Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children
of Israel.
15 The children of Benjamin were
counted on that day out of the cities
twenty-six thousand men who drew the
sword, in addition to the inhabitants of
Gibeah, who were counted seven hundred
chosen men.
16 Amongst all these soldiers there were
seven hundred chosen men who were lefthanded.
Every one of them could sling a
stone at a hair and not miss.
17 The men of Israel, besides Benjamin,
were counted four hundred thousand men
who drew sword. All these were men of
war.
18 The children of Israel arose, went up
to Bethel, and asked counsel of God. They
asked, “Who shall go up for us first to battle
against the children of Benjamin?”
The LORD said, “Judah first.”
19 The children of Israel rose up in the
morning and encamped against Gibeah.
20 The men of Israel went out to battle
against Benjamin; and the men of Israel set
the battle in array against them at Gibeah.
21 The children of Benjamin came out of
Gibeah, and on that day destroyed twentytwo
thousand of the Israelite men down to
the ground.
22 The people, the men of Israel, encouraged
themselves, and set the battle again
in array in the place where they set themselves
in array the first day.
23 The children of Israel went up and
wept before the LORD until evening; and
they asked of the LORD, saying, “Shall I
again draw near to battle against the children
of Benjamin my brother?”
The LORD said, “Go up against him.”
24 The children of Israel came near
against the children of Benjamin the second
day.
25 Benjamin went out 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 to Bethel,
and wept, and sat there before the LORD,
and fasted that day until evening; then
they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings
before the LORD.
27 The children of Israel asked 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?”
The LORD said, “Go up; for tomorrow I
will deliver him into your hand.”
29 Israel set ambushes all around Gibeah.
30 The children of Israel went up against
the children of Benjamin on the third
day, and set themselves in array against
Gibeah, as at other times.
31 The children of Benjamin went out
against the people, and were drawn away
from the city; and they began to strike and
kill of the people as at other times, in the
highways, of which one goes up to Bethel
and the other to Gibeah, in the field, about
thirty men of Israel.
32 The children of Benjamin said, “They
are struck down before us, as at the first.”
But the children of Israel said, “Let’s flee,
and draw them away from the city to the
highways.”
33 All the men of Israel rose up out of
their place and set themselves in array
at Baal Tamar. Then the ambushers of
Israel broke out of their place, even out of
Maareh Geba.
34 Ten thousand chosen men out of all
Israel came over against Gibeah, and the
battle was severe; but they didn’t know
that disaster was close to them.
35 The LORD struck Benjamin before Israel;
and the children of Israel destroyed
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of Benjamin that day twenty-five thousand
and one hundred men. All these drew the
sword.
36 So the children of Benjamin saw that
they were struck, for the men of Israel
yielded to Benjamin because they trusted
the ambushers whom they had set against
Gibeah.
37 The ambushers hurried, and rushed
on Gibeah; then the ambushers spread out,
and struck all the city with the edge of the
sword.
38 Now the appointed sign between the
men of Israel and the ambushers was that
they should make a great cloud of smoke
rise up out of the city.
39 The men of Israel turned in the battle,
and Benjamin began to strike and kill of
the men of Israel about thirty persons; for
they said, “Surely they are struck down
before us, as in the first battle.”
40 But when the cloud began to arise up
out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites
looked behind them; and behold,
the whole city went up in smoke to the sky.
41 The men of Israel turned, and the men
of Benjamin were dismayed; for they saw
that disaster had come on them.
42 Therefore they turned their backs before
the men of Israel to the way of the
wilderness, but the battle followed hard
after them; and those who came out of the
cities destroyed them in the middle of it.
43 They surrounded the Benjamites,
chased them, and trod them down at
their resting place, as far as near Gibeah
towards the sunrise.
44 Eighteen thousand men of Benjamin
fell; all these were men of valour.
45 They turned and fled towards the
wilderness to the rock of Rimmon. They
gleaned five thousand men of them in the
highways, and followed hard after them to
Gidom, and struck two thousand men of
them.
46 So that all who fell that day of Benjamin
were twenty-five thousand men
who drew the sword. All these were men
of valour.
47 But six hundred men turned and fled
towards the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon,
and stayed in the rock of Rimmon
four months.
48 The men of Israel turned again on
the children of Benjamin, and struck them
with the edge of the sword—including the
entire city, the livestock, and all that they
found. Moreover they set all the cities
which they found on fire.
