Judges 20:11-48

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 wickedness is this that is happen among you? ¹³ Now therefore deliver up the men, the base 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 numbered on that day out of the cities twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men. ¹⁶ Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; everyone could sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not miss. ¹⁷ The men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men who drew sword: all these were men of war.

¹⁸ The children of Israel arose, and went up to Bethel, and asked counsel of God; and they said, “Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin?”

Yahweh said, “Judah shall go up 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 forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day Twenty-two thousand men. 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 Yahweh until even; and they asked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I again draw near to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?”

Yahweh said, “Go up against him.” ²⁴ The children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day. ²⁵ 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 to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before Yahweh, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Yahweh. ²⁷ The children of Israel asked of Yahweh (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?”

Yahweh 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 us 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: and the ambushers of Israel broke forth out of their place, even out of Maareh Geba. ³⁴ There came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore; but they didn’t know that evil was close on them. ³⁵ Yahweh struck Benjamin before Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men: all these drew the sword. ³⁶ So the children of Benjamin saw that they were struck; for the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin, because they trusted the ambushers whom they had set against Gibeah. ³⁷ The ambushers hurried, and rushed on Gibeah; and the ambushers drew themselves along, 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 of the 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 evil 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 its midst. ⁴³ They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them, and trod them down at their resting place, as far as over against Gibeah toward the sunrise. ⁴⁴ There fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valor. ⁴⁵ They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them to Gidom, and struck of them two thousand men. ⁴⁶ So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of valor. ⁴⁷ But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and abode 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, both the entire city, and the livestock, and all that they found: moreover all the cities which they found they set on fire.