All the people of Israel came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah, from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead.The leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, took their places in the assembly of the people of God: four hundred thousand foot soldiers who drew the sword.The Benjamites heard that the people of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. The people of Israel said, “Tell us how this evil happened.”The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered, “I came with my concubine to Gibeah of Benjamin to spend the night.The citizens of Gibeah rose against me and surrounded the house against me at night. They intended to kill me. They violated my concubine, and she died.I took my concubine, cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel’s inheritance, because they had committed lewdness and outrage in Israel.All of you are people of Israel. Give your opinion and counsel here.”All the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, and none will turn aside to his house.Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot.We will take ten men from every hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, a hundred from every thousand, and a thousand from every ten thousand, to get provisions for the people. Then, when they come to Geba of Benjamin, they can repay it for all the outrage it has committed in Israel.”All the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man.The tribes of Israel sent men throughout all the clans of Benjamin, saying, “What is this evil that has happened among you?Now hand over the worthless men in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and remove evil from Israel.” But the Benjamites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel.The Benjamites gathered from the cities to Gibeah to go out to battle against the people of Israel.On that day the Benjamites mustered twenty-six thousand men from the cities who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered seven hundred chosen men.Among all these people were seven hundred chosen left-handed men. Every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.The men of Israel, excluding Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword. All of them were men of war.They arose, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God. The people of Israel said, “Who should go up first for us to battle against the Benjamites?” The LORD said, “Judah first.”The people of Israel arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah.The men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin and arrayed themselves for battle against them at Gibeah.The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and struck twenty-two thousand men of Israel dead to the ground that day.But the people, the men of Israel, took courage and again arrayed themselves for battle in the place where they had arrayed themselves on the first day.The people of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening. They inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I again advance to battle against the people of Benjamin, my brother?” The LORD said, “Go up against him.”The people of Israel advanced against the Benjamites on the second day.Benjamin came out of Gibeah to meet them on the second day and struck another eighteen thousand men of Israel dead to the ground. All of them drew the sword.Then all the people of Israel, the whole people, went up and came to Bethel. They wept and sat there before the LORD, fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.The people of Israel inquired of the LORD. The ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, stood before it in those days. They asked, “Shall I again go out to battle against the people of Benjamin, my brother, or shall I stop?” The LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give him into your hand.”Israel set men in ambush all around Gibeah.The people of Israel went up against the Benjamites on the third day and arrayed themselves against Gibeah as before.The Benjamites came out to meet the people and were drawn away from the city. As before, they began to strike some of the people dead on the roads, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, in the open country—about thirty men of Israel.The Benjamites said, “They are being defeated before us as at first.” But the people of Israel had said, “Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the roads.”All the men of Israel arose from their positions and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar. The men of Israel in ambush rushed out from their place, from the open ground of Geba.Ten thousand chosen men from all Israel came opposite Gibeah. The battle was fierce, and the Benjamites did not know that disaster was closing in on them.The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel. That day the people of Israel destroyed twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin, all of whom drew the sword.The Benjamites saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel had given ground to Benjamin because they trusted the ambush they had set against Gibeah.The men in ambush hurried and rushed upon Gibeah. They spread out and struck the whole city by the edge of the sword.The agreed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was for them to send up a great cloud of smoke from the city.When the men of Israel turned back in the battle, Benjamin began to strike down about thirty men of Israel. They said, “Surely they are being defeated before us as in the first battle.”But the signal began to rise from the city, a pillar of smoke. Benjamin looked back, and the whole city was going up toward heaven.The men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified, for they saw that disaster had reached them.They turned before the men of Israel toward the wilderness road, but the battle overtook them. Those coming from the cities were destroying them in their midst.They surrounded Benjamin, pursued them, and trampled them down with ease as far as opposite Gibeah, toward the east.Eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell, all of them valiant men.They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon. The Israelites gleaned five thousand of them along the roads. They pursued them as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more.All who fell from Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword, all of them valiant men.But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon. They stayed at the rock of Rimmon four months.The men of Israel turned back against the Benjamites and struck them down by the edge of the sword—entire cities, livestock, and everything they found. They also set fire to all the cities they found.
Rights and attribution
Holy Bible, BibliaTodo New Translation (BTNT). Published by BibliaTodo Bible Society, an imprint of BibliaTodo LLC.