Israel’s War with the Benjamites
1 Soall the children of Israel came out, fromDan toBeersheba, as well as from the land of Gilead, and the congregation gathered together as one man before theLordat Mizpah.
2 And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldierswho drew the sword.
3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.)
Then the children of Israel said, “Tellus,how did this wicked deed happen?”
4 So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “My concubine andI went into Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, to spend the night.
5 And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me,but instead they ravished my concubine so that she died.
6 SoI took hold of my concubine, cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel, because theycommitted lewdness and outrage in Israel.
7 Look! All of youarechildren of Israel;give your advice and counsel here and now!”
8 So all the people arose as one man, saying, “Noneofuswill go to his tent, nor will any turn back to his house;
9 but now thisisthe thing which we will do to Gibeah:Wewillgoupagainst it by lot.
10 We will take ten men out ofeveryhundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, a hundred out ofeverythousand, and a thousand out ofeveryten thousand, to make provisions for the people, that when they come to Gibeah in Benjamin, they may repay all the vileness that they have done in Israel.”
11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united together as one man.
12 Then the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “Whatisthis wickedness that has occurred among you?
13 Now therefore, deliver up the men,the perverted men whoarein Gibeah, that we may put them to death andremove the evil from Israel!” But the children of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brethren, the children of Israel.
14 Instead, the children of Benjamin gathered together from their cities to Gibeah, to go to battle against the children of Israel.
15 And from their cities at that timethe children of Benjamin numbered twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered seven hundred select men.
16 Among all this peoplewereseven hundred select menwhowereleft-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair’sbreadthand not miss.
17 Now besides Benjamin, the men of Israel numbered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of theseweremen of war.
18 Then the children of Israel arose andwent up to the house of God toinquire of God. They said, “Which of us shall go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin?”
# TheLordsaid,“Judah first!”
19 So the children of Israel rose 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 battle array to fight against them at Gibeah.
21 Thenthe children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day cut down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites.
22 And the people, that is, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves and again formed the battle line at the place where they had put themselves in array on the first day.
23 Then the children of Israel went up and wept before theLorduntil evening, and asked counsel of theLord, saying, “Shall I again draw near for battle against the children of my brother Benjamin?”
And theLordsaid, “Go up against him.”
24 So the children of Israel approached the children of Benjamin on the second day.
25 AndBenjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day, and cut down to the ground eighteen thousand more of the children of Israel; all these drew the sword.
26 Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people,went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before theLordand fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before theLord.
27 So the children of Israel inquired of theLord(the ark of the covenant of Godwasthere 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 my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?”
And theLordsaid, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”
29 Then Israelset men in ambush all around Gibeah.
30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in battle array against Gibeah as at the other times.
31 So the children of Benjamin went out against the people,andwere drawn away from the city. They began to strike downandkill some of the people, as at the other times, in the highways(one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah) and in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
32 And the children of Benjamin said, “Theyaredefeated before us, as at first.”
But the children of Israel said, “Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.”
33 So all the men of Israel rose from their place and put themselves in battle array at Baal Tamar. Then Israel’s men in ambush burst forth from their position in the plain of Geba.
34 And ten thousand select men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce.ButtheBenjamitesdid not know that disasterwasupon them.
35 TheLorddefeated Benjamin before Israel. And the children of Israel destroyed that day twenty-five thousand one hundred Benjamites; all these drew the sword.
36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated.The men of Israel had given ground to the Benjamites, because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah.
37 And the men in ambush quickly rushed upon Gibeah; the men in ambush spread out and struck the whole city with the edge of the sword.
38 Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud ofsmoke rise up from the city,
39 whereupon the men of Israel would turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to strikeandkill about thirty of the men of Israel. For they said, “Surely they are defeated before us, asinthe first battle.”
40 But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, the Benjamiteslooked behind them, and there was the whole city going upinsmoketo heaven.
41 And when the men of Israel turned back, the men of Benjamin panicked, for they saw that disaster had come upon them.
42 Therefore they turnedtheirbacksbefore the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them, and whoevercameout of the cities they destroyed in their midst.
43 They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them,andeasily trampled them down as far as the front of Gibeah toward the east.
44 And eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all theseweremen of valor.
45 Then they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock ofRimmon; and they cut down five thousand of them on the highways. Then they pursued them relentlessly up to Gidom, and killed two thousand of them.
46 So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all theseweremen of valor.
47 But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they stayed at the rock of Rimmon for four months.
48 And the men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword—fromeverycity, men and beasts, all who were found. They also set fire to all the cities they came to.