Judges:20:1-25
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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 .
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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 .
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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 ?
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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Behold ,
ye are all children of Israel ;
give here your advice and counsel .
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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 .
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But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah ;
we will go up by lot against it ;
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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 .
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So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city ,
knit together as one man .
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And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin ,
saying ,
What wickedness is this that is done among you ?
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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 :
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But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah ,
to go out to battle against the children of Israel .
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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 .
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Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded ;
every one could sling stones at an hair breadth ,
and not miss .
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And the men of Israel ,
beside Benjamin ,
were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword :
all these were men of war .
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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 .
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And the children of Israel rose up in the morning ,
and encamped against Gibeah .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .)
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And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day .
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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 .