Judges:20

---

Seeker Overlay ON

* Then all the sons of Israel went out , and the congregation was assembled as one man , from Dan even to Beer-sheba , with the land of Gilead , to Yahweh at Mizpah . * And 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 a sword . * (Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah .) And the sons of Israel said , Tell us , how was this wickedness brought to pass ? * And the Levite , the husband of the woman who was murdered , answered and said , I came into Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin , I and my concubine , to lodge . * And the men of Gibeah rose against me , and beset the house round about me by night ; they wanted to kill me , and they raped my concubine to death . * 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 . * Look , you (note :){+}(:note ) sons of Israel , all of you {+}, give here your {+} advice and counsel . * 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 to his house . * But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah : [we will go up ] against it by lot ! * And we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel , and a hundred of a thousand , and a thousand out of ten thousand , to fetch victuals for the people , that they may do , when they come to Geba of Benjamin , according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel . * So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city , joined together as one man . * And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin , saying , What wickedness is this that has come to pass among you (note :){+}(:note )? * 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 sons of Israel . * And the sons of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities to Gibeah , to go out to battle against the sons of Israel . * And the sons of Benjamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty and six thousand swordsmen , besides the inhabitants of Gibeah , who were numbered seven hundred chosen men . * Among all this people there were seven hundred left-handed chosen men ; every one could sling stones at a hair-width , and not miss . * And the men of Israel , besides Benjamin , were numbered four hundred thousand swordsmen : all these were men of war . * And the sons of Israel arose , and went up to Beth-el , and asked counsel of God ; and they said , Who shall go up for us first to battle against the sons of Benjamin ? And Yahweh said , Judah [will go up ] first . * And the sons of Israel rose up in the morning , and encamped against Gibeah . * And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin ; and the men of Israel set the battle in array against them at Gibeah . * And the sons of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah , and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day twenty and two thousand men . * And 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 . * And the sons of Israel went up and wept before Yahweh until evening ; and they asked of Yahweh , saying , Shall I again draw near to battle against the sons of Benjamin my brother ? And Yahweh said , Go up against him . * And the sons of Israel came near against the sons of Benjamin the second day . * And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day , and destroyed down to the ground of the sons of Israel again eighteen thousand men ; all these drew the sword . * Then all the sons of Israel , and all the people , went up , and came to Beth-el , and wept , and sat there before Yahweh , and fasted that day until evening ; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Yahweh . * And the sons of Israel asked of Yahweh (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days , * 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 sons of Benjamin my brother , or shall I cease ? And Yahweh said , Go up ; for tomorrow I will deliver him into your hand . * And Israel set ambushers against Gibeah round about . * And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day , and set themselves in array against Gibeah , as at other times . * And the sons 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 Beth-el , and the other to Gibeah , in the field , about thirty men of Israel . * And the sons of Benjamin said , They are being struck down before us , as at the first . But the sons of Israel said , Let us flee , and draw them away from the city to the highways . * And 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 from the clearing of Geba . * And there came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel , and the battle was intense ; but they didn 't know that evil was close on them . * And Yahweh struck Benjamin before Israel ; and the sons of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men : all these [were ] swordsmen . * So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were struck ; for the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin , because they trusted to the ambushers whom they had set against Gibeah . * And the ambushers hurried , and rushed on Gibeah ; and the ambushers drew themselves along , and struck all the city with the edge of the sword . * 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 . * And 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 . * But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke , the Benjamites looked behind them ; and saw that the whole city went up [in smoke ] to heaven . * And the men of Israel turned , and the men of Benjamin were dismayed ; for they saw that evil came upon them . * Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness ; but the battle stuck [close ] to them ; and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of them . * They enclosed the Benjamites round about , chased them , [and from their ] resting-place they trod them down , near Gibeah toward the sunrising . * And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men ; all these [were ] men of valor . * And they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon : and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men , and stuck [closely ] after them to Gidom , and struck of them two thousand men . * So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand swordsmen ; all these [were ] men of valor . * But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon , and remained in the rock of Rimmon four months . * And the men of Israel turned again on the sons of Benjamin , and struck them with the edge of the sword in the town : men to cattle , to all they found . Moreover all the cities which they found they set on fire .

---