Judges:20
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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 B @#
er ,
with the land of Gilead Gil #
ad #,
unto the LORD in Mizpeh .
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And the chief of all the people ,
even of all the tribes of Israel Yisra #
el #,
presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God ,
four hundred thousand footmen #
H7273that drew sword .
* (
Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh . )
Then said the children of Israel Yisra #
el #,
Tell us ,
how was this wickedness ?
*
And the Levite Leviyiy #,
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 .
*
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 Yisra #
el #:
for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel Yisra #
el #.
*
Behold ,
ye are all children of Israel Yisra #
el #;
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 .
*
But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah Gib #
ah #;
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 Yisra #
el #,
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 Yisra #
el #.
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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 b @
liya #
al #,
which are in Gibeah Gib #
ah #,
that we may put them to death ,
and put away evil from Israel Yisra #
el #.
But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel Yisra #
el #:
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But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah Gib #
ah #,
to go out to battle against the children of Israel Yisra #
el #.
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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 Gib #
ah #,
which were numbered seven hundred chosen men .
*
Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded #
H3027 yad #;
every one could sling stones at an hair breadth ,
and not miss .
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And the men of Israel Yisra #
el #,
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 #
Beyth -#
El #,
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 .
*
And the children of Israel rose up in the morning ,
and encamped against Gibeah Gib #
ah #.
*
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 Gib #
ah #.
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And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah Gib #
ah #,
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 .
* (
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 .)
*
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 sh @
moneh #
thousand men ;
all these drew the sword .
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Then all the children of Israel Yisra #
el #,
and all the people ,
went up ,
and came unto the house of God #
Beyth -#
El #,
and wept ,
and sat there before the LORD ,
and fasted that day until even ,
and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD .
*
And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD , (
for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days ,
*
And Phinehas ,
the son of Eleazar #
El #
azar #,
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 ?
And the LORD said ,
Go up ;
for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand .
*
And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah Gib #
ah #.
*
And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day ,
and put themselves in array against Gibeah Gib #
ah #,
as at other times pa #
am #.
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And the children of Benjamin went out against the people ,
and were drawn away from the city ;
and they began to smite of the people ,
and kill ,
as at other times pa #
am #,
in the highways ,
of which one goeth up to the house of God #
Beyth -#
El #,
and the other to Gibeah in the field ,
about thirty men of Israel Yisra #
el #.
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And the children of Benjamin said ,
They are smitten down before us ,
as at the first ri #
shown #.
But the children of Israel said ,
Let us flee ,
and draw them from the city unto the highways .
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And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place ,
and put themselves in array at Baaltamar Ba #
al :
and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places ,
even out of the meadows of Gibeah .
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And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel Yisra #
el #,
and the battle was sore :
but they knew not that evil was near them .
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And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel Yisra #
el #:
and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites Ben-y @
miyniy #
that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men :
all these drew the sword .
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So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten :
for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites Ben-y @
miyniy #,
because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah Gib #
ah #.
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And the liers in wait hasted ,
and rushed upon Gibeah Gib #
ah #;
and the liers in wait drew themselves along ,
and smote all the city with the edge of the sword .
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Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait ,
that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city .
*
And when the men of Israel retired in the battle ,
Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons :
for they said ,
Surely they are smitten down before us ,
as in the first battle .
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But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke ,
the Benjamites Ben-y @
miyniy #
looked behind them ,
and ,
behold ,
the flame of the city ascended up to heaven .
*
And when the men of Israel turned again ,
the men of Benjamin were amazed :
for they saw that evil was come upon them .
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Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness ;
but the battle overtook them ;
and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them .
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Thus they inclosed the Benjamites Ben-y @
miyniy #
round about ,
and chased them ,
and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising mizrach #.
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And there fell of Benjamin eighteen sh @
moneh #
thousand men ;
all these were men of valour .
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And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon :
and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men ;
and pursued hard after them unto Gidom Gid #
om #,
and slew two thousand men of them .
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So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword ;
all these were men of valour .
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But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon ,
and abode in the rock Rimmon four months .
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And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin ,
and smote them with the edge of the sword ,
as well the men of every city ,
as the beast ,
and all that came to hand :
also they set on fire all the cities that they came to .