rsv Judges:20:1-21 SEEK
Seeker Overlay ON
*
Then all the people of Israel came out ,
from Dan to Beer-sheba ,
including the land of Gilead ,
and the congregation assembled as one man to the LORD at Mizpah .
*
And the chiefs of all the people ,
of all the tribes of Israel ,
presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God ,
four hundred thousand men on foot that drew the sword .
* (
Now the Benjaminites heard that the people of Israel had gone up to Mizpah .)
And the people 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 to Gib '
e-ah that belongs to Benjamin ,
I and my concubine ,
to spend the night .
*
And the men of Gib '
e-ah rose against me ,
and beset the house round about me by night ;
they meant to kill me ,
and they ravished my concubine ,
and she is dead .
*
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 abomination and wantonness in Israel .
*
Behold ,
you people of Israel ,
all of you ,
give your advice and counsel here ."
*
And all the people arose as one man ,
saying , "
We will not any of us go to his tent ,
and none of us will return to his house .
*
But now this is what we will do to Gib '
e-ah :
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 of ten thousand ,
to bring provisions for the people ,
that when they come they may requite Gib '
e-ah of Benjamin ,
for all the wanton crime which they have committed in Israel ."
*
So all the men of Israel gathered against the city ,
united as one man .
*
And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin ,
saying , "
What wickedness is this that has taken place among you ?
*
Now therefore give up the men ,
the base fellows in Gib '
e-ah ,
that we may put them to death ,
and put away evil from Israel ."
But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brethren ,
the people of Israel .
*
And the Benjaminites came together out of the cities to Gib '
e-ah ,
to go out to battle against the people of Israel .
*
And the Benjaminites mustered out of their cities on that day twenty-six thousand men that drew the sword ,
besides the inhabitants of Gib '
e-ah ,
who mustered seven hundred picked men .
*
Among all these were seven hundred picked men who were left-handed ;
every one could sling a stone at a hair ,
and not miss .
*
And the men of Israel ,
apart from Benjamin ,
mustered four hundred thousand men that drew sword ;
all these were men of war .
*
The people of Israel arose and went up to Bethel ,
and inquired of God , "
Which of us shall go up first to battle against the Benjaminites ?"
And the LORD said , "
Judah shall go up first ."
*
Then the people of Israel rose in the morning ,
and encamped against Gib '
e-ah .
*
And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin ;
and the men of Israel drew up the battle line against them at Gib '
e-ah .
*
The Benjaminites came out of Gib '
e-ah ,
and felled to the ground on that day twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites .