Judges 20

¹ The Israelites then al turned out and, as one man, the entire community from Dan to Beersheba,including Gilead, assembled in Yahweh's presence at Mizpah.

² The leaders of the entire people, of al the tribes of Israel, were present at this assembly of God'speople, four hundred thousand trained infantry.

³ The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. The Israelites then said, 'Tel ushow this crime was committed.'

⁴ The Levite, husband of the murdered woman, spoke in reply and said,

⁵ 'The men of Gibeah ganged up against me and, during the night, surrounded the house where I waslodging. They intended to murder me. They raped my concubine to death.

⁶ I then took my concubine, cut her up and sent her throughout the entire territory of the heritage ofIsrael, since these men had committed a shameful act, an infamy, in Israel.

⁷ Now, all you Israelites, discuss the matter and give your decision here and now.'

⁸ The whole people stood up as one man and said, 'None of us wil go home, none of us will go back tohis house!

⁹ And this is what we are now going to do to Gibeah. We shal draw lots

¹⁰ and, throughout the tribes of Israel, select ten men out of a hundred, a hundred out of a thousand anda thousand out of ten thousand to col ect food for the people, so that, on their arrival, the latter may treat Gibeahin Benjamin as this infamy perpetrated in Israel deserves.'

¹¹ Thus, as one man, al the men of Israel mustered against the town.

¹² The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin to say, 'What is this crimewhich has been committed in your territory?

¹³ Now, give up these men, these scoundrels, living in Gibeah, so that we can put them to death andwipe out this evil from Israel.' The Benjaminites, however, would not listen to their brother Israelites.

¹⁴ The Benjaminites left their towns and mustered at Gibeah to fight the Israelites.

¹⁵ At the time, a count was made of the Benjaminites from the various towns: there were twenty-sixthousand swordsmen; and the count excluded the inhabitants of Gibeah.

¹⁶ In this great army there were seven hundred first-rate left-handers, every man of whom could sling astone at a hair and not miss it.

¹⁷ A count was also held of the men of Israel, excluding Benjamin: there were four hundred thousandmen, al experienced swordsmen.

¹⁸ They moved off, up to Bethel, to consult God. The Israelites put the question, 'Which of us is to gofirst into battle against the Benjaminites?' And Yahweh replied, 'Judah is to go first.'

¹⁹ In the morning, the Israelites moved off and pitched their camp over against Gibeah.

²⁰ The men of Israel advanced to do battle with Benjamin; they drew up their battle line in front ofGibeah.

²¹ But the Benjaminites sal ied out from Gibeah and that day massacred twenty-two thousand Israelites.

²² The army of the men of Israel then took fresh heart and again drew up their battle line in the sameplace as the day before.

²³ The Israelites went and wept before Yahweh until evening; they then consulted Yahweh; they asked,'Shal we join battle again with the sons of our brother Benjamin?' Yahweh replied, 'March against him!'

²⁴ This second day, the Israelites advanced against the Benjaminites,

²⁵ and, this second day, Benjamin sallied out from Gibeah to meet them and massacred anothereighteen thousand Israelites, al experienced swordsmen.

²⁶ Then al the Israelites and the whole people went off to Bethel; they wept and sat in Yahweh'spresence; they fasted all day till the evening and presented burnt offerings and communion sacrifices beforeYahweh.

²⁷ The Israelites then consulted Yahweh. In those days, the ark of the covenant of God was there,

²⁸ and Phinehas son of Eleazer, son of Aaron was its minister at the time. They said, 'Ought I to go intobattle against the sons of my brother Benjamin again, or should I stop?' Yahweh replied, 'March! For tomorrow Ishall deliver him into your hands.'

²⁹ Israel then positioned troops in ambush al round Gibeah.

³⁰ On the third day the Israelites marched against the Benjaminites and, as before, drew up their line infront of Gibeah.

³¹ The Benjaminites sal ied out to engage the people and let themselves be drawn away from the town.As before, they began by kil ing those of the people who were on the roads, one of which runs up to Bethel, andthe other to Gibeah through open country: some thirty men of Israel.

³² The Benjaminites thought, 'We have beaten them, as we did the first time,' but the Israelites haddecided, 'We shal run away and draw them away from the town along the roads.'

³³ All the Israelites then retreated and reformed at Baal-Tamar, while the Israelite troops in ambushsurged from their positions to the west of Gibeah.

³⁴ Ten thousand picked men, chosen from the whole of Israel, launched their attack on Gibeah. Thebattle was fierce; and the others knew nothing of the disaster impending.

³⁵ Yahweh defeated Benjamin before Israel and that day the Israelites kil ed twenty-five thousand onehundred men of Benjamin, al of them trained swordsmen.

³⁶ The Benjaminites saw that they were beaten. The Israelites had given ground to Benjamin, since theywere relying on the ambush which they had positioned close to Gibeah.

³⁷ The troops in ambush threw themselves against Gibeah at top speed; fanning out, they put the wholetown to the sword.

³⁸ Now it had been agreed between the Israelites and those of the ambush that the latter should raise asmoke signal from the town,

³⁹ whereupon the Israelites in the thick of the battle would turn about. Benjamin began by kil ing some ofthe Israelites, about thirty men, and thought, 'We have certainly beaten them, as we did in the first battle.'

⁴⁰ But the signal, a column of smoke, began to rise from the town, and the Benjaminites looking backsaw the whole town going up in flames to the sky.

⁴¹ The Israelites then turned about, and the Benjaminites were seized with terror, for they saw thatdisaster had struck them.

⁴² They broke before the Israelite onslaught and made for the desert, but the fighters pressed themhard, while the others coming out of the town took and slaughtered them from the rear.

⁴³ They hemmed in the Benjaminites, pursued them relentlessly, crushing them opposite Gibeah on theeast.

⁴⁴ Of Benjamin, eighteen thousand men fel , al of them brave men.

⁴⁵ They then turned tail and fled into the desert, towards the Rock of Rimmon. Five thousand of themwere picked off on the roads, and the rest were relentlessly pursued as far as Gideon, two thousand of thembeing kil ed.

⁴⁶ The total number of Benjaminites who fel that day was twenty-five thousand swordsmen, al of thembrave men.

⁴⁷ Six hundred men, however, turned tail and escaped into the desert, to the Rock of Rimmon, andthere they stayed for four months.

⁴⁸ The men of Israel then went back to the Benjaminites, and put them to the sword-people, livestockand everything else that came their way in the town. And they fired all the towns involved.