Judges 20
1 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. 2 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. 3 (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? 4 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.
5 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.
6 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. 7 Behold, ye are all
children of
Israel; give here your
advice and
counsel. 8 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. 9 But now this shall be the
thing which we will
do to
Gibeah; we will go up by
lot against it;
10 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. 11 So all the
men of
Israel were
gathered against the
city, knit
together as
one man. 12 And the
tribes of
Israel sent men through all the
tribe of
Benjamin, saying, What
wickedness is this that is
done among you?
13 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: 14 But the
children of
Benjamin gathered themselves
together out of the
cities unto
Gibeah, to go
out to
battle against the
children of
Israel. 15 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. 16 Among all this
people there were
seven hundred chosen men lefthanded ; every one could
sling stones at an
hair breadth, and not
miss.
17 And the
men of
Israel, beside
Benjamin, were
numbered four hundred thousand men that
drew sword: all these were
men of
war. 18 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. 19 And the
children of
Israel rose
up in the
morning, and
encamped against
Gibeah. 20 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. 21 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. 22 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. 23 (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.)
24 And the
children of
Israel came
near against the
children of
Benjamin the
second day. 25 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. 26 Then all the
children of
Israel, and all the
people, went
up, and
came unto the
house of
God , and
wept, and
sat there
before the
LORD, and
fasted that
day until
even, and
offered burnt
offerings and peace
offerings before the
LORD. 27 And the
children of
Israel enquired of the
LORD, (for the
ark of the
covenant of
God was there in those
days, 28 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
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. 29 And
Israel set liers in
wait round
about Gibeah. 30 And the
children of
Israel went
up against the
children of
Benjamin on the
third day, and put themselves in
array against
Gibeah, as at other
times. 31 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, in the
highways, of which
one goeth
up to the
house of
God , and the
other to
Gibeah in the
field, about
thirty men of
Israel. 32 And the
children of
Benjamin said, They are smitten
down before us, as at the
first. But the
children of
Israel said, Let us
flee, and
draw them from the
city unto the
highways. 33 And all the
men of
Israel rose
up out of their
place, and put themselves in
array at
Baaltamar: and the liers in
wait of
Israel came
forth out of their
places, even out of the
meadows of
Gibeah. 34 And there
came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all
Israel, and the
battle was
sore: but they
knew not that
evil was
near them.
35 And the
LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the
children of
Israel destroyed of the
Benjamites that
day twenty and
five thousand and an
hundred men: all these
drew the
sword. 36 So the
children of
Benjamin saw that they were
smitten: for the
men of
Israel gave place to the
Benjamites, because they
trusted unto the liers in
wait which they had
set beside
Gibeah. 37 And the liers in
wait hasted, and
rushed upon
Gibeah; and the liers in
wait drew themselves
along, and
smote all the
city with the
edge of the
sword. 38 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. 39 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. 40 But when the
flame began to arise
up out of the
city with a
pillar of
smoke, the
Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the
flame of the
city ascended
up to
heaven. 41 And when the
men of
Israel turned
again, the
men of
Benjamin were
amazed: for they
saw that
evil was
come upon them.
42 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.
43 Thus they
inclosed the
Benjamites round
about, and
chased them, and trode them
down with
ease over
against Gibeah toward the
sunrising.
44 And there
fell of
Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were
men of
valour. 45 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, and
slew two
thousand men of them.
46 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. 47 But
six hundred men turned and
fled to the
wilderness unto the
rock Rimmon, and
abode in the
rock Rimmon four months. 48 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.