Then all the people of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba,
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, 400,000 men on foot that drew the sword. (Now the
people of Benjamin heard that the people of Israel had gone up to
Mizpah.) And the people of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this evil
happen?” And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered,
answered and said, “I came to Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I
and my concubine, to spend the night. And the leaders of Gibeah
rose against me and surrounded the house against me by night. They
meant to kill me, and they violated my concubine, and she is dead.
So I took hold of 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 outrage 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, “None of us will go
to his tent, and none of us will return to his house. But now this
is what 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 of ten
thousand, to bring provisions for the people, that when they come
they may repay Gibeah of Benjamin for all the outrage that 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 evil is this that has taken place among
you? Now therefore give up the men, the worthless fellows in
Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel.”
But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their
brothers, the people of Israel. Then the people of Benjamin came
together out of the cities to Gibeah to go out to battle against
the people of Israel. And the people of Benjamin mustered out of
their cities on that day 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the
inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered 700 chosen men. Among all these
were 700 chosen 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 400,000 men who drew the sword; all these were
men of war.
The people of Israel arose and went up to Bethel and inquired of
God, “Who shall go up first for us to fight against the people of
Benjamin?” And the LORD said, “Judah shall go up first.”
Then the people of Israel rose in the morning and encamped
against Gibeah. And the men of Israel went out to fight against
Benjamin, and the men of Israel drew up the battle line against
them at Gibeah. The people of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and
destroyed on that day 22,000 men of the Israelites. But the people,
the men of Israel, took courage, and again formed the battle line
in the same place where they had formed it on the first day. And
the people of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until the
evening. And they inquired of the LORD, “Shall we again draw near
to fight against our brothers, the people of Benjamin?” And the
LORD said, “Go up against them.”
So the people of Israel came near against the people of Benjamin
the second day. And Benjamin went against them out of Gibeah the
second day, and destroyed 18,000 men of the people of Israel. All
these were men who drew the sword. Then all the people of Israel,
the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there
before the LORD and fasted that day until evening, and offered
burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. And the people
of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God
was there in those days, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of
Aaron, ministered before it in those days), saying, “Shall we go
out once more to battle against our brothers, the people of
Benjamin, or shall we cease?” And the LORD said, “Go up, for
tomorrow I will give them into your hand.”
So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah. And the people of
Israel went up against the people of Benjamin on the third day and
set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. And the
people of Benjamin went out against the people and were drawn away
from the city. And as at other times they began to strike and kill
some of the people in the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel
and the other to Gibeah, and in the open country, about thirty men
of Israel. And the people of Benjamin said, “They are routed before
us, as at the first.” But the people 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 men of Israel who were in ambush rushed out of
their place from Maareh-geba. And there came against Gibeah 10,000
chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was hard, but the
Benjaminites did not know that disaster was close upon them. And
the LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and the people of Israel
destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day. All these were men who
drew the sword. So the people of Benjamin saw that they were
defeated.
The men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin, because they trusted
the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah. Then the men in
ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush moved
out and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. Now the
appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in the main
ambush was that when they made a great cloud of smoke rise up out
of the city the men of Israel should turn in battle. Now Benjamin
had begun to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel. They said,
“Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.” But
when the signal began to rise out of the city in a column of smoke,
the Benjaminites looked behind them, and behold, the whole of the
city went up in smoke to heaven. Then the men of Israel turned, and
the men of Benjamin were dismayed, for they saw that disaster was
close upon them. Therefore they turned their backs before the men
of Israel in the direction of the wilderness, but the battle
overtook them. And those who came out of the cities were destroying
them in their midst. Surrounding the Benjaminites, they pursued
them and trod them down from Nohah as far as opposite Gibeah on the
east. Eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell, all of them men of
valor. And they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock
of Rimmon. Five thousand men of them were cut down in the highways.
And they were pursued hard to Gidom, and 2,000 men of them were
struck down. So all who fell that day of Benjamin were 25,000 men
who drew the sword, all of them men of valor. But 600 men turned
and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon and remained
at the rock of Rimmon four months. And the men of Israel turned
back against the people of Benjamin and struck them with the edge
of the sword, the city, men and beasts and all that they found. And
all the towns that they found they set on fire.
