Judges 20
20
The Israelites Punish the Benjamites
1All the Israelites from Dan to Beer-sheba, and also from the land of Gilead, went out and gathered together in an assembly as one man before the Lord at Mizpah. # Jdg 11:11; 21:5 2The leaders of all the people from all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in an assembly of the people of God, who numbered four hundred thousand infantrymen bearing swords. # Jdg 8:10; 20:15 3(The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) The Israelites said, “Tell how this evil happened!”
4So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered, “My concubine and I came to Gibeah, in Benjamin, to spend the night. 5Then the leaders of Gibeah rose up against me. At night they surrounded the house where I was staying. They wanted to kill me; # Jdg 19:22 instead they ravished my concubine so that she died. # Jdg 19:25–26 6I seized my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel, # Jdg 19:29 because they committed an infamous and disgraceful act in Israel. # Jos 7:15 7Behold, you Israelites, all of you, give your advice and counsel here.” # Jdg 19:30
8All the people arose as one man and said, “Not a man among us will go to his tent, and no one will turn aside to his house. 9Now this is what we will do to Gibeah. We will go against it by lot. 10We will take ten men out of every hundred, from every tribe of Israel, a hundred from every thousand, and a thousand from every ten thousand, to bring provisions for the troops. Then when they come to Gibeah in Benjamin, they may repay them for all the evil that they committed in Israel.” 11So all the men of Israel gathered at the city, united like one man.
12The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the whole tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this evil that has been committed among you? # Dt 13:14 13Now hand over the wicked men # Dt 13:13 in Gibeah, so that we can kill them and purge the evil from Israel.” # Dt 17:12
Yet the Benjamites were not willing to listen to their fellow Israelites. 14The Benjamites gathered from their cities at Gibeah in order to go out and wage war against the Israelites. 15That day, the Benjamites mustered twenty-six thousand armed men from the cities and seven hundred specially chosen men from Gibeah. 16Among of all these people were seven hundred specially chosen men who were left-handed, # Jdg 3:15; 1Ch 12:2 all of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
17The men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, gathered four hundred thousand armed men who drew the sword; all of them were men of war.
18The Israelites arose, went up to Bethel, and asked God, # Nu 27:21 “Who should go up first to wage war against the Benjamites?” # Jdg 20:23
The Lord said, “Judah first.”
19The Israelites got up in the morning and camped against Gibeah. 20The men of Israel went out for battle with Benjamin, and the men of Israel lined up for battle at Gibeah. 21Then the Benjamites came out from Gibeah and struck twenty-two thousand men of Israel down to the ground. # Jdg 20:25 22The people, the men of Israel, rallied and lined up for battle again in the place where they had lined up on the first day. 23Then the Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening. # Jdg 20:26–27 They asked the Lord, “Should we advance and fight our brother-tribesmen the Benjamites again?”
The Lord said, “Advance against them.”
24So the Israelites advanced against the Benjamites for the second day. 25And on the second day, the Benjamites went out from Gibeah to meet them and again struck eighteen thousand men down to the ground, every one of them armed.
26Then all the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord. # Jdg 20:18, 23 They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 27The Israelites asked the Lord (because the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, # Jos 18:1 28and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, # Dt 18:5; Jos 24:33 stood before it then), “Should we go out again to wage war with our brother-tribesmen the Benjamites, or should we not?”
The Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.”
29So Israel set an ambushing force # Jos 8:4 around Gibeah. 30The Israelites went up against the Benjamites on the third day and lined up at Gibeah as before. 31The Benjamites went out to engage the people and were drawn away from the city. They began to strike the people down as before. On the main roads that go up to Bethel and Gibeah and in the field, they struck down about thirty Israelites. 32The Benjamites said, “They are struck down before us like at the beginning.” But the Israelites said, “Let us retreat and draw them away from the city toward the main roads.”
33So all the men of Israel rose up out of their place and assumed their battle positions at Baal Tamar. Then the men of Israel in ambush charged out of their places, out of the meadows of Gibeah. 34Ten thousand specially chosen men from all of Israel came against Gibeah. The battle was fierce, and the Benjamites did not know that disaster was upon them. # Jos 8:14; Job 21:13 35The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel, and that day the Israelites struck down twenty-five thousand one hundred Benjamites, every one of them armed. 36The Benjamites saw that they were defeated.
Now the men of Israel had withdrawn from Benjamin, because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah. 37So the ambushing force rushed on and attacked Gibeah. They struck down the whole city with the edge of the sword. # Jos 8:19 38The men of Israel had made an agreement with the ambushing force that when they sent up a large amount of smoke from the city, 39the Israelites would turn around in battle.
When the Benjamites had begun to strike the Israelites down, about thirty men, they said, “Surely they are struck down # Jdg 20:32 before us like at the beginning.” 40Yet when the smoke began to rise up from the city in a column, the Benjamites looked behind them, and behold, the whole city went up in smoke to the sky. # Jos 8:20 41Then the men of Israel turned around, and the men of Benjamin were horrified because they saw that disaster had come on them. 42So they fled from the men of Israel toward the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them. Whoever came out of the cities destroyed them in their midst. 43They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them without rest, and trampled them down near Gibeah toward the east. 44Eighteen thousand men from Benjamin fell; all these were men of valor. 45The rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to Rimmon Rock, # Jos 15:32; Jdg 21:13 and they cut down five thousand men on the main roads. They pursued them relentlessly until they reached Gidom and killed two thousand of them.
46So the Benjamites who fell that day numbered twenty-five thousand, every one of them armed, valorous men. 47However, six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness, to Rimmon Rock. They dwelt at Rimmon Rock for four months. 48Yet the men of Israel turned back against the Benjamites and struck them with the edge of the sword—city inhabitants, animals, and everything that could be found. Indeed, they set on fire every city that could be found.
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Judges 20: MEV
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The Holy Bible, Modern English Version
Copyright © 2024, 2017, 2014 by United Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. All rights reserved.
Judges 20
20
The Israelites Punish the Benjamites
1All the Israelites from Dan to Beer-sheba, and also from the land of Gilead, went out and gathered together in an assembly as one man before the Lord at Mizpah. # Jdg 11:11; 21:5 2The leaders of all the people from all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in an assembly of the people of God, who numbered four hundred thousand infantrymen bearing swords. # Jdg 8:10; 20:15 3(The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) The Israelites said, “Tell how this evil happened!”
4So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered, “My concubine and I came to Gibeah, in Benjamin, to spend the night. 5Then the leaders of Gibeah rose up against me. At night they surrounded the house where I was staying. They wanted to kill me; # Jdg 19:22 instead they ravished my concubine so that she died. # Jdg 19:25–26 6I seized my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel, # Jdg 19:29 because they committed an infamous and disgraceful act in Israel. # Jos 7:15 7Behold, you Israelites, all of you, give your advice and counsel here.” # Jdg 19:30
8All the people arose as one man and said, “Not a man among us will go to his tent, and no one will turn aside to his house. 9Now this is what we will do to Gibeah. We will go against it by lot. 10We will take ten men out of every hundred, from every tribe of Israel, a hundred from every thousand, and a thousand from every ten thousand, to bring provisions for the troops. Then when they come to Gibeah in Benjamin, they may repay them for all the evil that they committed in Israel.” 11So all the men of Israel gathered at the city, united like one man.
12The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the whole tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this evil that has been committed among you? # Dt 13:14 13Now hand over the wicked men # Dt 13:13 in Gibeah, so that we can kill them and purge the evil from Israel.” # Dt 17:12
Yet the Benjamites were not willing to listen to their fellow Israelites. 14The Benjamites gathered from their cities at Gibeah in order to go out and wage war against the Israelites. 15That day, the Benjamites mustered twenty-six thousand armed men from the cities and seven hundred specially chosen men from Gibeah. 16Among of all these people were seven hundred specially chosen men who were left-handed, # Jdg 3:15; 1Ch 12:2 all of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
17The men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, gathered four hundred thousand armed men who drew the sword; all of them were men of war.
18The Israelites arose, went up to Bethel, and asked God, # Nu 27:21 “Who should go up first to wage war against the Benjamites?” # Jdg 20:23
The Lord said, “Judah first.”
19The Israelites got up in the morning and camped against Gibeah. 20The men of Israel went out for battle with Benjamin, and the men of Israel lined up for battle at Gibeah. 21Then the Benjamites came out from Gibeah and struck twenty-two thousand men of Israel down to the ground. # Jdg 20:25 22The people, the men of Israel, rallied and lined up for battle again in the place where they had lined up on the first day. 23Then the Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening. # Jdg 20:26–27 They asked the Lord, “Should we advance and fight our brother-tribesmen the Benjamites again?”
The Lord said, “Advance against them.”
24So the Israelites advanced against the Benjamites for the second day. 25And on the second day, the Benjamites went out from Gibeah to meet them and again struck eighteen thousand men down to the ground, every one of them armed.
26Then all the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord. # Jdg 20:18, 23 They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 27The Israelites asked the Lord (because the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, # Jos 18:1 28and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, # Dt 18:5; Jos 24:33 stood before it then), “Should we go out again to wage war with our brother-tribesmen the Benjamites, or should we not?”
The Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.”
29So Israel set an ambushing force # Jos 8:4 around Gibeah. 30The Israelites went up against the Benjamites on the third day and lined up at Gibeah as before. 31The Benjamites went out to engage the people and were drawn away from the city. They began to strike the people down as before. On the main roads that go up to Bethel and Gibeah and in the field, they struck down about thirty Israelites. 32The Benjamites said, “They are struck down before us like at the beginning.” But the Israelites said, “Let us retreat and draw them away from the city toward the main roads.”
33So all the men of Israel rose up out of their place and assumed their battle positions at Baal Tamar. Then the men of Israel in ambush charged out of their places, out of the meadows of Gibeah. 34Ten thousand specially chosen men from all of Israel came against Gibeah. The battle was fierce, and the Benjamites did not know that disaster was upon them. # Jos 8:14; Job 21:13 35The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel, and that day the Israelites struck down twenty-five thousand one hundred Benjamites, every one of them armed. 36The Benjamites saw that they were defeated.
Now the men of Israel had withdrawn from Benjamin, because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah. 37So the ambushing force rushed on and attacked Gibeah. They struck down the whole city with the edge of the sword. # Jos 8:19 38The men of Israel had made an agreement with the ambushing force that when they sent up a large amount of smoke from the city, 39the Israelites would turn around in battle.
When the Benjamites had begun to strike the Israelites down, about thirty men, they said, “Surely they are struck down # Jdg 20:32 before us like at the beginning.” 40Yet when the smoke began to rise up from the city in a column, the Benjamites looked behind them, and behold, the whole city went up in smoke to the sky. # Jos 8:20 41Then the men of Israel turned around, and the men of Benjamin were horrified because they saw that disaster had come on them. 42So they fled from the men of Israel toward the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them. Whoever came out of the cities destroyed them in their midst. 43They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them without rest, and trampled them down near Gibeah toward the east. 44Eighteen thousand men from Benjamin fell; all these were men of valor. 45The rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to Rimmon Rock, # Jos 15:32; Jdg 21:13 and they cut down five thousand men on the main roads. They pursued them relentlessly until they reached Gidom and killed two thousand of them.
46So the Benjamites who fell that day numbered twenty-five thousand, every one of them armed, valorous men. 47However, six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness, to Rimmon Rock. They dwelt at Rimmon Rock for four months. 48Yet the men of Israel turned back against the Benjamites and struck them with the edge of the sword—city inhabitants, animals, and everything that could be found. Indeed, they set on fire every city that could be found.
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The Holy Bible, Modern English Version
Copyright © 2024, 2017, 2014 by United Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. All rights reserved.