Judges 20
20
War against Benjamin
1All the Israelites from Dan to Beer-sheba # Gn 21:14; 22:19; 1Sm 3:20; 1Kg 4:25 and from the land of Gilead came out, and the community assembled as one body before the Lord at Mizpah. # Jdg 11:11; 21:1,5,8; 1Sm 7:5-16; 10:17 2The leaders # 1Sm 14:38; Is 19:13 of all the people and of all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: 400,000 armed foot soldiers. 3The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.
The Israelites asked, “Tell us, how did this outrage occur? ”
4The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered: “I went to Gibeah in Benjamin with my concubine to spend the night. 5Citizens of Gibeah ganged up on me and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me, but they raped my concubine, and she died. 6Then I took my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout Israel’s territory, because they committed a horrible shame # Lv 18:17; 19:29; Ezk 16:27,43; Jr 13:27 in Israel. 7Look, all of you are Israelites. Give your judgment and verdict here and now.”
8Then all the people stood united and said, “None of us will go to his tent or return to his house. 9Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go against it by lot. 10We will take 10 men out of every 100 from all the tribes of Israel, and 100 out of every 1,000, and 1,000 out of every 10,000 to get provisions for the people when they go to Gibeah in Benjamin to punish them for all the horror they did in Israel.”
11So all the men of Israel # Dt 29:10; Jos 10:24; Jdg 20:33; 1Sm 11:15; 17:19; 2Sm 16:18; 17:14,24; 19:41; 20:2; 1Kg 8:2; 1Ch 10:7; 2Ch 5:3 gathered united against the city. 12Then the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this outrage that has occurred among you? 13Hand over the perverted men # Dt 13:13; Jdg 19:22; 1Sm 2:12; 10:27; 25:17; 1Kg 21:10,13; 2Ch 13:7 in Gibeah so we can put them to death and eradicate evil # Dt 13:5; 17:7,12; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21-24; 24:7 from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not obey their fellow Israelites. 14Instead, the Benjaminites gathered together from their cities to Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites. 15On that day the Benjaminites rallied 26,000 armed men # Nm 1:36-37; 2:23; 26:41 from their cities, besides 700 choice men rallied by the inhabitants of Gibeah. 16There were 700 choice men who were left-handed among all these people; all could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
17The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, rallied 400,000 armed men, every one an experienced warrior. 18They set out, went to Bethel, and inquired of God. # Nm 27:21; Jdg 18:5; 1Sm 14:37; 1Ch 14:10 The Israelites asked, “Who is to go first to fight for us against the Benjaminites? ”
And the Lord answered, “Judah will be first.”
19In the morning, the Israelites set out and camped near Gibeah. 20The men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin and took their battle positions against Gibeah. 21The Benjaminites came out of Gibeah and slaughtered 22,000 men of Israel on the field that day. 22But the Israelite army rallied and again took their battle positions in the same place where they positioned themselves on the first day. 23They went up, wept # Jos 7:6-7 before the Lord until evening, # 2Sm 1:12 and inquired of Him: “Should we again fight against our brothers the Benjaminites? ”
And the Lord answered: “Fight against them.”
24On the second day the Israelites advanced against the Benjaminites. 25That same day the Benjaminites came out from Gibeah to meet them and slaughtered an additional 18,000 Israelites on the field; all were armed men.
26The whole Israelite army went to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord. # Jdg 21:2 They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. 27Then the Israelites inquired of the Lord. In those days, the ark of the covenant # 1Sm 4:4; 2Sm 15:24; 1Ch 16:6 of God was there, 28and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, # Nm 25:7,11 was serving before it. The Israelites asked: “Should we again fight against our brothers the Benjaminites or should we stop? ”
The Lord answered: “Fight, because I will hand them over to you tomorrow.” # Jdg 7:9 29So Israel set up an ambush # Jos 8:4 around Gibeah. 30On the third day the Israelites fought against the Benjaminites and took their battle positions against Gibeah as before. 31Then the Benjaminites came out against the people and were drawn away from the city. # Jos 8:31 They began to attack the people as before, killing about 30 men of Israel on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah through the open country. 32The Benjaminites said, “We are defeating them as before.”
But the Israelites said, “Let’s flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.” 33So all the men of Israel got up from their places and took their battle positions at Baal-tamar, while the Israelites in ambush charged out of their places west of # LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads places in the plain of, or places in the cave of Geba. # Jos 8:19 34Then 10,000 choice men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce, but the Benjaminites did not know that disaster was about to strike them. 35The Lord defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 men of Benjamin; all were armed men. 36Then the Benjaminites realized they had been defeated.
The men of Israel had retreated before Benjamin, because they were confident in the ambush they had set against Gibeah. 37The men in ambush had rushed quickly against Gibeah; they advanced and put the whole city to the sword. # Dt 13:15; Jos 10:37,39; 11:12,14; Jdg 1:8,25; 18:27; 20:48; 1Sm 22:19; 2Sm 15:14; 2Kg 10:25; Jr 21:7; Ezk 5:2 38The men of Israel had a prearranged signal with the men in ambush: when they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city, 39the men of Israel would return to the battle. When Benjamin had begun to strike them down, killing about 30 men of Israel, they said, “They’re defeated before us, just as they were in the first battle.” # Jdg 20:32 40But when the column of smoke began to go up from the city, Benjamin looked behind them, and the whole city was going up in smoke. # Lit up to the sky 41Then the men of Israel returned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified when they realized that disaster had struck them. 42They retreated before the men of Israel toward the wilderness, # Jos 8:15,24 but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities # LXX, Vg read city slaughtered those between them. 43They surrounded the Benjaminites, pursued them, and easily overtook them near Gibeah toward the east. 44There were 18,000 men who died from Benjamin; all were warriors. 45Then Benjamin turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, # Jdg 21:13 and Israel killed 5,000 men on the highways. They overtook them at Gidom and struck 2,000 more dead.
46All the Benjaminites who died that day were 25,000 armed men; all were warriors. 47But 600 men escaped into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon and stayed there four months. 48The men of Israel turned back against the other Benjaminites and killed them with their swords — the entire city, the animals, and everything that remained. They also burned down all the cities that remained.
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Judges 20: HCSB
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Judges 20
20
1Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto Jehovah at Mizpah. 2And the chiefs 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 Mizpah.) And the children of Israel said, Tell us, how was this wickedness brought to pass? 4And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was murdered, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. 5And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about me by night; me they thought to have slain, and my concubine they forced, and she is dead. 6And 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. 7Behold, ye children of Israel, all of you, give here your advice and counsel.
8And 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 unto his house. 9But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot; 10and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victuals 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. 11So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
12And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is come to pass among you? 13Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows, that are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel. 14And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. 15And the children of Benjamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men. 16Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not miss.
17And the men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war. 18And the children of Israel arose, and went up to Beth-el, and asked counsel of God; and they said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin? And Jehovah said, Judah shall go up first.
19And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah. 20And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel set the battle in array against them at Gibeah. 21And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day twenty and two thousand men. 22And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, and set the battle again in array in the place where they set themselves in array the first day. 23And the children of Israel went up and wept before Jehovah until even; and they asked of Jehovah, saying, Shall I again draw nigh to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And Jehovah said, Go up against him.
24And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day. 25And 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. 26Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto Beth-el, and wept, and sat there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah. 27And the children of Israel asked of Jehovah (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, 28and 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 Jehovah said, Go up; for to-morrow I will deliver him into thy hand.
29And Israel set liers-in-wait against Gibeah round about. 30And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. 31And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite and kill of the people, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to Beth-el, and the other to Gibeah, in the field, about thirty men of Israel. 32And 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 away from the city unto the highways. 33And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at Baal-tamar: and the liers-in-wait of Israel brake forth out of their place, even out of Maareh-geba. 34And there came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore; but they knew not that evil was close upon them. 35And Jehovah smote Benjamin before Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men: all these drew the sword.
36So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten; for the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin, because they trusted unto the liers-in-wait whom they had set against Gibeah. 37And 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. 38Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers-in-wait was, that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city. 39And the men of Israel turned in the battle, and 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. 40But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them; and, behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to heaven. 41And the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed; for they saw that evil was come upon them. 42Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and they that came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst thereof. 43They inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trod them down at their resting-place, as far as over against Gibeah toward the sunrising. 44And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valor. 45And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them unto Gidom, and smote of them two thousand men. 46So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valor. 47But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon, and abode in the rock of Rimmon four months. 48And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city, and the cattle, and all that they found: moreover all the cities which they found they set on fire.
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