The Israelites warring against Benjamin are twice defeated; but in the third battle the Benjamites are all slain, saving six hundred men.

¹ And so all the sons of Israel went out like one man, from Dan to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, and they gathered together, before the Lord, at Mizpah.

² And all the chiefs of the people, and every tribe of Israel, convened as an assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers for battle.

³ (But it was not hidden from the sons of Benjamin that the sons of Israel had ascended to Mizpah.) And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was killed, being questioned as to how so great a crime had been perpetrated,

⁴ responded: “I went to Gibeah of Benjamin, with my wife, and I diverted to that place.

⁵ And behold, the men of that city, at night, surrounded the house in which I was staying, intending to kill me. And they abused my wife with such an incredible fury of lust that in the end she died.

⁶ And taking her up, I cut her into pieces, and I sent the parts into all the borders of your possession. For never before was such a nefarious crime, and so great a sin, committed in Israel.

⁷ You are all present here, O sons of Israel. Discern what you ought to do.”

⁸ And all the people, standing, responded as if with the word of one man: “We shall not return to our own tents, nor shall anyone enter into his own house.

⁹ But this we shall do in common against Gibeah:

¹⁰ We shall select ten men out of one hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred out of one thousand, and one thousand out of ten thousand, so that they may transport supplies for the army, and so that we will be able to fight against Gibeah of Benjamin, and to repay it for its crime as it deserves.”

¹¹ And all of Israel convened against the city, like one man, with one mind and one counsel.

¹² And they sent messengers to the entire tribe of Benjamin, who said: “Why has so great a wickedness been found among you?

¹³ Deliver the men of Gibeah, who have perpetrated this deplorable act, so that they may die, and so that the evil may be taken away from Israel.” And they were not willing to listen to the command of their brothers, the sons of Israel.

¹⁴ Instead, out of all the cities that were their lot, they convened at Gibeah, so that they might bring them assistance, and so that they might contend against the entire people of Israel.

¹⁵ And there were found from Benjamin twenty-five thousand who drew the sword, aside from the inhabitants of Gibeah,

¹⁶ who were seven hundred very strong men, fighting with the left hand as well as with the right hand, and casting stones from a sling so accurately that they were able to strike even a hair, and the path of the stone would by no means miss to either side.

¹⁷ Then too, among the men of Israel apart from the sons of Benjamin, there were found four hundred thousand who drew the sword and who were prepared for battle.

¹⁸ And they rose up and went to the house of God, that is, to Shiloh. And they consulted God, and they said, “Who shall be, in our army, the first to contend against the sons of Benjamin?” And the Lord responded to them, “Let Judah be your leader.”

¹⁹ And immediately the sons of Israel, rising up in the morning, made camp near Gibeah.

²⁰ And setting out from there to fight against Benjamin, they began to assault the city.

²¹ And the sons of Benjamin, departing from Gibeah, slew twenty-two thousand men from the sons of Israel, on that day.

²² Again the sons of Israel, trusting in both strength and number, set their troops in order, in the same place where they had contended before.¹

1. 20:22Trusting in their strength: The Lord suffered them to be overthrown and many of them to be slain, though their cause was just; partly in punishment of the idolatry which they exercised or tolerated in the tribe of Dan, and elsewhere; and partly because they trusted in their own strength; and therefore, though he bid them fight, he would not give them the victory, till they were thoroughly humbled and had learned to trust in him alone.(Challoner)

²³ But first they also went up and wept before the Lord, even until night. And they consulted him and said, “Should I continue to go forth, so as to contend against the sons of Benjamin, my brothers, or not?” And he responded to them, “Ascend against them, and undertake the struggle.”

²⁴ And when the sons of Israel had continued to do battle against the sons of Benjamin on the next day,

²⁵ the sons of Benjamin burst forth from the gates of Gibeah. And meeting them, they made such a frenzied slaughter against them that they struck down eighteen thousand men who drew the sword.

²⁶ As a result, all the sons of Israel went to the house of God, and sitting down, they wept before the Lord. And they fasted that day until evening, and they offered to him holocausts and victims of peace offerings.

²⁷ And they inquired about their state. At that time, the ark of the covenant of the Lord was in that place.

²⁸ And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, was the first ruler of the house. And so, they consulted the Lord, and they said, “Should we continue to go forth in battle against the sons of Benjamin, our brothers, or should we cease?” And the Lord said to them: “Ascend. For tomorrow, I will deliver them into your hands.”

²⁹ And the sons of Israel stationed ambushes around the city of Gibeah.

³⁰ And they brought out their army against Benjamin a third time, just as they had done on the first and second times.

³¹ But the sons of Benjamin again burst forth boldly from the city. And since their enemies were fleeing, they pursued them a long way, so that they might wound or kill some of them, just as they had done on the first and second days. And they turned their backs along two paths, one bringing them toward Bethel, and the other toward Gibeah. And they struck down about thirty men.

³² For they thought that they were falling back as they had done before. But instead, skillfully feigning flight, they undertook a plan to draw them away from the city, and by seeming to flee, to lead them along the above stated paths.

³³ And so all the sons of Israel, rising up from their positions, set their troops in order, in the place which is called Baaltamar. Likewise, the ambushes that encircled the city began, little by little, to reveal themselves,

³⁴ and to advance upon the western part of the city. Moreover, another ten thousand men from all of Israel were provoking a conflict with the inhabitants of the city. And the war grew heavy against the sons of Benjamin. And they did not realize that, on all sides of them, death was imminent.

³⁵ And the Lord struck them down in the sight of the sons of Israel, and they put to death, on that day, twenty-five thousand of them, along with one hundred men, all warriors and those who drew the sword.

³⁶ But the sons of Benjamin, when they had seen themselves to be the weaker, began to flee. And the sons of Israel discerning this, gave them room to flee, so that they might arrive at the ambushes that were prepared, which they had positioned near the city.

³⁷ And after they had risen up suddenly from hiding, and those of Benjamin had turned their backs to those who cut them down, they entered the city, and they struck it with the edge of the sword.

³⁸ Now the sons of Israel had given a sign to those whom they had stationed in ambushes, so that, after they had seized the city, they would light a fire, and by the smoke ascending on high, they would show that the city was captured.

³⁹ And then, the sons of Israel discerned this sign during the battle (for the sons of Benjamin had thought that they fled, and they pursued them forcefully, cutting down thirty men from their army).

⁴⁰ And they saw something like a pillar of smoke ascending from the city. Likewise, Benjamin, looking back, discerned that the city was captured, for the flames were being carried on high.