Judges 20

Israel Gathers at Mizpah

1Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation gathered as one man, from Dan to Beersheba and the land of Gilead, to the LORD at Mizpah. 2The chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand men on foot who drew the sword. 3Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. The children of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this evil happen?” 4The Levite, 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. 5The leaders of Gibeah rose against me and surrounded the house against me by night. They intended to kill me, and they violated my concubine, and she died. 6So I took my concubine, cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of Israel’s inheritance, for they committed wickedness and disgrace in Israel. 7Look, all of you are children of Israel. Give your word and counsel here.”

Benjamin Refuses to Surrender Gibeah

8All the people arose as one man, saying, “Not one of us will go to his tent, and not one of us will turn aside to his house. 9But now this is the thing we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot. 10We will take ten men out of every hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred out of every thousand, and one thousand out of every ten thousand, to take provisions for the people, so that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin they may do to it according to all the disgrace it committed in Israel.” 11So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man. 12The tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this evil that has happened among you? 13Now therefore give up the men, the worthless men who are in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and remove evil from Israel.” But Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the children of Israel. 14The children of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah to go out to battle against the children of Israel. 15The children of Benjamin were counted that day from the cities: twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, seven hundred chosen men. 16Among all this people were seven hundred chosen men restricted in the right hand. Every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. 17The men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, were counted four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of war.

Israel Is Defeated Twice

18The children of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and asked God, “Who of us shall go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin?” The LORD said, “Judah first.” 19The children of Israel rose in the morning and camped against Gibeah. 20The men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel arranged themselves against them for battle at Gibeah. 21The children of Benjamin came out from Gibeah and destroyed twenty-two thousand men of Israel on the ground that day. 22But the people, the men of Israel, strengthened themselves and again arranged the battle in the place where they had arranged themselves on the first day. 23The children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening. They asked the LORD, “Shall I again draw near to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?” The LORD said, “Go up against him.” 24So the children of Israel drew near against the children of Benjamin on the second day. 25Benjamin came out against them from Gibeah on the second day and destroyed another eighteen thousand men of the children of Israel on the ground; all these drew the sword.

Israel Weeps Before the LORD

26Then all the children of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening, and they offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the LORD. 27The children of Israel asked the LORD—for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, 28and Phinehas son of Eleazar, 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 stop?” The LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give him into your hand.”

Benjamin Is Defeated

29Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah. 30The children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day and arranged themselves against Gibeah as at other times. 31The children of Benjamin went out against the people and were drawn away from the city. They began to strike and kill some of the people as at other times, on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, and in the field, about thirty men of Israel. 32The children of Benjamin said, “They are being defeated before us as at first.” But the children of Israel said, “Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.” 33Then all the men of Israel rose from their place and arranged themselves at Baal-Tamar, while the ambush of Israel burst out from its place at Maareh-Geba. 34Ten thousand chosen men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjaminites did not know that disaster was about to touch them. 35The LORD struck Benjamin before Israel, and the children of Israel destroyed twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin that day, all who drew the sword.

The Ambush Burns Gibeah

36So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin because they trusted in the ambush they had set against Gibeah. 37The men in ambush hurried and rushed upon Gibeah. The ambush advanced and struck the whole city with the edge of the sword. 38Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city. 39Then the men of Israel turned in the battle. Benjamin began to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel, for they said, “Surely they are being defeated before us as in the first battle.” 40But when the cloud began to rise from the city, a pillar of smoke, the Benjaminites looked behind them, and look, the whole city was going up in smoke toward heaven. 41Then the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified, for they saw that disaster had touched them. 42So they turned before the men of Israel toward the way of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them. Those who came out of the cities destroyed them in their midst. 43They surrounded Benjamin, pursued him, and trampled him down from Nohah as far as opposite Gibeah toward the sunrise. 44Eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell, all of them men of valor. 45They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel gleaned five thousand men from them on the highways. They pursued closely after them as far as Gidom and struck two thousand men from them. 46So all who fell from Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword, all of them men of valor. 47But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon and stayed at the rock of Rimmon four months. 48Then the men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, from the city to the animals and all that was found. They also set on fire every city they came to.