Judges 20:1-47

¹Therefore all the sons of Israel went out, and were gathered together as one man, from Dan till to Beersheba, and from the land of Gilead, to the Lord in Mizpeh;

²and all the corners or chiefs of peoples, and all the lineages of Israel, came together into the church of the people of God, four hundred thousand of footmen fighters.

³And it was not hid from the sons of Benjamin, that the sons of Israel had gone up into Mizpeh.

⁴And the deacon or Levite, the husband of the secondary wife that was slain, was asked, how so great felony was done; and he answered, I came with my secondary wife into Gibeah of Benjamin, and I turned thither.

⁵And lo! the men of that city encompassed in the night the house, in which I dwelled, and they would slay me, and they travailed my secondary wife with unbelieveful madness of lechery; and at the last she was dead.

⁶And I took, and cut her into gobbets, and I sent those parts of her into all the terms of your possession; for so great felony and so grievous or so great sin was never done in Israel.

⁷Now all ye sons of Israel be present; deem ye, what ye owe to do.

⁸And all the people stood, and answered as by the word of one man, We shall not go hence into our tabernacles, neither any of us shall enter into his house;

⁹but we shall do this thing in common against Gibeah.

¹⁰Ten men be chosen of an hundred, of all the lineages of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, that they bear meats to the host, and that we, fighting against Gibeah of Benjamin, may yield to it for the trespass that that it deserveth.

¹¹And all the people, as one man, came together to the city, by the same thought and one counsel.

¹²And Israel sent messengers to all the lineage of Benjamin, and they said, Why so great felony is found in you?

¹³Betake ye the men of Gibeah, that did this wickedness, that they die, and evil be done away from Israel. Which would not hear the commandment of their brethren, the sons of Israel,

¹⁴but men of all the cities, that were of the part of Benjamin, came together into Gibeah, to help them, and to fight against all the people of Israel.

¹⁵And twenty-six thousand were found of Benjamin, of men drawing out sword, besides the dwellers of Gibeah, which were seven hundred strongest men,

¹⁶fighting so with the left hand as with the right hand, and casting so stones with slings at a certain thing, that they might smite also an hair, and the stroke of the stone should not be borne away into the tother part.

¹⁷Also of the men of Israel, without the sons of Benjamin, were found four hundred thousand drawing out sword, and ready to battle.

¹⁸Which rose, and came into the house of God, that is in Shiloh; and they counselled with God, and said, Who shall be prince in our host of the battle against the sons of Benjamin? To whom the Lord answered, Judah be your duke.

¹⁹And anon the sons of Israel rose early, and setted tents against Gibeah.

²⁰And from thence they went out to battle against Benjamin, and Israel began to fight against Gibeah.

²¹And the sons of Benjamin went out of Gibeah, and killed of the sons of Israel in that day two and twenty thousand men.

²²And again, the sons of Israel trusted in their own strength, and in number of people, and they dressed the battle array, in the same place in which they fought before;

²³so nevertheless that they went up before to the house of God, and they wept before the Lord unto the night, and they counselled with him, and said, Shall I go forth more to fight against the sons of Benjamin, my brethren, either nay? To whom he answered, Ascend ye or Goeth up to them, and begin ye the battle.

²⁴And when the sons of Israel had gone forth to battle in the tother day against Benjamin,

²⁵the sons of Benjamin brake out from the gates of Gibeah, and came to Israel; and the sons of Benjamin were wild against Israel by so fierce slaying, that they threw down eighteen thousand men of Israel drawing out sword.

²⁶Wherefore all the sons of Israel came into the house of God, and they sat, and wept before the Lord, and they fasted in that day unto the eventide; and they offered to the Lord burnt sacrifices, and peaceable sacrifices,

²⁷and they asked the Lord of their state. In that time, the ark of the bond of peace of God was there;

²⁸and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, was sovereign of the Lord’s house. Then they counselled with the Lord, and said, Shall we go out more to battle against the sons of Benjamin, our brethren, either shall we rest? To whom the Lord said, Go ye up against them, for tomorrow I shall betake Benjamin into your hands.

²⁹And the sons of Israel setted ambushments by compass of the city of Gibeah;

³⁰and the third time, as once and twice before, they brought forth the host against Benjamin.

³¹But also then the sons of Benjamin brake out from the city boldly, and they pursued further the adversaries fleeing, so that they wounded of Israel, as they did in the first day, and the second, and they killed by two paths Israel turning backs; of the which paths one was straight out into Bethel, and the tother into Gibeah. And Benjamin threw down about thirty men of Israel;

³²for they guessed to destroy Israel as they did before; and by craft, Israel took counsel, feigning them to flee, that they should draw Benjamin from the city, and that they as fleeing should bring forth Benjamin to the foresaid paths.

³³Therefore all the sons of Israel rose of their seats, and setted battle array in the place which is called Baaltamar. And the ambushments, that were about the city, began to open themselves little and little, and to go forth from the west part of the city.

³⁴But also other ten thousand of men of all Israel excited the dwellers of the city to battles; and the battle was made grievous against the sons of Benjamin, and they understood not, that perishing nighed to them on each part.

³⁵And the Lord smote Benjamin in the sight of the sons of Israel, and Israel killed of them in that day five and twenty thousand and an hundred men, and all these were warriors and men drawing out sword.

³⁶Soothly the sons of Benjamin began to flee, when they saw, that they were the lower. And the sons of Israel saw this, and gave to them place to flee, that they should come to the ambushments made ready, which they had set beside the city.

³⁷And when these ambushments had risen up suddenly from the hid places, and Benjamin gave backs to the slayers, they entered into the city, and they smote it by sharpness of sword.

³⁸Soothly the sons of Israel had given a sign to them which they had set in ambushments, that after that they had taken the city, they should kindle fire, and that by smoke ascending or going up on high, they should show the city taken.

³⁹And when the sons of Israel set in that battle saw this; for the sons of Benjamin guessed them to flee, and they pursued them busilier, when thirty men of their host were slain;

⁴⁰and they saw as a pillar of smoke go up from the city. And also Benjamin beholding behind, when he saw his city taken, and the flames be borne on high,

⁴¹they that feigned to flee before, turned their face to Benjamin, and more strongly withstood him. And when the sons of Benjamin had seen this thing,

⁴²they were turned into flight, and they began to go to the way of desert; while also adversaries pursued them there; but also they, that had burnt the city, came against them.

⁴³And so it was done, that Benjamin was slain of enemies on each part, neither there was any rest of men dying; and they felled, and were cast down at the east coast of the city of Gibeah.

⁴⁴Forsooth they, that were slain in the same place, were eighteen thousand of men, all strongest fighters.

⁴⁵And when they that left alive of Benjamin had seen this, they fled into wilderness, and they went to the stone, whose name is Rimmon. And in that flight the sons of Israel went openly after, into diverse places, and they killed of them five thousand men; and when Benjamin fled further, they pursued them, and killed also of them other two thousand men.

⁴⁶And so it was done, that all that felled down of Benjamin in diverse places, were five and twenty thousand, fighters most ready to battles.

⁴⁷And so six hundred men were left of all the number of Benjamin, that might escape, and flee into wilder-ness; and they sat in the stone of Rimmon four months.