Judges 20:18-39

¹⁸And they rise and go up to Beth-El, and ask of God, and the sons of Israel say, 'Who doth go up for us at the commencement to battle with the sons of Benjamin?' and Jehovah saith, 'Judah — at the commencement.'

¹⁹And the sons of Israel rise in the morning, and encamp against Gibeah,

²⁰and the men of Israel go out to battle with Benjamin, and the men of Israel set themselves in array with them, for battle against Gibeah,

²¹and the sons of Benjamin come out from Gibeah, and destroy in Israel on that day two and twenty thousand men — to the earth.

²²And the people, the men of Israel, strengthen themselves, and add to set the battle in array in the place where they arranged themselves on the first day.

²³And the sons of Israel go up and weep before Jehovah till the evening, and ask of Jehovah, saying, 'Do I add to draw nigh to battle with the sons of Benjamin, my brother?' And Jehovah saith, 'Go up against him.'

²⁴And the sons of Israel draw near unto the sons of Benjamin on the second day,

²⁵and Benjamin cometh out to meet them from Gibeah on the second day, and destroy among the sons of Israel again eighteen thousand men — to the earth; all these are drawing sword.

²⁶And all the sons of Israel go up, even all the people, and come in to Beth-El, and weep, and sit there before Jehovah, and fast on that day till the evening, and cause to ascend burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.

²⁷And the sons of Israel ask of Jehovah, — and there is the ark of the covenant of God in those days,

²⁸and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, is standing before it in those days — saying, 'Do I add again to go out to battle with the sons of Benjamin, my brother, or do I cease?' And Jehovah saith, 'Go up, for to-morrow I give him into thy hand.'

²⁹And Israel setteth liers in wait against Gibeah, round about,

³⁰and the sons of Israel go up against the sons of Benjamin, on the third day, and arrange themselves against Gibeah, as time by time.

³¹And the sons of Benjamin come out to meet the people; they have been drawn away out of the city, and begin to smite some of the people — wounded as time by time, in the highways (of which one is going up to Beth-El, and the other to Gibeah in the field), are about thirty men of Israel.

³²And the sons of Benjamin say, 'They are smitten before us as at the beginning;' but the sons of Israel said, 'Let us flee, and draw them away out of the city, unto the highways.'

³³And all the men of Israel have risen from their place, and arrange themselves at Baal-Tamar, and the ambush of Israel is coming forth out of its place, out of the meadow of Gibeah.

³⁴And they come in over against Gibeah — ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel — and the battle is grievous, and they have not known that the evil is striking against them.

³⁵And Jehovah smiteth Benjamin before Israel, and the sons of Israel destroy in Benjamin, on that day, twenty and five thousand, and a hundred men; all these are drawing sword.

³⁶And the sons of Benjamin see that they have been smitten — and the men of Israel give place to Benjamin, for they have trusted unto the ambush which they had set against Gibeah,

³⁷and the ambush have hasted, and push against Gibeah, and the ambush draweth itself out, and smiteth the whole of the city by the mouth of the sword.

³⁸And there was the appointed sign to the men of Israel with the ambush — their causing to go up a great volume of smoke from the city.

³⁹And the men of Israel turn in battle, and Benjamin hath begun to smite the wounded among the men of Israel, about thirty men, for they said, 'Surely they are utterly smitten before us, as at the first battle;