Judges 20:30-44

³⁰And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gib'ah, as at previous times.

³¹And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite some of the people, and kill, as at previous times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to Beth-el, and the other to Gib'ah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

³²And the children of Benjamin said, They are defeated before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways.

³³And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Ba'al-thamar: and those that lay in wait of Israel rushed forth out of their place, out of the meadows of Gib'ah.

³⁴And there came against Gib'ah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was severe; but they knew not that the evil was overtaking them.

³⁵And the Lord smote Benjamin before Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites on that day twenty and five thousand and one hundred men: all these were those that drew the sword.

³⁶And the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated; for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto those that lay in wait whom they had set against Gib'ah.

³⁷And those in ambush hastened, and spread themselves over Gib'ah; and those that lay in wait moved along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.

³⁸Now there was an understanding between the men of Israel and those that lay in wait, that they should make an abundance of columns of smoke rise up out of the city.

³⁹And when the men of Israel turned round in the battle, and Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons; for they said, Surely they are entirely defeated before us, as in the first battle:

⁴⁰Then began the cloud to arise up out of the city as a pillar of smoke; and when the Benjamites looked behind them, behold, the flames of all the city were ascending up to heaven.

⁴¹And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed; for they saw that the evil had overtaken them.

⁴²Therefore they turned round before the men of Israel unto the way to the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of them.

⁴³They enclosed the Benjamites round about, chased them, they overtook them in their places of rest, as far as opposite to Gib'ah toward the rising of the sun.

⁴⁴And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men: all these were men of valor.