Judges 20
1 Then went forth all the sons of Israel, and the assembly came together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba with the land of Gilead, —unto Yahweh at Mizpah.
All the Israelis, from Dan [city in the north] to Beersheba [city in the south], and even from [the] Gilead [region on the east side of the Jordan River, heard what had happened. So they] they gathered together at Mizpah, [at the place where they worshiped] Yahweh.
2 And the chiefs of all the people—all the tribes of Israel—presented themselves in the convocation of the people of God, —four hundred thousand footmen, that drew the sword.
The leaders of [eleven of] the tribes of Israel stood in front of the people who gathered there. There were 400,000 men with swords who were there.
3 And the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. Then said the sons of Israel, Tell [us], In what manner was brought to pass this vileness?
The people of the tribe of Benjamin heard that the other Israelis had gone up to Mizpah, [but none of the men from their tribe went to the meeting there]. The Israelis who had come to Mizpah asked about the evil thing that had happened.
4 And the Levite, husband of the woman that was cut in pieces, responded and said, —Into Gibeah that pertaineth to Benjamin, I entered, I and my concubine, to tarry the night.
So the husband of the woman who had been killed replied, “My slave wife and I came to Gibeah [city], wanting to stay there that night.
5 And the owners of Gibeah rose up against me, and beset the house, for my sake, by night, —me, they thought to slay, and, my concubine, they so humbled, that she died.
That evening, the men of Gibeah came to attack me. They surrounded the house [where I was staying] and wanted to [have sex with me and then] kill me. They [raped and] abused my slave wife [all night], and she died.
6 So I laid hold on my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, —because they had wrought lewdness and impiety, in Israel.
I took her body home and cut it into pieces. Then I sent one piece to each area of Israel, [because I wanted you all to know about] this wicked and disgraceful/shameful thing [that] has been done here in Israel.
7 Lo! ye all, are sons of Israel, —give your word and counsel, here.
So now, all you Israeli people, speak, and tell me what you think should be done!”
8 Then arose all the people, as one man, saying, —No man of us will go to his tent, and no man of us will turn aside to his house.
All the people stood up, and in unison said, “None of us will go home! Not one of us will return to his house!
9 Now, therefore, this is the thing, that we will do to Gibeah, —[Go] against it by lot;
This is what we must do to [the people of] Gibeah. First, we will (cast lots/throw marked stones) [to determine which group should attack them].
10 and we will take ten men of a hundred, of all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to fetch provisions for the people, —that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the impiety that it hath wrought in Israel.
We will choose (one tenth/one from every ten) of the men from all the Israeli tribes. Those men will go and find food for the men who will go to attack the people of Gibeah. Then the other men will go to Gibeah to (pay the people back/punish them) for this terrible thing that they have done [here] in Israel.”
11 So all the men of Israel were gathered together against the city, as one man knit together.
And all the Israeli people agreed [that the people of Gibeah should be punished].
12 And the tribes of Israel sent men throughout all the divisions of Benjamin, saying, —What is this vile thing that hath been brought to pass, among you?
Then the Israeli men sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin. They demanded, “Do you realize that some of your men have done a very evil thing?
13 Now, therefore, deliver up the men—the sons of the Abandoned One—who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and vileness be consumed out of Israel. But [the sons of] Benjamin would not hearken unto the voice of their brethren, the sons of Israel.
Bring those wicked men to us, in order that we can execute them. [By doing that], we will be doing what should be done because of this evil thing that has happened in Israel.” But the [people of the] tribe of Benjamin did not pay attention to their fellow Israelis.
14 Then did the sons of Benjamin gather themselves together out of the cities, unto Gibeah, —to go forth to battle against the sons of Israel.
The men of the tribe of Benjamin left their cities and gathered at Gibeah to fight the [other] Israelis.
15 And the sons of Benjamin were numbered on that day, out of the cities, twenty-six thousand men, that drew the sword, —besides, of the inhabitants of Gibeah, were numbered seven hundred chosen men.
In that one day the men of the tribe of Benjamin recruited 26,000 soldiers who knew how to fight using swords. They also chose/recruited 700 men from Gibeah.
16 Out of all this people, were seven hundred chosen men, left-handed, —any one of whom could sling with a stone to a hair’s-breadth, and not miss.
From all those soldiers there were 700 men who were left-handed, and each of them could sling a stone at [a target that was very small and as narrow as] a hair, and the stone always hit the target!
17 And, the men of Israel, were numbered, apart from Benjamin, four hundred thousand men, that drew the sword, —every one of these being a man of war.
There were 400,000 men from the other Israeli tribes who had swords.
18 And they arose, and went up to Bethel, and asked of God, and the sons of Israel said, Who shall go up for us first, to fight against the sons of Benjamin? And Yahweh said—Judah, first.
Those other Israelis went up to Bethel and asked God, “Which tribe should be the first to attack the men from the tribe of Benjamin?” Yahweh answered, “[The men from the tribe of] Judah should go first.”
19 And the sons of Israel arose in the morning, —and encamped against Gibeah.
The next morning, the Israeli men went and set up their tents near Gibeah.
20 And the men of Israel went forth, to fight against Benjamin, —so the men of Israel set themselves in array against them, to fight against Gibeah.
Then they went to fight against [the men from the tribe of] Benjamin, and stood in their positions for fighting a battle, [facing Gibeah].
21 Then came forth the sons of Benjamin out of Gibeah, —and laid low of Israel, on that day, twenty-two thousand men, to the ground.
The men of the tribe of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and fought against them, and they killed 22,000 Israeli men on that day.
22 And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, —and again set themselves in array for battle in the place where they had set themselves in array on the first day.
[Late that afternoon], the [remaining] Israeli men went to the place of worship and cried until the sun set. Then they asked Yahweh, “Should we attack the men of the tribe of Benjamin again, even though they are our fellow Israelis?” Yahweh replied, “Yes, attack them again.” So the Israeli men encouraged each other.
23 Now the sons of Israel had gone up, and wept before Yahweh, until the evening, and asked of Yahweh, saying, Shall I again draw near to battle against the sons of Benjamin, my brother? And Yahweh said, Go up against him.
24 So the sons of Israel came near against the sons of Benjamin, on the second day.
The next day they again stood in their positions for fighting, just like they had done on the previous day.
25 And Benjamin came forth to meet them out of Gibeah, on the second day, and laid low, of the sons of Israel, yet eighteen thousand men, to the ground, —all these, drew the sword.
The men of the tribe of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and attacked the Israelis, and killed 18,000 more of their men.
26 Then went up all the sons of Israel, and all the people, and came to Bethel, and wept, and tarried there before Yahweh, and fasted on that day, until the evening, —and caused to go up ascending-sacrifices and peace-offerings, before Yahweh.
[In the afternoon], all the people of Israel [who had not been killed] again went to Bethel. There they sat down and cried to Yahweh, and they (fasted/abstained from eating food) until it was evening. They brought some offerings which they burned completely [on the altar], and they also brought some offerings to maintain fellowship with Yahweh.
27 And the sons of Israel asked of Yahweh, —there, being the ark of the covenant of God, in those days;
At that time, the Sacred Chest that contained the stone tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments was there at Bethel. A priest named Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, often stood in front of that chest [and talked with Yahweh]. While he stood there on that day, he asked Yahweh, “Shall we go again to fight against our fellow Israelis from the tribe of Benjamin, or shall we stop fighting against them?” Yahweh answered, “Go again tomorrow, because tomorrow I will enable you to defeat them.”
28 and Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was standing before it in those days, saying: Shall I yet again go forth to battle, against the sons of Benjamin, my brother, or shall I forbear? And Yahweh said—Go up, for, to-morrow, will I deliver him into thy hand.
29 And Israel set liers in wait against Gibeah, round about.
So [the next day, 10,000 of] the Israeli men (set up ambushes/went to hide) [in the fields] around Gibeah.
30 So the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin, on the third day, —and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as time after time.
The [other] Israeli men went and stood in their positions for fighting a battle just like they had done on the previous days.
31 And the sons of Benjamin came forth against the people, they were drawn away from the city, —and began to smite of the people, slaying as time after time, in the highways, whereof, one, goeth up to Bethel, and, the other, to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men in Israel.
When the men of the tribe of Benjamin came out of the city to fight against them, the Israeli men retreated away from the city, and the men of the tribe of Benjamin pursued them. The men of the tribe of Benjamin killed many Israelis, like they had done before. They killed about 30 Israelis. They killed some in the fields, and they killed some on the road that went to Bethel and on the road that went to Gibeah.
32 Then said the sons of Benjamin, They are, being smitten, before us, as at the first. But the sons of Israel had said—Let us flee, and draw them away from the city, into the highways.
The men of the tribe of Benjamin said, “We are defeating them like we did before!” But then Israeli men did what they had planned. The main group of Israeli men retreated a short distance from the city, to [trick] the men of Gibeah and cause them to pursue the Israeli men along the roads outside the city.
33 And, all the men of Israel, rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array in Baal-tamar, —and, the liers in wait of Israel, began to break forth out of their place, out of the forest of Gibeah.
The main group of Israeli men left their positions and retreated, and then they stood in their battle positions again at a place named Baal-Tamar.
34 And there came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men, out of all Israel, and the battle was severe, —they, not knowing that disaster was overtaking them.
Then [while the men of Gibeah were running out of the city toward them], the other 10,000 Israelis came out from the places where they had been hiding, west of Gibeah. They were men who had come from all parts of Israel. There was a very big battle. But the men of the tribe of Benjamin did not know that they were about to suffer a disastrous defeat.
35 Thus Yahweh smote Benjamin before Israel, and the sons of Israel destroyed in Benjamin, that day, twenty-five thousand and one hundred men, —all these, drew the sword.
Yahweh enabled the Israeli men to defeat the men of the tribe of Benjamin. They killed 25,000 of them, even though they all were using swords. [This is what happened]:
36 So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were smitten, —and that the men of Israel had given place to Benjamin, because they trusted to the liers in wait, whom they had set near Gibeah.
The main group of Israeli men arranged with the men who would be hiding that they should send up a smoke signal to enable the main group of soldiers to know when they should attack. Then the main group of Israeli men retreated for a short distance, because they knew that the other Israeli men who had been hiding on the other side of Gibeah would attack the people of the tribe of Benjamin by surprise. So [after the main group of Israeli men retreated a little distance], the men who had been hiding rushed out and ran into Gibeah and used their swords to kill everyone in the city. [Then they started to burn the buildings].
37 And, the liers in wait, hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah, —and the liers in wait marched forward, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.
38 Now, the appointed sign, between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, had been, —to cause a great cloud of smoke to ascend out of the city.
39 So, when the men of Israel turned in the battle, —and, the Benjamites, began to smite and slay of the sons of Israel, about thirty men, for they said, Yea! they are, smitten, before us, as in the first battle,
By that time, the men of the tribe of Benjamin said, “We are winning the battle, as we did before!”
40 then, the cloud, began to ascend out of the city, a pillar of smoke, —and the Benjamites looked behind them, and lo! the whole city flamed up towards the heavens.
But then smoke [from the burning buildings] began to rise up from the city. The men of the tribe of Benjamin turned around and saw that the whole city was burning.
41 And, when, the men of Israel, turned, then were the men of Benjamin dismayed, —for they saw that disaster had overtaken them.
Then the main group of Israeli men [also saw the smoke, and they knew that the smoke signaled that they should] turn around and begin to attack. The men of the tribe of Benjamin were very afraid, because they realized that they were about to suffer a disastrous defeat.
42 And, when they turned before the men of Israel unto the way of the desert, the battle, over took them, —while, as for them that came out of the cities, they began to destroy them in their midst: —
So the men of the tribe of Benjamin tried to run away toward the desert to escape from the Israeli men, but they were not able to escape, because the Israeli men who had burned the two cities came out of those cities and killed many of them.
43 they hemmed in the Benjamites, they pursued them, with ease, trode they them down, —as far as over against Gibeah, towards sunrise.
They surrounded [some of] the men of the tribe of Benjamin, and pursued the others to the area east of Gibeah.
44 So there fell of Benjamin, eighteen thousand men, —all these being men of valour.
They killed 18,000 strong soldiers of the tribe of Benjamin.
45 And, when they turned and fled towards the desert unto the cliff Rimmon, then gleaned they of them, in the highways, five thousand men, —and they followed hard after them as far as Gidom, and smote of them, two thousand men.
Then the rest of the men of the tribe of Benjamin realized that they had been defeated. They ran toward the desert to Rimmon Rock, but the Israeli men killed 5,000 more men of the tribe of Benjamin along the roads. They pursued the rest of them to Gidom, and they killed 2,000 more men of the tribe of Benjamin there.
46 So then it came to pass that, all the fallen of Benjamin, were twenty-five thousand men, that drew the sword, on that day, —all these being men of valour.
Altogether, there were 25,000 men of the tribe of Benjamin who were killed, all of whom had swords.
47 But there turned and fled, towards the desert, unto the cliff Rimmon, six hundred men, —who abode in the cliff Rimmon, four months.
But 600 men of the tribe of Benjamin ran to Rimmon Rock in the desert. They stayed there for four months.
48 Thus, the men of Israel, turned against the sons of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, beginning with the city, each and every one down to the beast, even to every one that was met with, —moreover, all the cities they came to, they set on fire.
Then the Israeli men went back to the land belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, and killed the people in every city. They also killed all the animals, and destroyed everything else that they found there. And they burned all the cities that they came to.
