Judges 20
1 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.
egressi sunt itaque omnes filii Israhel et pariter congregati quasi vir unus de Dan usque Bersabee et terra Galaad ad Dominum in Maspha
2 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.
omnesque anguli populorum et cunctae tribus Israhel in ecclesiam populi Dei convenerunt quadringenta milia peditum pugnatorum
3 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.
nec latuit filios Beniamin quod ascendissent filii Israhel in Maspha interrogatusque Levita maritus mulieris interfectae quomodo tantum scelus perpetratum esset
4 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.
respondit veni in Gabaa Beniamin cum uxore mea illucque deverti
5 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.
et ecce homines civitatis illius circumdederunt nocte domum in qua manebam volentes me occidere et uxorem meam incredibili libidinis furore vexantes denique mortua est
6 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.
quam arreptam in frusta concidi misique partes in omnes terminos possessionis vestrae quia numquam tantum nefas et tam grande piaculum factum est in Israhel
7 So now, all you Israeli people, speak, and tell me what you think should be done!”
adestis omnes filii Israhel decernite quid facere debeatis
8 All the people stood up, and in unison said, “None of us will go home! Not one of us will return to his house!
stansque omnis populus quasi unius hominis sermone respondit non recedemus in tabernacula nostra nec suam quisquam intrabit domum
9 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].
sed hoc contra Gabaa in commune faciemus
10 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.”
decem viri eligantur e centum ex omnibus tribubus Israhel et centum de mille et mille de decem milibus ut conportent exercitui cibaria et possimus pugnantes contra Gabaa Beniamin reddere ei pro scelere quod meretur
11 And all the Israeli people agreed [that the people of Gibeah should be punished].
convenitque universus Israhel ad civitatem quasi unus homo eadem mente unoque consilio
12 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?
et miserunt nuntios ad omnem tribum Beniamin qui dicerent cur tantum nefas in vobis reppertum est
13 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.
tradite homines de Gabaa qui hoc flagitium perpetrarunt ut moriantur et auferatur malum de Israhel qui noluerunt fratrum suorum filiorum Israhel audire mandatum
14 The men of the tribe of Benjamin left their cities and gathered at Gibeah to fight the [other] Israelis.
sed ex cunctis urbibus quae suae sortis erant convenerunt in Gabaa ut illis ferrent auxilium et contra universum Israhel populum dimicarent
15 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.
inventique sunt viginti quinque milia de Beniamin educentium gladium praeter habitatores Gabaa
16 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!
qui septingenti erant viri fortissimi ita sinistra ut dextra proeliantes et sic fundis ad certum iacientes lapides ut capillum quoque possent percutere et nequaquam in alteram partem ictus lapidis deferretur
17 There were 400,000 men from the other Israeli tribes who had swords.
virorum quoque Israhel absque filiis Beniamin inventa sunt quadringenta milia educentium gladios et paratorum ad pugnam
18 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.”
qui surgentes venerunt in domum Dei hoc est in Silo consulueruntque eum atque dixerunt quis erit in exercitu nostro princeps certaminis contra filios Beniamin quibus respondit Dominus Iudas sit dux vester
19 The next morning, the Israeli men went and set up their tents near Gibeah.
statimque filii Israhel surgentes mane castrametati sunt iuxta Gabaa
20 Then they went to fight against [the men from the tribe of] Benjamin, and stood in their positions for fighting a battle, [facing Gibeah].
et inde procedentes ad pugnam contra Beniamin urbem obpugnare coeperunt
21 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.
egressique filii Beniamin de Gabaa occiderunt de filiis Israhel die illo viginti duo milia viros
22 [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.
rursum filii Israhel et fortitudine et numero confidentes in eodem loco in quo prius certaverant aciem direxerunt
ita tamen ut prius ascenderent et flerent coram Domino usque ad noctem consulerentque eum et dicerent debeo ultra procedere ad dimicandum contra filios Beniamin fratres meos an non quibus ille respondit ascendite ad eum et inite certamen
24 The next day they again stood in their positions for fighting, just like they had done on the previous day.
cumque filii Israhel altero die contra Beniamin ad proelium processissent
25 The men of the tribe of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and attacked the Israelis, and killed 18,000 more of their men.
eruperunt filii Beniamin de portis Gabaa et occurrentes eis tanta in illos caede baccati sunt ut decem et octo milia virorum educentium gladium prosternerent
26 [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.
quam ob rem omnes filii Israhel venerunt in domum Dei et sedentes flebant coram Domino ieiunaveruntque illo die usque ad vesperam et obtulerunt ei holocausta et pacificas victimas
27 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.”
et super statu suo interrogaverunt eo tempore ibi erat arca foederis Dei
et Finees filius Eleazari filii Aaron praepositus domus consuluerunt igitur Dominum atque dixerunt exire ultra debemus ad pugnam contra filios Beniamin fratres nostros an quiescere quibus ait Dominus ascendite cras enim tradam eos in manus vestras
29 So [the next day, 10,000 of] the Israeli men (set up ambushes/went to hide) [in the fields] around Gibeah.
posueruntque filii Israhel insidias per circuitum urbis Gabaa
30 The [other] Israeli men went and stood in their positions for fighting a battle just like they had done on the previous days.
et tertia vice sicut semel et bis contra Beniamin exercitum produxerunt
31 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.
sed et filii Beniamin audacter eruperunt de civitate et fugientes adversarios longius persecuti sunt ita ut vulnerarent ex eis sicut primo et secundo die et caederent per duas semitas terga vertentes quarum una ferebat in Bethel altera in Gabaa atque prosternerent triginta circiter viros
32 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.
putaverunt enim solito eos more cedere qui fugam arte simulantes iniere consilium ut abstraherent eos de civitate et quasi fugientes ad supradictas semitas perducerent
33 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.
omnes itaque filii Israhel surgentes de sedibus suis tetenderunt aciem in loco qui vocatur Baalthamar insidiae quoque quae circa urbem erant paulatim se aperire coeperunt
34 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.
et ab occidentali urbis parte procedere sed et alia decem milia virorum de universo Israhel habitatores urbis ad certamina provocabant ingravatumque est bellum contra filios Beniamin et non intellexerunt quod ex omni parte illis instaret interitus
35 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]:
percussitque eos Dominus in conspectu filiorum Israhel et interfecerunt ex eis in illo die viginti quinque milia et centum viros omnes bellatores et educentes gladium
36 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].
filii autem Beniamin cum se inferiores esse vidissent coeperunt fugere quod cernentes filii Israhel dederunt eis ad fugiendum locum ut ad praeparatas insidias devenirent quas iuxta urbem posuerant
qui cum repente de latibulis surrexissent et Beniamin terga caedentibus daret ingressi sunt civitatem et percusserunt eam in ore gladii
signum autem dederant filii Israhel his quos in insidiis conlocaverant ut postquam urbem cepissent ignem accenderent et ascendente in altum fumo captam urbem demonstrarent
39 By that time, the men of the tribe of Benjamin said, “We are winning the battle, as we did before!”
quod cum cernerent filii Israhel in ipso certamine positi putaverunt enim filii Beniamin eos fugere et instantius sequebantur caesis de exercitu eorum triginta viris
40 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.
et viderent quasi columnam fumi de civitate conscendere Beniamin quoque retro aspiciens captam cerneret civitatem et flammas in sublime ferri
41 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.
qui prius simulaverant fugam versa facie fortius resistebant quod cum vidissent filii Beniamin in fugam versi sunt
42 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.
et ad viam deserti ire coeperunt illuc quoque eos adversariis persequentibus sed et hii qui urbem succenderant occurrerunt eis
43 They surrounded [some of] the men of the tribe of Benjamin, and pursued the others to the area east of Gibeah.
atque ita factum est ut ex utraque parte ab hostibus caederentur nec erat ulla morientium requies ceciderunt atque prostrati sunt ad orientalem plagam urbis Gabaa
44 They killed 18,000 strong soldiers of the tribe of Benjamin.
fuerunt autem qui in eodem loco interfecti sunt decem et octo milia virorum omnes robustissimi pugnatores
45 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.
quod cum vidissent qui remanserant de Beniamin fugerunt in solitudinem et pergebant ad petram cuius vocabulum est Remmon in illa quoque fuga palantes et in diversa tendentes occiderunt quinque milia viros et cum ultra tenderent persecuti sunt eos et interfecerunt etiam alios duo milia
46 Altogether, there were 25,000 men of the tribe of Benjamin who were killed, all of whom had swords.
et sic factum est ut omnes qui ceciderant de Beniamin in diversis locis essent viginti quinque milia pugnatores ad bella promptissimi
47 But 600 men of the tribe of Benjamin ran to Rimmon Rock in the desert. They stayed there for four months.
remanserunt itaque de omni numero Beniamin qui evadere potuerant et fugere in solitudinem sescenti viri sederuntque in petra Remmon mensibus quattuor
48 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.
regressi autem filii Israhel omnes reliquias civitatis a viris usque ad iumenta gladio percusserunt cunctasque urbes et viculos Beniamin vorax flamma consumpsit
