Iudicum 20
1 Egressi itaque sunt omnes filii Israël, et pariter congregati, quasi vir unus, de Dan usque Bersabee, et terra Galaad, ad Dominum in Maspha.
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 Omnesque anguli populorum, et cunctæ tribus Israël in ecclesiam populi Dei convenerunt, quadringenta millia peditum pugnatorum.
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 (Nec latuit filios Benjamin quod ascendissent filii Israël in Maspha.) Interrogatusque Levita, maritus mulieris interfectæ, quomodo tantum scelus perpetratum esset,
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 respondit: Veni in Gabaa Benjamin cum uxore mea, illucque diverti:
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 et ecce homines civitatis illius circumdederunt nocte domum in qua manebam, volentes me occidere, et uxorem meam incredibili furore libidinis vexantes, denique mortua est.
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 Quam arreptam, in frustra concidi, misique partes in omnes terminos possessionis vestræ: quia numquam tantum nefas, et tam grande piaculum, factum est in Israël.
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 Adestis, omnes filii Israël: decernite quid facere debeatis.
So now, all you Israeli people, speak, and tell me what you think should be done!”
8 Stansque omnis populus, quasi unius hominis sermone respondit: Non recedemus in tabernacula nostra, nec suam quisquam intrabit domum:
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 sed hoc contra Gabaa in commune faciamus.
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 Decem viri eligantur e centum ex omnibus tribubus Israël, et centum de mille, et mille de decem millibus, ut comportent exercitui cibaria, et possimus pugnare contra Gabaa Benjamin, et reddere ei pro scelere, quod meretur.
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 Convenitque universus Israël ad civitatem, quasi homo unus eadem mente, unoque consilio.
And all the Israeli people agreed [that the people of Gibeah should be punished].
12 Et miserunt nuntios ad omnem tribum Benjamin, qui dicerent: Cur tantum nefas in vobis repertum est?
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 Tradite homines de Gabaa, qui hoc flagitium perpetrarunt, ut moriantur, et auferatur malum de Israël. Qui noluerunt fratrum suorum filiorum Israël audire mandatum:
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 sed ex cunctis urbibus, quæ sortis suæ erant, convenerunt in Gabaa, ut illis ferrent auxilium, et contra universum populum Israël dimicarent.
The men of the tribe of Benjamin left their cities and gathered at Gibeah to fight the [other] Israelis.
15 Inventique sunt viginti quinque millia de Benjamin educentium gladium, præter habitatores Gabaa,
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 qui septingenti erant viri fortissimi, ita sinistra ut dextra præliantes: et sic fundis lapides ad certum jacientes, ut capillum quoque possent percutere, et nequaquam in alteram partem ictus lapidis deferretur.
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 Virorum quoque Israël, absque filiis Benjamin, inventa sunt quadringenta millia educentium gladium, et paratorum ad pugnam.
There were 400,000 men from the other Israeli tribes who had swords.
18 Qui surgentes venerunt in domum Dei, hoc est, in Silo: consulueruntque Deum, atque dixerunt: Quis erit in exercitu nostro princeps certaminis contra filios Benjamin? Quibus respondit Dominus: Judas sit dux vester.
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 Statimque filii Israël surgentes mane, castrametati sunt juxta Gabaa:
The next morning, the Israeli men went and set up their tents near Gibeah.
20 et inde procedentes ad pugnam contra Benjamin, urbem oppugnare cœperunt.
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 Egressique filii Benjamin de Gabaa, occiderunt de filiis Israël die illo viginti duo millia virorum.
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 Rursum filii Israël et fortitudine et numero confidentes, in eodem loco in quo prius certaverant, aciem direxerunt:
[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 ita tamen ut prius ascenderent et flerent coram Domino usque ad noctem, consulerentque eum, et dicerent: Debeo ultra procedere ad dimicandum contra filios Benjamin fratres meos, an non? Quibus ille respondit: Ascendite ad eos, et inite certamen.
24 Cumque filii Israël altera die contra filios Benjamin ad prælium processissent,
The next day they again stood in their positions for fighting, just like they had done on the previous day.
25 eruperunt filii Benjamin de portis Gabaa: et occurrentes eis tanta in illos cæde bacchati sunt, ut decem et octo millia virorum educentium gladium prosternerent.
The men of the tribe of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and attacked the Israelis, and killed 18,000 more of their men.
26 Quam ob rem omnes filii Israël venerunt in domum Dei, et sedentes flebant coram Domino: jejunaveruntque die illo usque ad vesperam, et obtulerunt ei holocausta, atque pacificas victimas,
[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 et super statu suo interrogaverunt. Eo tempore ibi erat arca fœderis Dei,
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 et Phinees filius Eleazari filii Aaron præpositus domus. Consuluerunt igitur Dominum, atque dixerunt: Exire ultra debemus ad pugnam contra filios Benjamin fratres nostros, an quiescere? Quibus ait Dominus: Ascendite: cras enim tradam eos in manus vestras.
29 Posueruntque filii Israël insidias per circuitum urbis Gabaa:
So [the next day, 10,000 of] the Israeli men (set up ambushes/went to hide) [in the fields] around Gibeah.
30 et tertia vice, sicut semel et bis, contra Benjamin exercitum produxerunt.
The [other] Israeli men went and stood in their positions for fighting a battle just like they had done on the previous days.
31 Sed et filii Benjamin audacter eruperunt de civitate, et fugientes adversarios longius persecuti sunt, ita ut vulnerarent ex eis sicut primo die et secundo, et cæderent per duas semitas vertentes terga, quarum una ferebatur in Bethel et altera in Gabaa, atque prosternerent triginta circiter viros:
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 putaverunt enim solito eos more cedere. Qui fugam arte simulantes inierunt consilium ut abstraherent eos de civitate, et quasi fugientes ad supradictas semitas perducerent.
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 Omnes itaque filii Israël surgentes de sedibus suis, tetenderunt aciem in loco qui vocatur Baalthamar. Insidiæ quoque, quæ circa urbem erant, paulatim se aperire cœperunt,
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 et ab occidentali urbis parte procedere. Sed et alia decem millia virorum de universo Israël, habitatores urbis ad certamina provocabant. Ingravatumque est bellum contra filios Benjamin: et non intellexerunt quod ex omni parte illis instaret interitus.
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 Percussitque eos Dominus in conspectu filiorum Israël, et interfecerunt ex eis in illo die viginti quinque millia, et centum viros, omnes bellatores et educentes gladium.
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 Filii autem Benjamin cum se inferiores esse vidissent, cœperunt fugere. Quod cernentes filii Israël, dederunt eis ad fugiendum locum, ut ad præparatas insidias devenirent, quas juxta urbem posuerant.
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 Qui cum repente de latibulis surrexissent, et Benjamin terga cædentibus daret, ingressi sunt civitatem, et percusserunt eam in ore gladii.
38 Signum autem dederant filii Israël his quos in insidiis collocaverant, ut postquam urbem cepissent, ignem accenderent: ut ascendente in altum fumo, captam urbem demonstrarent.
39 Quod cum cernerent filii Israël in ipso certamine positi (putaverunt enim filii Benjamin eos fugere, et instantius persequebantur, cæsis de exercitu eorum triginta viris),
By that time, the men of the tribe of Benjamin said, “We are winning the battle, as we did before!”
40 et viderent quasi columnam fumi de civitate conscendere: Benjamin quoque aspiciens retro, cum captam cerneret civitatem, et flammas in sublime ferri:
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 qui prius simulaverant fugam, versa facie fortius resistebant. Quod cum vidissent filii Benjamin, in fugam versi sunt,
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 et ad viam deserti ire cœperunt, illuc quoque eos adversariis persequentibus: sed et hi qui urbem succenderant, occurrerunt eis.
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 Atque ita factum est, ut ex utraque parte ab hostibus cæderentur, nec erat ulla requies morientium. Ceciderunt, atque prostrati sunt ad orientalem plagam urbis Gabaa.
They surrounded [some of] the men of the tribe of Benjamin, and pursued the others to the area east of Gibeah.
44 Fuerunt autem qui in eodem loco interfecti sunt, decem et octo millia virorum, omnes robustissimi pugnatores.
They killed 18,000 strong soldiers of the tribe of Benjamin.
45 Quod cum vidissent qui remanserant de Benjamin, fugerunt in solitudinem: et pergebant ad petram, cujus vocabulum est Remmon. In illa quoque fuga palantes, et in diversa tendentes, occiderunt quinque millia virorum. Et cum ultra tenderent, persecuti sunt eos, et interfecerunt etiam alia duo millia.
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 Et sic factum est, ut omnes qui ceciderant de Benjamin in diversis locis essent viginti quinque millia pugnatores ad bella promptissimi.
Altogether, there were 25,000 men of the tribe of Benjamin who were killed, all of whom had swords.
47 Remanserunt itaque de omni numero Benjamin, qui evadere et fugere in solitudinem potuerunt, sexcenti viri: sederuntque in petra Remmon mensibus quatuor.
But 600 men of the tribe of Benjamin ran to Rimmon Rock in the desert. They stayed there for four months.
48 Regressi autem filii Israël, omnes reliquias civitatis a viris usque ad jumenta gladio percusserunt, cunctasque urbes et viculos Benjamin vorax flamma consumpsit.
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.
