Iudicum 20
1 egressi sunt itaque omnes filii Israhel et pariter congregati quasi vir unus de Dan usque Bersabee et terra Galaad ad Dominum in Maspha
Then all the people of Israel came out as one man, from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead also, and they assembled together before Yahweh at Mizpah.
2 omnesque anguli populorum et cunctae tribus Israhel in ecclesiam populi Dei convenerunt quadringenta milia peditum pugnatorum
The leaders of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, took their places in the assembly of the people of God—400,000 men on foot, who were ready to fight with the sword.
3 nec latuit filios Beniamin quod ascendissent filii Israhel in Maspha interrogatusque Levita maritus mulieris interfectae quomodo tantum scelus perpetratum esset
Now the people of Benjamin heard that the people of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. The people of Israel said, “Tell us how this wicked thing happened.”
4 respondit veni in Gabaa Beniamin cum uxore mea illucque deverti
The Levite, the husband of the woman who had been murdered, answered, “I came to Gibeah in the territory that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night.
5 et ecce homines civitatis illius circumdederunt nocte domum in qua manebam volentes me occidere et uxorem meam incredibili libidinis furore vexantes denique mortua est
During the night, the leaders of Gibeah attacked me, surrounding the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died.
6 quam arreptam in frusta concidi misique partes in omnes terminos possessionis vestrae quia numquam tantum nefas et tam grande piaculum factum est in Israhel
I took my concubine and cut her body into pieces, and sent them into each region of Israel's inheritance, because they have committed such wickedness and outrage in Israel.
7 adestis omnes filii Israhel decernite quid facere debeatis
Now, all you Israelites, give your advice and counsel here.”
8 stansque omnis populus quasi unius hominis sermone respondit non recedemus in tabernacula nostra nec suam quisquam intrabit domum
All the people arose together as one man, and they said, “None of us will go to his tent, and none of us will return to his house!
9 sed hoc contra Gabaa in commune faciemus
But now this is what we must do to Gibeah: We will attack it as the lot directs us.
10 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
We will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred of a thousand, and one thousand of ten thousand, to get provisions for these people, so that when they come to Gibeah in Benjamin, they may punish them for the wickedness they committed in Israel.”
11 convenitque universus Israhel ad civitatem quasi unus homo eadem mente unoque consilio
So all the soldiers of Israel assembled against the city, as one man.
12 et miserunt nuntios ad omnem tribum Beniamin qui dicerent cur tantum nefas in vobis reppertum est
The tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that was done among you?
13 tradite homines de Gabaa qui hoc flagitium perpetrarunt ut moriantur et auferatur malum de Israhel qui noluerunt fratrum suorum filiorum Israhel audire mandatum
Therefore, give us those wicked men of Gibeah, so we may put them to death, and so we will completely remove this evil from Israel.” But the Benjamites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel.
14 sed ex cunctis urbibus quae suae sortis erant convenerunt in Gabaa ut illis ferrent auxilium et contra universum Israhel populum dimicarent
Then the people of Benjamin came together out of the cities to Gibeah to get ready to fight against the people of Israel.
15 inventique sunt viginti quinque milia de Beniamin educentium gladium praeter habitatores Gabaa
The people of Benjamin brought together from their cities to fight on that day twenty-six thousand soldiers who were trained to fight with the sword. In addition, there were seven hundred of their chosen men from the inhabitants of Gibeah.
16 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
Among all these soldiers were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed. Each of them could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
17 virorum quoque Israhel absque filiis Beniamin inventa sunt quadringenta milia educentium gladios et paratorum ad pugnam
The people of Israel, not counting the number from Benjamin, numbered 400,000 men, who were trained to fight with the sword. All of these were men of war.
18 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
The people of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and asked for advice from God. They asked, “Who first will attack the people of Benjamin for us?” Yahweh said, “Judah will attack first.”
19 statimque filii Israhel surgentes mane castrametati sunt iuxta Gabaa
The people of Israel got up in the morning and they moved their camp near Gibeah.
20 et inde procedentes ad pugnam contra Beniamin urbem obpugnare coeperunt
The people of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin. They set up their battle positions against them at Gibeah.
21 egressique filii Beniamin de Gabaa occiderunt de filiis Israhel die illo viginti duo milia viros
The people of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and they killed twenty-two thousand men of the army of Israel on that day.
22 rursum filii Israhel et fortitudine et numero confidentes in eodem loco in quo prius certaverant aciem direxerunt
But the people of Israel strengthened themselves and they formed the battle line in the same place where they had taken positions on the first day.
23 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
Then the people of Israel went up and they wept before Yahweh until evening, and they sought direction from Yahweh. They said, “Should we go again to fight against our brothers, the people of Benjamin?” Yahweh said, “Attack them!”
24 cumque filii Israhel altero die contra Beniamin ad proelium processissent
So the people of Israel went against the soldiers of Benjamin the second day.
25 eruperunt filii Beniamin de portis Gabaa et occurrentes eis tanta in illos caede baccati sunt ut decem et octo milia virorum educentium gladium prosternerent
On the second day, Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah and they killed eighteen thousand men from the people of Israel. All were men who trained to fight with the sword.
26 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
Then all the soldiers of Israel and all the people went up to Bethel and wept, and there they sat before Yahweh and they fasted that day until the evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Yahweh.
27 et super statu suo interrogaverunt eo tempore ibi erat arca foederis Dei
The people of Israel asked Yahweh—for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
28 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
and Phinehas, son of Eleazar son of Aaron, was serving before the ark in those days—”Should we go out to battle once more against the people of Benjamin, our brothers, or stop?” Yahweh said, “Attack, for tomorrow I will help you defeat them.”
29 posueruntque filii Israhel insidias per circuitum urbis Gabaa
So Israel set men in secret places around Gibeah.
30 et tertia vice sicut semel et bis contra Beniamin exercitum produxerunt
The people of Israel fought against the people of Benjamin for the third day, and they formed their battle lines against Gibeah as they had done before.
31 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
The people of Benjamin went and fought against the people, and they were drawn away from the city. They began to kill some of the people. There were about thirty men of Israel who died in the fields and on the roads. One of the roads went up to Bethel, and the other went to Gibeah.
32 putaverunt enim solito eos more cedere qui fugam arte simulantes iniere consilium ut abstraherent eos de civitate et quasi fugientes ad supradictas semitas perducerent
Then the people of Benjamin said, “They are defeated and they are running away from us, just as at first.” But the soldiers of Israel said, “Let us run back and draw them away from the city to the roads.”
33 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
All the people of Israel rose up out of their places and formed themselves into lines for battle at Baal Tamar. Then the soldiers of Israel who had been hiding in secret places ran out from their places from Maareh Gibeah.
34 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
There came out against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the fighting was fierce, but the Benjamites did not know that disaster was close to them.
35 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
Yahweh defeated Benjamin before Israel. On that day, the soldiers of Israel killed 25,100 men of Benjamin. All these who died were those who had been trained to fight with the sword.
36 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
So the soldiers of Benjamin saw they were defeated. The men of Israel had given ground to Benjamin, because they were counting on the men they had placed in hidden positions outside Gibeah.
37 qui cum repente de latibulis surrexissent et Beniamin terga caedentibus daret ingressi sunt civitatem et percusserunt eam in ore gladii
Then the men who were hiding got up and hurried and they rushed into Gibeah, and they struck all the city with the edge of the sword.
38 signum autem dederant filii Israhel his quos in insidiis conlocaverant ut postquam urbem cepissent ignem accenderent et ascendente in altum fumo captam urbem demonstrarent
The arranged signal between the soldiers of Israel and the men hiding in secret would be that a great cloud of smoke would rise up out of the city.
39 quod cum cernerent filii Israhel in ipso certamine positi putaverunt enim filii Beniamin eos fugere et instantius sequebantur caesis de exercitu eorum triginta viris
When the signal was sent the soldiers of Israel would turn from the battle. Now Benjamin began to attack and they killed about thirty men of Israel, and they said, “It is sure that they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.”
40 et viderent quasi columnam fumi de civitate conscendere Beniamin quoque retro aspiciens captam cerneret civitatem et flammas in sublime ferri
But when a pillar of smoke began to rise up out of the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the smoke rising to the sky from the whole city.
41 qui prius simulaverant fugam versa facie fortius resistebant quod cum vidissent filii Beniamin in fugam versi sunt
Then the people of Israel turned against them. The men of Benjamin were terrified, for they saw that disaster had come on them.
42 et ad viam deserti ire coeperunt illuc quoque eos adversariis persequentibus sed et hii qui urbem succenderant occurrerunt eis
So they ran away from the people of Israel, escaping on the way to the wilderness. But the fighting overtook them. The soldiers of Israel came out of the cities and killed them where they stood.
43 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
They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and trampled them down at Nohah, all the way to the east side of Gibeah.
44 fuerunt autem qui in eodem loco interfecti sunt decem et octo milia virorum omnes robustissimi pugnatores
From the tribe of Benjamin, eighteen thousand people died, all of them men who were distinguished in battle.
45 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
They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon. The Israelites killed five thousand more of them along the roads. They kept going after them, following them closely all the way to Gidom, and there they killed two thousand more.
46 et sic factum est ut omnes qui ceciderant de Beniamin in diversis locis essent viginti quinque milia pugnatores ad bella promptissimi
All the soldiers of Benjamin who fell that day were twenty-five thousand—men who were trained to fight with the sword; all of them were distinguished in battle.
47 remanserunt itaque de omni numero Beniamin qui evadere potuerant et fugere in solitudinem sescenti viri sederuntque in petra Remmon mensibus quattuor
But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness, toward the rock of Rimmon. For four months they stayed at the rock of Rimmon.
48 regressi autem filii Israhel omnes reliquias civitatis a viris usque ad iumenta gladio percusserunt cunctasque urbes et viculos Beniamin vorax flamma consumpsit
The soldiers of Israel turned back against the people of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, the city, including the animals and everything that they found. They also burned down every town in their path.
