Judges 20
The War against the
Benjamites |
1 |
Then all the children of Israel went out,
and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even
to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gil'e-ad, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.
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2 |
And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the
assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that
drew sword.
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3 |
(Now the children of Benjamin heard that
the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the
children of Israel, Tell us, how was this
wickedness?
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4 |
And the Levite, the husband of the woman
that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gib'e-ah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to
lodge.
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5 |
And the men of Gib'e-ah rose against me,
and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought
to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is
dead.
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6 |
And I took my concubine, and cut her in
pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance
of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in
Israel.
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7 |
Behold, ye are all children of
Israel; give here your advice and counsel.
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8 |
And all the people arose as one man,
saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we
any of us turn into his house.
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9 |
But now this shall be the thing
which we will do to Gib'e-ah; we will go up by lot against
it;
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10 |
and we will take ten men of a hundred
throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand,
and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victuals for the
people, that they may do, when they come to Gib'e-ah of Benjamin,
according to all the folly that they have wrought in
Israel.
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11 |
So all the men of Israel were gathered
against the city, knit together as one man.
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12 |
And the tribes of Israel sent men
through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you?
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13 |
Now therefore deliver us the men,
the children of Be'li-al, which are in Gib'e-ah, that we may
put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children
of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the
children of Israel:
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14 |
but the children of Benjamin gathered
themselves together out of the cities unto Gib'e-ah, to go out to
battle against the children of Israel.
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15 |
And the children of Benjamin were
numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men
that drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gib'e-ah, which were
numbered seven hundred chosen men.
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16 |
Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; every one could sling stones
at a hair breadth, and not miss.
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17 |
And the men of Israel, besides Benjamin,
were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.
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18 |
And the children of Israel arose, and
went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said,
Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of
Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go
up first.
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19 |
And the children of Israel rose up in
the morning, and encamped against Gib'e-ah.
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20 |
And the men of Israel went out to battle
against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to
fight against them at Gib'e-ah.
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21 |
And the children of Benjamin came forth
out of Gib'e-ah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites
that day twenty and two thousand men.
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22 |
And the people, the men of Israel,
encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the
place where they put themselves in array the first day.
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23 |
(And the children of Israel went up and
wept before the LORD until even, and asked
counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up
again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the
LORD said, Go up against him.)
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24 |
And the children of Israel came near
against the children of Benjamin the second day.
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25 |
And Benjamin went forth against them out
of Gib'e-ah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the
children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the
sword.
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26 |
Then all the children of Israel, and all
the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and
sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day
until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before
the LORD.
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27 |
And the children of Israel inquired of
the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
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28 |
and Phin'ehas, the son of Ele-a'zar, the
son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet
again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother,
or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for
tomorrow I will deliver them into thine hand.
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29 |
And Israel set liers in wait round
about Gib'e-ah.
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30 |
And the children of Israel went up
against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put
themselves in array against Gib'e-ah, as at other times.
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31 |
And the children of Benjamin went out
against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and
they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other
times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God,
and the other to Gib'e-ah in the field, about thirty men of
Israel.
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32 |
And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children
of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the
highways.
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33 |
And all the men of Israel rose up out of
their place, and put themselves in array at Ba'al-ta'mar: and the
liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gib'e-ah.
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34 |
And there came against Gib'e-ah ten
thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but
they knew not that evil was near them.
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35 |
And the LORD smote
Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the
Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men: all
these drew the sword.
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36 |
So the children of Benjamin saw that
they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the
Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they
had set beside Gib'e-ah.
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37 |
And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed
upon Gib'e-ah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along,
and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.
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38 |
Now there was an appointed sign between
the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a
great flame with smoke rise up out of the city.
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39 |
And when the men of Israel retired in the
battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel
about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down
before us, as in the first battle.
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40 |
But when the flame began to arise up out
of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind
them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to
heaven.
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41 |
And when the men of Israel turned again,
the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come
upon them.
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42 |
Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the
battle overtook them; and them which came out of the cities
they destroyed in the midst of them.
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43 |
Thus they inclosed the Benjamites
round about, and chased them, and trode them down with
ease over against Gib'e-ah toward the sunrising.
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44 |
And there fell of Benjamin eighteen
thousand men; all these were men of valor.
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45 |
And they turned and fled toward the
wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the
highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom,
and slew two thousand men of them.
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46 |
So that all which fell that day of
Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all
these were men of valor.
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47 |
But six hundred men turned and fled to
the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon
four months.
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48 |
And the men of Israel turned again upon
the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword,
as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that
came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came
to.
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