Judges 20

Young's Literal Translation

20 And all the sons of Israel go out, and the company is assembled as one man, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, and the land of Gilead, unto Jehovah, at Mizpeh.

² And the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, station themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen drawing sword.

³ And the sons of Benjamin hear that the sons of Israel have gone up to Mizpeh. And the sons of Israel say, `Speak ye, how hath this evil been?'

⁴ And the man, the Levite, husband of the woman who hath been murdered, answereth and saith, `Into Gibeah (which [is] to Benjamin) I have come, I and my concubine, to lodge;

⁵ and rise against me do the masters of Gibeah -- and they go round the house against me by night -- me they thought to slay, and my concubine they have humbled, and she dieth;

⁶ and I lay hold on my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and send her into all the country of the inheritance of Israel; for they have done wickedness and folly in Israel;

⁷ lo, ye [are] all sons of Israel; give for you a word and counsel here.'

⁸ And all the people rise as one man, saying, `None of us doth go to his tent, and none of us doth turn aside to his house;

⁹ and now, this [is] the thing which we do to Gibeah -- against it by lot!

¹⁰ and we have taken ten men of a hundred, of all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of a myriad, to receive provision for the people, to do, at their coming to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly which it hath done in Israel.'

¹¹ And every man of Israel is gathered unto the city, as one man -- companions.

¹² And the tribes of Israel send men among all the tribes of Benjamin, saying, `What [is] this evil which hath been among you?

¹³ And now, give up the men -- sons of worthlessness -- which [are] in Gibeah, and we put them to death, and we put away evil from Israel.' And [the sons of] Benjamin have not been willing to hearken to the voice of their brethren, the sons of Israel;

¹⁴ and the sons of Benjamin are gathered out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle with the sons of Israel.

¹⁵ And the sons of Benjamin number themselves on that day; out of the cities [are] twenty and six thousand men drawing sword, apart from the inhabitants of Gibeah, [who] numbered themselves, seven hundred chosen men;

¹⁶ among all this people [are] seven hundred chosen men, bound of their right hand, each of these slinging with a stone at the hair, and he doth not err.

¹⁷ And the men of Israel numbered themselves, apart from Benjamin, four hundred thousand men, drawing sword, each of these a man of war.

¹⁸ And they rise and go up to Beth-El, and ask of God, and the sons of Israel say, `Who doth go up for us at the commencement to battle with the sons of Benjamin?' and Jehovah saith, `Judah -- at the commencement.'

¹⁹ And the sons of Israel rise in the morning, and encamp against Gibeah,

²⁰ and the men of Israel go out to battle with Benjamin, and the men of Israel set themselves in array with them, [for] battle against Gibeah,

²¹ and the sons of Benjamin come out from Gibeah, and destroy in Israel on that day two and twenty thousand men -- to the earth.

²² And the people, the men of Israel, strengthen themselves, and add to set the battle in array in the place where they arranged themselves on the first day.

²³ And the sons of Israel go up and weep before Jehovah till the evening, and ask of Jehovah, saying, `Do I add to draw nigh to battle with the sons of Benjamin, my brother?' And Jehovah saith, `Go up against him.'

²⁴ And the sons of Israel draw near unto the sons of Benjamin on the second day,

²⁵ and Benjamin cometh out to meet them from Gibeah on the second day, and destroy among the sons of Israel again eighteen thousand men -- to the earth; all these are drawing sword.

²⁶ And all the sons of Israel go up, even all the people, and come in to Beth-El, and weep, and sit there before Jehovah, and fast on that day till the evening, and cause to ascend burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.

²⁷ And the sons of Israel ask of Jehovah, -- and there [is] the ark of the covenant of God in those days,

²⁸ and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, is standing before it in those days -- saying, `Do I add again to go out to battle with the sons of Benjamin, my brother, or do I cease?' And Jehovah saith, `Go up, for to-morrow I give him into thy hand.'

²⁹ And Israel setteth liers in wait against Gibeah, round about,

³⁰ and the sons of Israel go up against the sons of Benjamin, on the third day, and arrange themselves against Gibeah, as time by time.

³¹ And the sons of Benjamin come out to meet the people; they have been drawn away out of the city, and begin to smite [some] of the people -- wounded as time by time, in the highways (of which one is going up to Beth-El, and the other to Gibeah in the field), [are] about thirty men of Israel.

³² And the sons of Benjamin say, `They are smitten before us as at the beginning;' but the sons of Israel said, `Let us flee, and draw them away out of the city, unto the highways.'

³³ And all the men of Israel have risen from their place, and arrange themselves at Baal-Tamar, and the ambush of Israel is coming forth out of its place, out of the meadow of Gibeah.

³⁴ And they come in over against Gibeah -- ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel -- and the battle [is] grievous, and they have not known that the evil is striking against them.

³⁵ And Jehovah smiteth Benjamin before Israel, and the sons of Israel destroy in Benjamin, on that day, twenty and five thousand, and a hundred men; all these [are] drawing sword.

³⁶ And the sons of Benjamin see that they have been smitten -- and the men of Israel give place to Benjamin, for they have trusted unto the ambush which they had set against Gibeah,

³⁷ and the ambush have hasted, and push against Gibeah, and the ambush draweth itself out, and smiteth the whole of the city by the mouth of the sword.

³⁸ And there was the appointed sign to the men of Israel with the ambush -- their causing to go up a great volume of smoke from the city.

³⁹ And the men of Israel turn in battle, and Benjamin hath begun to smite the wounded among the men of Israel, about thirty men, for they said, `Surely they are utterly smitten before us, as [at] the first battle;

⁴⁰ and the volume hath begun to go up from the city -- a pillar of smoke -- and Benjamin turneth behind, and lo, gone up hath the perfection of the city toward the heavens.

⁴¹ And the men of Israel have turned, and the men of Benjamin are troubled, for they have seen that the evil hath stricken against them --

⁴² and they turn before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness, and the battle hath followed them; and those who [are] from the city are destroying them in their midst;

⁴³ they have compassed the Benjamites -- they have pursued them -- with ease they have trodden them down till over-against Gibeah, at the sun-rising.

⁴⁴ And there fall of Benjamin eighteen thousand men -- the whole of these [are] men of valour;

⁴⁵ and they turn and flee toward the wilderness, unto the rock of Rimmon; and they glean of them in the highways five thousand men, and follow after them unto Gidom, and smite of them two thousand men.

⁴⁶ And all those falling of Benjamin are twenty and five thousand men drawing sword, on that day -- the whole of these [are] men of valour;

⁴⁷ and there turn and flee into the wilderness, unto the rock of Rimmon six hundred men, and they dwell in the rock Rimmon four months.

⁴⁸ And the men of Israel have turned back unto the sons of Benjamin, and smite them by the mouth of the sword out of the city, -- men unto cattle, unto all that is found; also all the cities which are found they have sent into fire.