| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah. | 1Then all the Israelites were united as one man, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, including those from across the Jordan in the land of Gilead. The entire community assembled in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah. |
| 2The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: 400,000 men on foot, armed with swords. | 2The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel—400,000 warriors armed with swords—took their positions in the assembly of the people of God. |
| 3(Meanwhile the Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) And the Israelites asked, “Tell us, how did this wicked thing happen?” | 3(Word soon reached the land of Benjamin that the other tribes had gone up to Mizpah.) The Israelites then asked how this terrible crime had happened. |
| 4So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered: “I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. | 4The Levite, the husband of the woman who had been murdered, said, “My concubine and I came to spend the night in Gibeah, a town that belongs to the people of Benjamin. |
| 5And during the night, the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house. They intended to kill me, but they abused my concubine, and she died. | 5That night some of the leading citizens of Gibeah surrounded the house, planning to kill me, and they raped my concubine until she was dead. |
| 6Then I took my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance, because they had committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. | 6So I cut her body into twelve pieces and sent the pieces throughout the territory assigned to Israel, for these men have committed a terrible and shameful crime. |
| 7Behold, all you Israelites, give your advice and verdict here and now.” | 7Now then, all of you—the entire community of Israel—must decide here and now what should be done about this!” |
| 8Then all the people stood as one man and said, “Not one of us will return to his tent or to his house. | 8And all the people rose to their feet in unison and declared, “None of us will return home! No, not even one of us! |
| 9Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will go against it as the lot dictates. | 9Instead, this is what we will do to Gibeah; we will draw lots to decide who will attack it. |
| 10We will take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, to supply provisions for the army when they go to Gibeah in Benjamin to punish them for the atrocity they have committed in Israel.” | 10One-tenth of the men from each tribe will be chosen to supply the warriors with food, and the rest of us will take revenge on Gibeah of Benjamin for this shameful thing they have done in Israel.” |
| 11So all the men of Israel gathered as one man, united against the city. | 11So all the Israelites were completely united, and they gathered together to attack the town. |
| 12And the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you? | 12The Israelites sent messengers to the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What a terrible thing has been done among you! |
| 13Hand over the wicked men of Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge Israel of this evil.” But the Benjamites refused to heed the voice of their fellow Israelites. | 13Give up those evil men, those troublemakers from Gibeah, so we can execute them and purge Israel of this evil.” But the people of Benjamin would not listen. |
| 14And from their cities they came together at Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites. | 14Instead, they came from their towns and gathered at Gibeah to fight the Israelites. |
| 15On that day the Benjamites mobilized 26,000 swordsmen from their cities, in addition to the 700 select men of Gibeah. | 15In all, 26,000 of their warriors armed with swords arrived in Gibeah to join the 700 elite troops who lived there. |
| 16Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing. | 16Among Benjamin’s elite troops, 700 were left-handed, and each of them could sling a rock and hit a target within a hairsbreadth without missing. |
| 17The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mobilized 400,000 swordsmen, each one an experienced warrior. | 17Israel had 400,000 experienced soldiers armed with swords, not counting Benjamin’s warriors. |
| 18The Israelites set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, “Who of us shall go up first to fight against the Benjamites?” “Judah will be first,” the LORD replied. | 18Before the battle the Israelites went to Bethel and asked God, “Which tribe should go first to attack the people of Benjamin?” The LORD answered, “Judah is to go first.” |
| 19The next morning the Israelites set out and camped near Gibeah. | 19So the Israelites left early the next morning and camped near Gibeah. |
| 20And the men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin and took up their battle positions at Gibeah. | 20Then they advanced toward Gibeah to attack the men of Benjamin. |
| 21And the Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield that day. | 21But Benjamin’s warriors, who were defending the town, came out and killed 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield that day. |
| 22But the Israelite army took courage and again took their battle positions in the same place where they had arrayed themselves on the first day. | 22But the Israelites encouraged each other and took their positions again at the same place they had fought the previous day. |
| 23They went up and wept before the LORD until evening, inquiring of Him, “Should we again draw near for battle against our brothers the Benjamites?” And the LORD answered, “Go up against them.” | 23For they had gone up to Bethel and wept in the presence of the LORD until evening. They had asked the LORD, “Should we fight against our relatives from Benjamin again?” And the LORD had said, “Go out and fight against them.” |
| 24On the second day the Israelites advanced against the Benjamites. | 24So the next day they went out again to fight against the men of Benjamin, |
| 25That same day the Benjamites came out against them from Gibeah and cut down another 18,000 Israelites, all of them armed with swords. | 25but the men of Benjamin killed another 18,000 Israelites, all of whom were experienced with the sword. |
| 26Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD. | 26Then all the Israelites went up to Bethel and wept in the presence of the LORD and fasted until evening. They also brought burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD. |
| 27And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, | 27The Israelites went up seeking direction from the LORD. (In those days the Ark of the Covenant of God was in Bethel, |
| 28and Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, served before it.) The Israelites asked, “Should we again go out to battle against our brothers the Benjamites, or should we stop?” The LORD answered, “Fight, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.” | 28and Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron was the priest.) The Israelites asked the LORD, “Should we fight against our relatives from Benjamin again, or should we stop?” The LORD said, “Go! Tomorrow I will hand them over to you.” |
| 29So Israel set up an ambush around Gibeah. | 29So the Israelites set an ambush all around Gibeah. |
| 30On the third day the Israelites went up against the Benjamites and arrayed themselves against Gibeah as they had done before. | 30They went out on the third day and took their positions at the same place as before. |
| 31The Benjamites came out against them and were drawn away from the city. They began to attack the people as before, killing about thirty men of Israel in the fields and on the roads, one of which led up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah. | 31When the men of Benjamin came out to attack, they were drawn away from the town. And as they had done before, they began to kill the Israelites. About thirty Israelites died in the open fields and along the roads, one leading to Bethel and the other leading back to Gibeah. |
| 32“We are defeating them as before,” said the Benjamites. But the Israelites said, “Let us retreat and draw them away from the city onto the roads.” | 32Then the warriors of Benjamin shouted, “We’re defeating them as we did before!” But the Israelites had planned in advance to run away so that the men of Benjamin would chase them along the roads and be drawn away from the town. |
| 33So all the men of Israel got up from their places and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar, and the Israelites in ambush charged from their positions west of Gibeah. | 33When the main group of Israelite warriors reached Baal-tamar, they turned and took up their positions. Meanwhile, the Israelites hiding in ambush to the west of Gibeah jumped up to fight. |
| 34Then 10,000 select men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not realize that disaster was upon them. | 34There were 10,000 elite Israelite troops who advanced against Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that Benjamin didn’t realize the impending disaster. |
| 35The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. | 35So the LORD helped Israel defeat Benjamin, and that day the Israelites killed 25,100 of Benjamin’s warriors, all of whom were experienced swordsmen. |
| 36Then the Benjamites realized they had been defeated. Now the men of Israel had retreated before Benjamin because they were relying on the ambush they had set against Gibeah. | 36Then the men of Benjamin saw that they were beaten. The Israelites had retreated from Benjamin’s warriors in order to give those hiding in ambush more room to maneuver against Gibeah. |
| 37The men in ambush rushed suddenly against Gibeah; they advanced and put the whole city to the sword. | 37Then those who were hiding rushed in from all sides and killed everyone in the town. |
| 38The men of Israel had arranged a signal with the men in ambush: When they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city, | 38They had arranged to send up a large cloud of smoke from the town as a signal. |
| 39the men of Israel would turn in the battle. When the Benjamites had begun to strike them down, killing about thirty men of Israel, they said, “They are defeated before us as in the first battle.” | 39When the Israelites saw the smoke, they turned and attacked Benjamin’s warriors. By that time Benjamin’s warriors had killed about thirty Israelites, and they shouted, “We’re defeating them as we did in the first battle!” |
| 40But when the column of smoke began to go up from the city, the Benjamites looked behind them and saw the whole city going up in smoke. | 40But when the warriors of Benjamin looked behind them and saw the smoke rising into the sky from every part of the town, |
| 41Then the men of Israel turned back on them, and the men of Benjamin were terrified when they realized that disaster had come upon them. | 41the men of Israel turned and attacked. At this point the men of Benjamin became terrified, because they realized disaster was close at hand. |
| 42So they fled before the men of Israel toward the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and the men coming out of the cities struck them down there. | 42So they turned around and fled before the Israelites toward the wilderness. But they couldn’t escape the battle, and the people who came out of the nearby towns were also killed. |
| 43They surrounded the Benjamites, pursued them, and easily overtook them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. | 43The Israelites surrounded the men of Benjamin and chased them relentlessly, finally overtaking them east of Gibeah. |
| 44And 18,000 Benjamites fell, all men of valor. | 44That day 18,000 of Benjamin’s strongest warriors died in battle. |
| 45Then the Benjamites turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel cut down 5,000 men on the roads. And they overtook them at Gidom and struck down 2,000 more. | 45The survivors fled into the wilderness toward the rock of Rimmon, but Israel killed 5,000 of them along the road. They continued the chase until they had killed another 2,000 near Gidom. |
| 46That day 25,000 Benjamite swordsmen fell, all men of valor. | 46So that day the tribe of Benjamin lost 25,000 strong warriors armed with swords, |
| 47But 600 men turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. | 47leaving only 600 men who escaped to the rock of Rimmon, where they lived for four months. |
| 48And the men of Israel turned back against the other Benjamites and put to the sword all the cities, including the animals and everything else they found. And they burned down all the cities in their path. | 48And the Israelites returned and slaughtered every living thing in all the towns—the people, the livestock, and everything they found. They also burned down all the towns they came to. |
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