Judges 20 NIV ISV Parallel

◄ Judges 20 ►

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1Then all Israel from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came together as one and assembled before the LORD in Mizpah.

1Then the entire Israeli nation—from Dan to Beer-sheba, including the territory of Gilead—came out for war. The army assembled as one united force to God at Mizpah.

2The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God's people, four hundred thousand men armed with swords.

2The officials of the entire nation, including every tribe of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God: 400,000 foot soldiers, all of them expert swordsmen.

3(The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, "Tell us how this awful thing happened."

3While the descendants of Benjamin were learning that the Israelis had gone up to Mizpah, the Israelis asked, "Somebody tell us how this evil could happen?"

4So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, "I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night.

4So the descendant of Levi, the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up and replied, "I came to spend the night at Gibeah, which is part of Benjamin, along with my mistress.

5During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died.

5But the officials of Gibeah attacked me and surrounded the house because of me. They intended to kill me, but instead they tortured my mistress to death.

6I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel's inheritance, because they committed this lewd and outrageous act in Israel.

6So I grabbed my mistress, cut her in pieces, and sent her remains throughout the territory of Israel's inheritance, because they've committed a vile, stupid outrage in Israel.

7Now, all you Israelites, speak up and tell me what you have decided to do."

7So look, all you Israelis! Speak up and give us your advice!"

8All the men rose up together as one, saying, "None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house.

8Then the entire army stood up as a single unit and declared, "Nobody's going back to his tent, and nobody's going home!

9But now this is what we'll do to Gibeah: We'll go up against it in the order decided by casting lots.

9This is what we'll do to Gibeah: we're going to assemble an army by lottery.

10We'll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeah in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for this outrageous act done in Israel."

10We'll take ten men out of 100 from all of the tribes of Israel. We'll appoint 100 out of 1,000 and 1,000 out of 10,000 to supply provisions for the army. And when we reach Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin, we'll punish them for all of the stupid things that they've done in Israel."

11So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city.

11That's how the army of Israel came to be gathered together to attack the city, united as a single unit.

12The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What about this awful crime that was committed among you?

12The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the entire tribe of Benjamin to ask them, "What is this evil thing that has occurred among you?

13Now turn those wicked men of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel." But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites.

13Now then, hand over the men—those ungodly men, and we'll execute them in order to remove this evil from Israel." But the descendants of Benjamin wouldn't obey the request of their own relatives, the Israelis,

14From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites.

14so the descendants of Benjamin assembled from the cities of Gibeah to fight the Israelis in battle.

15At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred able young men from those living in Gibeah.

15The day of the battle, the army from the descendants of Benjamin numbered 26,000 expert swordsmen from their cities, not including the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered 700 special forces soldiers.

16Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

16Out of all these soldiers, 700 of them were left-handed—and each one could sling a stone at a hair and never miss.

17Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle.

17But the Israeli army—not counting the tribe of Benjamin—numbered 400,000 expert swordsmen, all of them battle-hardened soldiers.

18The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, "Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Benjamites?" The LORD replied, "Judah shall go first."

18The Israelis mounted up, traveled to Bethel, and asked God what to do. They said, "Who is to lead us in our opening attack against the descendants of Benjamin?" The LORD replied, "Judah is to open the attack."

19The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah.

19So the Israelis got up in the morning, encamped near Gibeah,

20The Israelites went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah.

20and the army of Israel went out to fight the tribe of Benjamin, assembling in battle array against them at Gibeah.

21The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day.

21The descendants of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and 22,000 soldiers of Israel fell in battle that day.

22But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day.

22But the army—the men of Israel—encouraged themselves and arrayed for battle again the next day in the same place where they had gathered the day before.

23The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the LORD. They said, "Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites?" The LORD answered, "Go up against them."

23From there the Israelis went up and wept in the LORD's presence until evening. Then they asked the LORD, "Should we attack the descendants of Benjamin again?" The LORD replied, "Attack them."

24Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day.

24So the Israelis attacked the descendants of Benjamin for a second day,

25This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords.

25and the tribe of Benjamin went to war against them from Gibeah during that second day, and 18,000 soldiers from the Israelis—all of them expert swordsmen—fell to the ground.

26Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD.

26All the Israelis, including its army, went up from there to Bethel and wept, remaining there in the LORD's presence, fasting throughout the day until dusk, when they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings in the LORD's presence.

27And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,

27The Israelis inquired of the LORD, since the Ark of the Covenant was there at that time

28with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, "Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites, or not?" The LORD responded, "Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands."

28while Eleazar's son Phinehas, a descendant of Aaron, served before it in those days. They asked, "Should we go out to war again against the descendants of our relative Benjamin, or shall we cease?" And the LORD answered, "Go out, and tomorrow I will deliver them into your control."

29Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah.

29So Israel set soldiers in ambush around Gibeah.

30They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before.

30The Israelis went out against the descendants of Benjamin on the third day, arraying themselves against Gibeah as they had done previously.

31The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn away from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads--the one leading to Bethel and the other to Gibeah.

31They attacked the army and were drawn away from the city as they began to inflict casualties on the soldiers along the roads to Bethel and Gibeah, just as they had done the other times. About 30 soldiers from Israel fell in battle there and in the fields.

32While the Benjamites were saying, "We are defeating them as before," the Israelites were saying, "Let's retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads."

32Then the descendants of Benjamin told themselves, "They're falling right in front of us, just like before!" But the army of Israel told themselves, "Let's draw them away by escaping to the highways from the city."

33All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place on the west of Gibeah.

33So the entire army of Israel moved from their location and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamer while that part of their army moved from their ambush positions from Maareh-geba.

34Then ten thousand of Israel's able young men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize how near disaster was.

34As 10,000 of Israel's best soldiers came to fight Gibeah, the battle became fierce, but the army of Benjamin didn't know that disaster was close at hand.

35The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.

35The LORD struck Benjamin in the full view of Israel. As a result, the Israelis destroyed 25,100 soldiers of Benjamin that day, all expert swordsmen.

36Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten. Now the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah.

36Then the descendants of Benjamin realized that they had been defeated. The army of Israel pretended to retreat from the army of Benjamin, knowing that they had set some soldiers in ambush near Gibeah.

37Those who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword.

37The soldiers in ambush rushed out to attack Gibeah, deploying in force and executing the entire city with swords.

38The Israelites had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city,

38Meanwhile, the army of Israel had arranged to signal their soldiers who had been hiding in ambush by sending up a cloud of smoke from the city.

39and then the Israelites would counterattack. The Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the Israelites (about thirty), and they said, "We are defeating them as in the first battle."

39The army of Israel turned around in the battle, and the army of Benjamin began to attack and kill about 30 soldiers, thinking, "Now we're really defeating them, just like before."

40But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the whole city going up in smoke.

40But then the smoke began to rise from the city in a column. The army of Benjamin observed behind them that the whole city was going up in flames straight into the sky!

41Then the Israelites counterattacked, and the Benjamites were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come on them.

41At that point, as the army of Israel turned back to face the army of Benjamin, the army of Benjamin was filled with terror, because they realized that disaster was about to overtake them.

42So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the wilderness, but they could not escape the battle. And the Israelites who came out of the towns cut them down there.

42So they turned tail and ran away from the army of Israel toward the wilderness, but they were overtaken in battle when soldiers came out from the cities to destroy them.

43They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east.

43They surrounded the army of Benjamin, pursuing them ceaselessly until they defeated them near the east-facing border of Gibeah.

44Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters.

44That's how 18,000 men from the tribe of Benjamin fell in battle, all of whom were valiant soldiers.

45As they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, the Israelites cut down five thousand men along the roads. They kept pressing after the Benjamites as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more.

45The rest of them turned and ran into the wilderness in the direction of the rock of Rimmon, but 5,000 of them were killed on the highways while 2,000 of them were overtaken and killed near Gidom.

46On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters.

46To sum up, the soldiers from the tribe of Benjamin who died that day totaled 25,000 men, all of them expert swordsmen and valiant soldiers.

47But six hundred of them turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months.

47However, 600 soldiers ran into the wilderness in the direction of the rock of Rimmon, where they remained as fugitives for four months.

48The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire.

48Meanwhile, the army of Israel went back to fight the surviving descendants of Benjamin. They attacked the entire city with swords, including its cattle and everyone they could find. Then they set fire to all of the cities that they could find.

New International Version (NIV)

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