The Decree of the Assembly

1And all the sons of Israel will go forth, and the assembly will be gathered together as one man, from Dan even to the Well of the Oath, and the land of Gilead to Jehovah to Mizpeh. 2And the chiefs of all the people of all the tribes of Israel will be drawn out in the gathering of the people of God, four hundred thousand men, footmen, drawing swords. 3And the sons of Benjamin will hear that the sons of Israel went up to Mizpeh. And the sons of Israel will say, Speak ye; how was this evil? 4And the man the Levite will answer, the husband of the woman slain, and he will say, To Gibeah which is to the sons of Benjamin I came, I and my concubine to lodge. 5And the lords of Gibeah will rise upon me and will encompass the house against me by night; they purposed to kill me: and my concubine they humbled, and she died. 6And I laid hold of my concubine and I cut her in pieces, and sent her into all the field of the inheritance of Israel: for they did wickedness and folly in Israel. 7Behold, all ye sons of Israel; give for yourselves the word and counsel here.

8And all the people will rise as one man, saying, We will not go a man to his tent, and we will not turn aside a man to his house: 9And now this the word which we will do to Gibeah against her by lot. 10And we will take ten men to the hundred to all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred to a thousand, and a thousand to ten thousand, to take provision for the people, to do for those going to Gibeah of Benjamin; according to all the folly which was done in Israel. 11And they will be gathered together every man of Israel against the city, associated as one man.

12And the tribes of Israel will send men into all the tribes of Benjamin, saying, What this evil which was among you? 13And now give the men, sons of Belial, which are in Gibeah, and we will put them to death, and take away evil from Israel. And Benjamin would not hear to the voice of their brethren the sons of Israel. 14And the sons of Benjamin will be gathered together from the cities to Gibeah to go out to war with the sons of Israel. 15And the sons of Benjamin will be reviewed in that day from the cities, twenty and six thousand men drawing the sword, besides from the inhabitants of Gibeah they were reviewed, seven hundred chosen men. 16From all this people, seven hundred chosen men shut up of the right hand, slinging at a hair, and they will not miss.

17And the men of Israel were reviewed, beside Benjamin, four hundred thousand men drawing sword: all these men of war.

Civil War against Benjamin

18And the sons of Israel will rise and will go up to the house of God and will ask in God, and will say, Who shall go up for us in the beginning to war with the sons of Benjamin? and Jehovah will say, Judah in the beginning.

19And the sons of Israel will rise in the morning and will encamp against Gibeah. 20And the men of Israel will go forth to war with Benjamin; and the men of Israel will prepare to war with them at Gibeah. 21And the sons of Benjamin will come forth from Gibeah, and they will destroy in that day in Israel twenty and two thousand men to the earth. 22And the people, the men of Israel, will strengthen themselves, and they will add to prepare war in the place which they set in array in the first day. 23And the sons of Israel will go up and will weep before Jehovah till the evening, and they will ask in Jehovah, saying, Shall I add to draw near to war with the sons of Benjamin my brother? And Jehovah will say, Go up against him.

24And the sons of Israel will come near to the sons of Benjamin in the second day. 25And Benjamin will go forth to their meeting from Gibeah in the second day, and they will destroy of the sons of Israel yet eighteen thousand men to the earth; all these drawing the sword. 26And all the sons of Israel and all the people will go up, and they will come to the house of God, and they will weep, and they will sit there before Jehovah, and they will fast in that day till the evening, and they will bring up burnt-offerings and peace before Jehovah. 27And the sons of Israel will ask in Jehovah, (and there the ark of the covenant of God in those days, 28And Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I add yet to go forth to war with the sons of Benjamin my brother, or shall I desist? And Jehovah will say, Go up; for to-morrow I will give him into thy hand.

29And Israel will put liers-in-wait against Gibeah round about. 30And the sons of Israel will go up to the sons of Benjamin in the third day, and they will set in array against Gibeah as once upon once. 31And the sons of Benjamin will come forth to the meeting of the people, they were separated from the city; and they will begin to strike of the people wounded as once upon once, in the highways, which one went up to the house of God, and one to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men in Israel. 32And the sons of Benjamin will say, They are smitten before us as at first. And the sons of Israel said, We will flee, and draw him away from the city to the highways. 33And all the men of Israel rose up from his place and set in array against Baal-Tamar: and the ambush of Israel rushing forth from its place from the naked place of Gibeah. 34And there will come forth from before against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men from all Israel, and the battle was heavy: and they knew not that evil touched upon them. 35And Jehovah will smite Benjamin before Israel: and the sons of Israel will destroy of Benjamin in that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men: all these drawing sword.

36And the sons of Benjamin will see that they were smitten: and the men of Israel will give place to Benjamin, for they trusted to the ambush which they put by Gibeah. 37And the ambush hasted, and they will spread out against Gibeah; and the ambush will draw out and will strike all the city with the mouth of the sword. 38And there was an appointment to the men of Israel with the ambush for them to raise up a great ascending of smoke from the city. 39And the men of Israel will turn about in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike the wounded among the men of Israel, about thirty men: for they said, Surely, smiting, he was smitten as the first battle. 40And the ascending began to go up from the city of the pillar of smoke, and Benjamin will turn behind, and behold, the whole city ascended up to the heavens. 41And the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin will hasten, for they saw that evil touched upon them. 42And they turned before the men of Israel to the way of the desert; and the battle overtook them; and those from the cities they destroyed in the midst of them. 43They surrounded Benjamin, pursuing him from Nohah, treading him down even to the front of Gibeah, from the rising of the sun. 44And there will fall of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these men of strength. 45And they will turn and flee to the desert, to the rock Rimmon: and they will glean in the highways five thousand men; and they will pursue after him even to Gidom, and will strike of him two thousand men. 46And all those falling of Benjamin will be twenty and five thousand men drawing sword in that day; all these men of strength. 47And there will turn and flee to the desert to the rock Rimmon, six hundred men, and they will dwell in the rock Rimmon four months. 48And the men of Israel turned back against the sons of Benjamin, and they will strike them with the mouth of the sword, from the city, the men even to cattle, all being found: also all the cities being found they set on fire.