All Israel Gathers as One
20 1 All the Israelites came out, the assembly gathering as one man, from Dan to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, before our Father at Mizpah. 2 The leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, took their place in the assembly of our Father's people — four hundred thousand swordsmen on foot. 3 The Benjaminites heard the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. The Israelites said, "Tell us, how did this evil happen?"
4 The Levite, husband of the murdered woman, answered, "I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5 The men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house at night, meaning to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died. 6 Then I took my concubine, cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout Israel's inheritance, because they committed a shameful outrage in Israel. 7 Look, all of you Israelites — give your decision and counsel here and now."
8 All the people rose as one, saying, "None of us will go to his tent or turn back to his house. 9 Now this is what we'll do to Gibeah: we'll attack it by lot. 10 From every tribe of Israel we'll take ten men of a hundred, a hundred of a thousand, a thousand of ten thousand, to get provisions for the troops going to Gibeah of Benjamin, to repay all the outrage it did in Israel." 11 So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one. 12 Israel's tribes sent men throughout Benjamin's tribe, asking, "What evil is this that happened among you? 13 Now hand over the worthless men in Gibeah, so we may put them to death and remove the evil from Israel." But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the Israelites.
14 Instead the Benjamites gathered from their towns to Gibeah, to go fight the Israelites. 15 That day Benjamin mustered 26,000 swordsmen from their towns, plus 700 chosen men from Gibeah's residents. 16 Among all these troops were seven hundred chosen left-handed men, each able to sling a stone at a hair and not miss. 17 The men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, every one a warrior.
18 The Israelites set out and went up to Bethel and inquired of our Father, "Who of us shall go up first to fight against the Benjaminites?" And our Father said, "Judah shall go up first."
19 So the Israelites rose in the morning and camped near Gibeah. 20 Israel's men went out to battle Benjamin and formed their lines against them at Gibeah. 21 The Benjaminites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the field that day. 22 But Israel's army took courage and again formed their battle line where they had stationed themselves the first day.
23 The Israelites went up, wept before our Father until evening, and asked, "Shall we fight our brothers the Benjaminites again?" And our Father said, "Go up against them."
24 So the Israelites advanced against the Benjaminites on the second day. 25 Benjamin came out from Gibeah against them the second day and cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all armed with swords.
26 Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel and sat there weeping before our Father. They fasted till evening that day and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before him. 27 The Israelites asked our Father. (In those days the ark of the covenant of our Father was there,
28 and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, served before it.) They asked, "Shall we go out again to fight our brothers the Benjamites, or stop?" Our Father replied, "Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand."
29 Then Israel set men in ambush all around Gibeah. 30 On the third day the Israelites marched against the Benjaminites and took positions against Gibeah as before. 31 The Benjaminites came out to meet them and were drawn from the city. As before, they began striking down the people, killing about thirty men of Israel in the open country and on the roads, one going up to Bethel, the other to Gibeah.
32 The Benjaminites said, "We're routing them like before." But Israel had said, "Let's flee and draw them from the city to the roads."
33 All Israel's men rose from their places and formed up at Baal-tamar, while Israel's ambush burst from its place west of Geba. 34 Ten thousand of Israel's finest advanced against Gibeah, and the fighting was fierce; but the Benjaminites did not realize disaster was closing in on them. 35 Our Father defeated Benjamin before Israel; that day Israel struck down twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin, all armed with swords. 36 The Benjaminites saw they were beaten. Israel's men gave ground to Benjamin, trusting the ambush they had set against Gibeah. 37 The ambush rushed suddenly against Gibeah; they spread out and struck the whole city with the sword. 38 Israel's men had set a signal with the ambush: a great cloud of smoke rising from the city, 39 The men of Israel would turn in the battle. Benjamin had begun striking them down, killing about thirty, and thought, "Surely they're beaten before us as in the first battle." 40 When the smoke column began rising from the city, the Benjaminites looked back — and the whole city was going up in smoke toward the sky. 41 The men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin panicked, seeing that disaster had reached them. 42 So they turned before Israel's men toward the wilderness, but the battle caught up with them, and those from the towns cut them down in the middle of the fighting. 43 They surrounded the Benjaminites, chased them, and overtook them at their resting place east of Gibeah. 44 Eighteen thousand Benjaminites fell, all of them valiant men. 45 The rest fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, but Israel cut down five thousand on the roads and pursued them to Gidom, striking down two thousand more. 46 So all the Benjaminites who fell that day were twenty-five thousand swordsmen, all of them valiant men. 47 But six hundred men fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, staying there four months. 48 The men of Israel turned back on the Benjaminites and struck them with the sword — the whole town, the people, the animals, everything they found. They also burned every town in their path.
