Judges 20 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Israel’s War with Benjamin

Jdg 20:1Then 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.

Jdg 20:2

Jdg 20:2The 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.

Jdg 20:3

Jdg 20:3(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.

Jdg 20:4

Jdg 20:4The 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.

Jdg 20:5

Jdg 20:5That night some of the leading citizens of Gibeah surrounded the house, planning to kill me, and they raped my concubine until she was dead.

Jdg 20:6

Jdg 20:6So 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.

Jdg 20:7

Jdg 20:7Now then, all of you—the entire community of Israel—must decide here and now what should be done about this!”

Jdg 20:8

Jdg 20:8And all the people rose to their feet in unison and declared, “None of us will return home! No, not even one of us!

Jdg 20:9

Jdg 20:9Instead, this is what we will do to Gibeah; we will draw lots to decide who will attack it.

Jdg 20:10

Jdg 20:10One-tenth of the men[fn] from each tribe will be chosen to supply the warriors with food, and the rest of us will take revenge on Gibeah[fn] of Benjamin for this shameful thing they have done in Israel.”

Jdg 20:11

Jdg 20:11So all the Israelites were completely united, and they gathered together to attack the town.

Jdg 20:12

Jdg 20:12The Israelites sent messengers to the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What a terrible thing has been done among you!

Jdg 20:13

Jdg 20:13Give 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.

Jdg 20:14

Jdg 20:14Instead, they came from their towns and gathered at Gibeah to fight the Israelites.

Jdg 20:15

Jdg 20:15In all, 26,000 of their warriors armed with swords arrived in Gibeah to join the 700 elite troops who lived there.

Jdg 20:16

Jdg 20:16Among 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.

Jdg 20:17

Jdg 20:17Israel had 400,000 experienced soldiers armed with swords, not counting Benjamin’s warriors.

Jdg 20:18

Jdg 20:18Before 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.”

Jdg 20:19

Jdg 20:19So the Israelites left early the next morning and camped near Gibeah.

Jdg 20:20

Jdg 20:20Then they advanced toward Gibeah to attack the men of Benjamin.

Jdg 20:21

Jdg 20:21But Benjamin’s warriors, who were defending the town, came out and killed 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield that day.

Jdg 20:22

Jdg 20:22But the Israelites encouraged each other and took their positions again at the same place they had fought the previous day.

Jdg 20:23

Jdg 20:23For 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.”

Jdg 20:24

Jdg 20:24So the next day they went out again to fight against the men of Benjamin,

Jdg 20:25

Jdg 20:25but the men of Benjamin killed another 18,000 Israelites, all of whom were experienced with the sword.

Jdg 20:26

Jdg 20:26Then 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.

Jdg 20:27

Jdg 20:27The Israelites went up seeking direction from the LORD. (In those days the Ark of the Covenant of God was in Bethel,

Jdg 20:28

Jdg 20:28and 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.”

Jdg 20:29

Jdg 20:29So the Israelites set an ambush all around Gibeah.

Jdg 20:30

Jdg 20:30They went out on the third day and took their positions at the same place as before.

Jdg 20:31

Jdg 20:31When 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.

Jdg 20:32

Jdg 20:32Then 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.

Jdg 20:33

Jdg 20:33When 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[fn] of Gibeah jumped up to fight.

Jdg 20:34

Jdg 20:34There were 10,000 elite Israelite troops who advanced against Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that Benjamin didn’t realize the impending disaster.

Jdg 20:35

Jdg 20:35So the LORD helped Israel defeat Benjamin, and that day the Israelites killed 25,100 of Benjamin’s warriors, all of whom were experienced swordsmen.

Jdg 20:36

Jdg 20:36Then 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.

Jdg 20:37

Jdg 20:37Then those who were hiding rushed in from all sides and killed everyone in the town.

Jdg 20:38

Jdg 20:38They had arranged to send up a large cloud of smoke from the town as a signal.

Jdg 20:39

Jdg 20:39When 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!”

Jdg 20:40

Jdg 20:40But when the warriors of Benjamin looked behind them and saw the smoke rising into the sky from every part of the town,

Jdg 20:41

Jdg 20:41the men of Israel turned and attacked. At this point the men of Benjamin became terrified, because they realized disaster was close at hand.

Jdg 20:42

Jdg 20:42So 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.[fn]

Jdg 20:43

Jdg 20:43The Israelites surrounded the men of Benjamin and chased them relentlessly, finally overtaking them east of Gibeah.[fn]

Jdg 20:44

Jdg 20:44That day 18,000 of Benjamin’s strongest warriors died in battle.

Jdg 20:45

Jdg 20:45The 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.

Jdg 20:46

Jdg 20:46So that day the tribe of Benjamin lost 25,000 strong warriors armed with swords,

Jdg 20:47

Jdg 20:47leaving only 600 men who escaped to the rock of Rimmon, where they lived for four months.

Jdg 20:48

Jdg 20:48And 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.