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Judges 20:1-48 — Israel's War Against Benjamin

Judg.20.1-48

¹Then all the sons of Israel went out, and the congregation assembled as one man, from Dan to Beersheba, along with the land of Gilead, to the LORD at Mizpah. ²The leaders of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 men on foot who drew the sword. ³The sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. And the sons of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this evil happen?” ⁴The Levite man, the husband of the murdered woman, answered and said, "I and my concubine came to Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, to spend the night. ⁵The men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house against me at night. They intended to kill me, and they abused my concubine, and she died. ⁶I took hold of my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel, because they committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. ⁷Behold, all you sons of Israel, give your word and counsel here." ⁸All the people arose as one man, saying, "Not a man of us will go to his tent, and not a man will turn aside to his house. ⁹But now this is the thing that we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot. ¹⁰We will take ten men out of a hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to take provisions for the people, so that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, they may repay them according to all the disgrace that they have committed in Israel." ¹¹So every man of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man. ¹²The tribes of Israel sent men throughout all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What is this evil that has happened among you? ¹³Now therefore, hand over the men, the worthless men who are in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel." But the sons of Benjamin were not willing to listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel. ¹⁴The sons of Benjamin gathered together from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel. ¹⁵The sons of Benjamin were numbered on that day from the cities, 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered 700 chosen men. ¹⁶From all this people there were 700 chosen men who were left-handed ; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. ¹⁷The men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, were numbered 400,000 men who drew the sword; every one of these was a man of war. ¹⁸The sons of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God. They said, “Who shall go up for us first to battle against the sons of Benjamin?” And the LORD said, “Judah shall go up first.” ¹⁹The sons of Israel rose up in the morning and camped against Gibeah. ²⁰The men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel arranged themselves for battle against them at Gibeah. ²¹The sons of Benjamin came out from Gibeah and struck down to the ground 22,000 men of Israel on that day. ²²But the people, the men of Israel, took courage and again arranged themselves for battle in the place where they had arranged themselves on the first day. ²³The sons of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall we again draw near for battle against the sons of Benjamin, my brother?” And the LORD said, “Go up against him.” ²⁴The sons of Israel approached the sons of Benjamin on the second day. ²⁵Benjamin came out to meet them from Gibeah on the second day, and they struck down to the ground another 18,000 men of the sons of Israel; all these were men who drew the sword. ²⁶Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel, and they wept and sat there before the LORD. They fasted on that day until evening, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. ²⁷The sons of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, ²⁸and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I again go out to battle against the sons of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease?” And the LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give him into your hand.” ²⁹Israel set men in ambush all around Gibeah. ³⁰The sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day, and arranged themselves against Gibeah as at other times. ³¹The sons of Benjamin went out to meet the people, and were drawn away from the city. They began to strike down some of the people, killing them as at other times, on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, in the open field, about thirty men of Israel. ³²The sons of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, as at the first.” But the sons of Israel said, “Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.” ³³All the men of Israel rose up from their place and arranged themselves at Baal-tamar, and the ambush of Israel burst forth from its place, from Maareh-geba. ³⁴Ten thousand chosen men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce; but they did not know that disaster was touching them. ³⁵The LORD struck Benjamin before Israel, and the sons of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin on that day; all these were men who drew the sword. ³⁶The sons of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin, because they trusted the ambush that they had set against Gibeah. ³⁷The men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush advanced and struck the whole city with the edge of the sword. ³⁸Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city. ³⁹The men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike down and kill about thirty men of Israel, for they said, “Surely they are completely defeated before us, as in the first battle.” ⁴⁰But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a pillar of smoke, Benjamin looked behind them, and behold, the whole city was going up in smoke to the sky. ⁴¹The men of Israel turned back, and the men of Benjamin were terrified, for they saw that disaster had come upon them. ⁴²Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel toward the way of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in their midst. ⁴³They surrounded Benjamin, pursued them, and trampled them down without resting, as far as opposite Gibeah toward the east. ⁴⁴Eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all these were men of valor. ⁴⁵They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they gleaned five thousand men of them on the highways. They pursued them closely as far as Gidom, and struck down two thousand men of them. ⁴⁶All who fell of Benjamin on that day were 25,000 men who drew the sword; all these were men of valor. ⁴⁷But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they stayed at the rock of Rimmon for four months. ⁴⁸The men of Israel turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, the entire city , the livestock, and all that was found. Moreover, they set on fire all the cities that they found.

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4/11/2026

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