English Bible Presentation Sharing - Judges Book, chapter 20, verse 9 in Hcsb Version

Judges 20 : 1 (HCSB)

All the Israelites from Dan to Beer-sheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the community assembled as one body before the LORD at Mizpah.

Judges 20 : 2 (HCSB)

The leaders of all the people and of all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God's people: 400,000 armed foot-soldiers.

Judges 20 : 3 (HCSB)

The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. The Israelites asked, "Tell us, how did this outrage occur?"

Judges 20 : 4 (HCSB)

The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered: "I went to Gibeah in Benjamin with my concubine to spend the night.

Judges 20 : 5 (HCSB)

Citizens of Gibeah ganged up on me and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me, but they raped my concubine, and she died.

Judges 20 : 6 (HCSB)

Then I took my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout Israel's territory, because they committed a horrible shame in Israel.

Judges 20 : 7 (HCSB)

Look, all of you are Israelites. Give your judgment and verdict here *and now ."

Judges 20 : 8 (HCSB)

Then all the people stood united and said, "None of us will go to his tent or return to his house.

Judges 20 : 9 (HCSB)

Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go against it by lot.

Judges 20 : 10 (HCSB)

We will take 10 men out of every 100 from all the tribes of Israel, and 100 out of every 1,000, and 1,000 out of every 10,000 to get provisions for the people when they go to Gibeah in Benjamin to punish them for all the horror they did in Israel."

Judges 20 : 11 (HCSB)

So all the men of Israel gathered united against the city.

Judges 20 : 12 (HCSB)

Then the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What is this outrage that has occurred among you?

Judges 20 : 13 (HCSB)

Hand over the perverted men in Gibeah so we can put them to death and eradicate evil from Israel." But the Benjaminites would not obey their fellow Israelites.

Judges 20 : 14 (HCSB)

Instead, the Benjaminites gathered together from their cities to Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites.

Judges 20 : 15 (HCSB)

On that day the Benjaminites rallied 26,000 armed men from their cities, besides 700 choice men rallied by the inhabitants of Gibeah.

Judges 20 : 16 (HCSB)

There were 700 choice men who were left-handed among all these people; all could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

Judges 20 : 17 (HCSB)

The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, rallied 400,000 armed men, every one an experienced warrior.

Judges 20 : 18 (HCSB)

They set out, went to Bethel, and inquired of God. The Israelites asked, "Who is to go first to fight for us against the Benjaminites?" And the LORD answered, "Judah will be first."

Judges 20 : 19 (HCSB)

In the morning, the Israelites set out and camped near Gibeah.

Judges 20 : 20 (HCSB)

The men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin and took their battle positions against Gibeah.

Judges 20 : 21 (HCSB)

The Benjaminites came out of Gibeah and slaughtered 22,000 men of Israel on the field that day.

Judges 20 : 22 (HCSB)

But the Israelite army rallied and again took their battle positions in the same place where they positioned themselves on the first day.

Judges 20 : 23 (HCSB)

They went up, wept before the LORD until evening, and inquired of Him: "Should we again fight against our brothers the Benjaminites?" And the LORD answered: "Fight against them."

Judges 20 : 24 (HCSB)

On the second day the Israelites advanced against the Benjaminites.

Judges 20 : 25 (HCSB)

That same day the Benjaminites came out from Gibeah to meet them and slaughtered an additional 18,000 Israelites on the field; all were armed men.

Judges 20 : 26 (HCSB)

The whole Israelite army went to Bethel where they wept and sat before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD.

Judges 20 : 27 (HCSB)

Then the Israelites inquired of the LORD. In those days, the ark of the covenant of God was there,

Judges 20 : 28 (HCSB)

and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving before it. The Israelites asked: "Should we again fight against our brothers the Benjaminites or should we stop?" The LORD answered: "Fight, because I will hand them over to you tomorrow."

Judges 20 : 29 (HCSB)

So Israel set up an ambush around Gibeah.

Judges 20 : 30 (HCSB)

On the third day the Israelites fought against the Benjaminites and took their battle positions against Gibeah as before.

Judges 20 : 31 (HCSB)

Then the Benjaminites came out against the people and were drawn away from the city. They began to attack the people as before, killing about 30 men of Israel on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah through the open country.

Judges 20 : 32 (HCSB)

The Benjaminites said, "We are defeating them as before." But the Israelites said, "Let's flee and draw them away from the city to the highways."

Judges 20 : 33 (HCSB)

So all the men of Israel got up from their places and took their battle positions at Baal-tamar, while the Israelites in ambush charged out of their places west of Geba.

Judges 20 : 34 (HCSB)

Then 10,000 choice men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce, but the Benjaminites did not know that disaster was about to strike them.

Judges 20 : 35 (HCSB)

The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 men of Benjamin; all were armed men.

Judges 20 : 36 (HCSB)

Then the Benjaminites realized they had been defeated. The men of Israel had retreated before Benjamin, because they were confident in the ambush they had set against Gibeah.

Judges 20 : 37 (HCSB)

The men in ambush had rushed quickly against Gibeah; they advanced and put the whole city to the sword.

Judges 20 : 38 (HCSB)

The men of Israel had a prearranged signal with the men in ambush: when they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city,

Judges 20 : 39 (HCSB)

the men of Israel would return to the battle. When Benjamin had begun to strike them down, killing about 30 men of Israel, they said, "They're defeated before us, just as they were in the first battle."

Judges 20 : 40 (HCSB)

But when the column of smoke began to go up from the city, Benjamin looked behind them, and the whole city was going up in smoke.

Judges 20 : 41 (HCSB)

Then the men of Israel returned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified when they realized that disaster had struck them.

Judges 20 : 42 (HCSB)

They retreated before the men of Israel toward the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities slaughtered those between them.

Judges 20 : 43 (HCSB)

They surrounded the Benjaminites, pursued them, and easily overtook them near Gibeah toward the east.

Judges 20 : 44 (HCSB)

There were 18,000 men who died from Benjamin; all were warriors.

Judges 20 : 45 (HCSB)

Then Benjamin turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel killed 5,000 men on the highways. They overtook them at Gidom and struck 2,000 more dead.

Judges 20 : 46 (HCSB)

All the Benjaminites who died that day were 25,000 armed men; all were warriors.

Judges 20 : 47 (HCSB)

But 600 men escaped into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon and stayed there four months.

Judges 20 : 48 (HCSB)

The men of Israel turned back against the *other Benjaminites and killed them with their swords-- the entire city, the animals, and everything that remained. They also burned down all the cities that remained.