¹⁴ Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out^(A) to the Lord. The priests blew their trumpets

¹¹ Then Asa called^(A) to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us,^(B) Lord our God, for we rely^(C) on you, and in your name^(D) we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail^(E) against you.”

¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried^(A) out to the Lord.

⁸ The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maakah were by themselves in the open country.

⁹ Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. ¹⁰ He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai^(A) his brother and deployed them against the Ammonites. ¹¹ Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. ¹² Be strong,^(B) and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.”^(C)

¹³ Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. ¹⁴ When the Ammonites^(D) realized that the Arameans were fleeing, they fled before Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab returned from fighting the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

³³ All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place^(A) on the west^[a] of Gibeah.^{[b] 34} Then ten thousand of Israel’s able young men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize^(B) how near disaster was.^{(C) 35} The Lord defeated Benjamin^(D) before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. ³⁶ Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten.

Now the men of Israel had given way^(E) before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush^(F) they had set near Gibeah. ³⁷ Those who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword.^{(G) 38} The Israelites had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke^(H) from the city,^{(I) 39} and then the Israelites would counterattack.

The Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the Israelites (about thirty), and they said, “We are defeating them as in the first battle.”^{(J) 40} But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the whole city going up in smoke.^{(K) 41} Then the Israelites counterattacked,^(L) and the Benjamites were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come^(M) on them. ⁴² So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the wilderness, but they could not escape the battle. And the Israelites who came out of the towns cut them down there. ⁴³ They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily^[c] overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east.

²⁰ The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising up into the sky,^(A) but they had no chance to escape in any direction; the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness had turned back against their pursuers.

³¹ When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out,^(A) and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him,