¹² the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh^(A) to go to war against them.

¹⁷ Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them.^{(A) 18} It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you.^(B)

² For I can testify about them that they are zealous^(A) for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.

² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers^(A) criticized him ³ and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”^(B)

The Israelites Punish the Benjamites

20 Then all Israel^(A) from Dan to Beersheba^(B) and from the land of Gilead came together as one^(C) and assembled^(D) before the Lord in Mizpah.^{(E) 2} The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, four hundred thousand men^(F) armed with swords. ³ (The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, “Tell us how this awful thing happened.”

⁴ So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, “I and my concubine came to Gibeah^(G) in Benjamin to spend the night.^{(H) 5} During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me.^(I) They raped my concubine, and she died.^{(J) 6} I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel’s inheritance,^(K) because they committed this lewd and outrageous act^(L) in Israel. ⁷ Now, all you Israelites, speak up and tell me what you have decided to do.^(M)”

⁸ All the men rose up together as one, saying, “None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. ⁹ But now this is what we’ll do to Gibeah: We’ll go up against it in the order decided by casting lots.^{(N) 10} We’ll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeah^[a] in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for this outrageous act done in Israel.” ¹¹ So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city.^(O)

Division of the Rest of the Land

18 The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh^(A) and set up the tent of meeting^(B) there. The country was brought under their control,

¹⁵ you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely,^[a](A) both its people and its livestock.^(B)