Judges 20:23-28

New Living Translation

²³ For 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.”

²⁴ So the next day they went out again to fight against the men of Benjamin, ²⁵ but the men of Benjamin killed another 18,000 Israelites, all of whom were experienced with the sword.

²⁶ Then 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. ²⁷ The Israelites went up seeking direction from the Lord. (In those days the Ark of the Covenant of God was in Bethel, ²⁸ and 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.”