Judges 20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Other Tribes Attack Benjamin
20 Then all the Israelites came out, from Dan to Beer-sheba, including the land of Gilead, and the congregation assembled in one body before the Lord at Mizpah.(A) 2 The chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers bearing arms. 3 (Now the Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) And the Israelites said, “Tell us, how did this criminal act come about?” 4 The Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered, “I came to Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night.(B) 5 The lords of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me, and they raped my concubine until she died.(C) 6 Then I took my concubine and cut her into pieces and sent her throughout the whole extent of Israel’s territory, for they have committed a vile outrage in Israel.(D) 7 So now, you Israelites, all of you, give your advice and counsel here.”(E)
8 All the people got up as one, saying, “We will not any of us go to our tents, nor will any of us return to our houses. 9 But now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up[a] against it by lot. 10 We will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions for the troops who will go to repay[b] Gibeah of Benjamin for all the disgrace that they have done in Israel.” 11 So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one.
12 The tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What crime is this that has been committed among you?(F) 13 Now then, hand over those scoundrels in Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not listen to their kinsfolk, the Israelites.(G) 14 The Benjaminites came together out of the towns to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the Israelites. 15 On that day the Benjaminites mustered twenty-six thousand armed men from their towns, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered seven hundred picked men. 16 Of all this force, there were seven hundred picked men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. 17 And the Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand armed men, all of them warriors.
18 The Israelites proceeded to go up to Bethel, where they inquired of God, “Which of us shall go up first to battle against the Benjaminites?” And the Lord answered, “Judah shall go up first.”(H)
19 Then the Israelites got up in the morning and encamped against Gibeah. 20 The Israelites went out to battle against Benjamin, and the Israelites drew up the battle line against them at Gibeah. 21 The Benjaminites came out of Gibeah and struck down on that day twenty-two thousand of the Israelites.(I) 23 [c]The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until the evening, and they inquired of the Lord, “Shall we again draw near to battle against our kinsfolk the Benjaminites?” And the Lord said, “Go up against them.”(J) 22 The Israelites strengthened themselves and again formed the battle line in the same place where they had formed it on the first day.
24 So the Israelites advanced against the Benjaminites the second day. 25 Benjamin moved out against them from Gibeah the second day and struck down eighteen thousand of the Israelites, all of them armed men.(K) 26 Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went back to Bethel and wept, sitting there before the Lord; they fasted that day until evening. Then they offered burnt offerings and sacrifices of well-being before the Lord.(L) 27 And the Israelites inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,(M) 28 and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days), saying, “Shall we go out once more to battle against our kinsfolk the Benjaminites, or shall we desist?” The Lord answered, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.”(N)
29 So Israel stationed men in ambush around Gibeah.(O) 30 Then the Israelites went up against the Benjaminites on the third day and set themselves in array against Gibeah as before. 31 When the Benjaminites went out against the army, they were drawn away from the city. As before, they began to inflict casualties on the troops along the main roads, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, as well as in the open country, killing about thirty men of Israel.(P) 32 The Benjaminites thought, “They are being routed before us, as previously.” But the Israelites said, “Let us retreat and draw them away from the city toward the roads.” 33 The main body of the Israelites drew back its battle line to Baal-tamar, while those Israelites who were in ambush rushed out of their place west[d] of Geba.(Q) 34 There came against Gibeah ten thousand picked men out of all Israel, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was close upon them.(R)
35 The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel, and the Israelites struck down twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin that day, all of them armed.
36 Then the Benjaminites saw that they were defeated.
The Israelites gave ground to Benjamin because they relied on the troops in ambush that they had stationed against Gibeah.(S) 37 The troops in ambush rushed quickly upon Gibeah. Then they put the whole city to the sword.(T) 38 Now the agreement between the main body of Israel and the men in ambush was that when they sent up a cloud of smoke out of the city(U) 39 the main body of Israel should turn in battle. But Benjamin had begun to inflict casualties on the Israelites, killing about thirty of them, so they thought, “Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.”(V) 40 But when the cloud, a column of smoke, began to rise out of the city, the Benjaminites looked behind them—and there was the whole city going up in smoke toward the sky!(W) 41 Then the main body of Israel turned, and the Benjaminites were dismayed, for they saw that disaster was close upon them. 42 Therefore they turned away from the Israelites in the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the city[e] were striking them down in between.[f] 43 Surrounding the Benjaminites, they pursued them from Nohah[g] and trod them down as far as a place east of Gibeah. 44 Eighteen thousand Benjaminites fell, all of them courageous fighters. 45 When they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, five thousand of them were cut down on the main roads, and they were pursued as far as Gidom, and two thousand of them were slain.(X) 46 So all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand arms-bearing men, all of them courageous fighters. 47 But six hundred turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon and remained at the rock of Rimmon for four months.(Y) 48 Meanwhile, the Israelites turned back against the Benjaminites and put them to the sword—the city, the people, the animals, and all that remained. Also the remaining towns they set on fire.
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Judges 20
Evangelical Heritage Version
20 Then all the people of Israel came out, and the whole community from Dan to Beersheba, including the Israelites in Gilead, assembled as one man before the Lord at Mizpah. 2 The pillars[a] of the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of the people of God—four hundred thousand foot soldiers, armed with swords. 3 (The people of Benjamin heard that the people of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) The people of Israel said, “Speak up! How did this evil happen?”
4 Then the Levite, the husband of the woman who had been murdered, answered, “I, along with my concubine, came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5 But the citizens of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house during the night. They intended to kill me. They abused my concubine, and she died. 6 So I took hold of my concubine, cut her into pieces, and I sent her to every region of the inheritance of Israel, because the men of Gibeah did this outrageous, foolish deed in Israel. 7 Look! All of you are descendants of Israel! Consider the matter and give your judgment.”
8 All the people then rose up as one man. They said, “Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us return to their homes. 9 Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will determine who goes against it by choosing lots. 10 We will choose ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel—and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand—to gather provisions for the troops. When the men of Israel arrive at Gibeah[b] in Benjamin, Israel can do to the men of Gibeah what they deserve for all the disgraceful things they did in Israel.” 11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city. The various groups were united as if they were one man.
12 The tribes of Israel sent men through the whole tribe[c] of Benjamin, saying, “What is this evil thing that has been done among you? 13 Now, hand over the men, these worthless, wicked men from Gibeah! We will put them to death and root out this evil from Israel.”
But the people of Benjamin were not willing to listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel. 14 Instead, the people from all the cities of Benjamin gathered at Gibeah to go out for war against the people of Israel. 15 On that day the people of Benjamin mustered from their cities twenty-six thousand men armed with swords, not counting those who lived in Gibeah, from which they mustered an additional seven hundred elite men. 16 From all these troops, there were seven hundred elite soldiers who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a single hair and not miss.
17 Meanwhile, the men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand men armed with swords, each of them a trained soldier.
18 They arose and went up to Bethel, and the people of Israel inquired of God, “Who will go up to lead us into the battle against the Benjaminites?”
The Lord said, “Judah will take the lead in the battle.”
19 The Israelites got up in the morning and set up camp against Gibeah. 20 The men of Israel went out for war against Benjamin and lined up for battle at Gibeah. 21 But the Benjaminites came out from Gibeah, and that day they struck down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of Israel!
22 The men of Israel renewed their courage and again lined up for battle in the same spot where they had lined up on the first day. 23 The people of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until evening. They inquired of the Lord, “Shall we go out again to engage in battle with the people of Benjamin, our brothers?”
Again the Lord said, “Go up against them.”
24 The Israelites approached the Benjaminites on the second day. 25 Benjamin came out from Gibeah to confront them on the second day and took down an additional eighteen thousand men from among the Israelites—right down to the ground!—all of them men armed with swords.
26 After that, all the Israelites, the entire army, went up to Bethel. There they wept and sat before the Lord and fasted all that day until evening. They offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. 27 The people of Israel inquired of the Lord. (The Ark of the Covenant of God was there in those days.) 28 Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was ministering in front of the ark in those days. He asked, “Shall I again go out to battle against our brothers the Benjaminites, or shall I stop?”
The Lord said, “Go up, because tomorrow I will give them into your hand.”
29 Then Israel positioned men in ambushes all around Gibeah. 30 The men of Israel went up against the men of Benjamin on the third day, and they lined up against Gibeah as they had done before. 31 Again the Benjaminites went out to confront the people of Israel. The Benjaminites were drawn away from the city, and they began to strike down some of the people, killing them in the open country as they had done before, along the highway that goes up to Bethel and the one to Gibeah.[d] They killed about thirty men of Israel.
32 The Benjaminites thought, “They are being struck down before us, just as they were before.”
But the Israelites had said, “We will retreat and draw them out of the city to the highways.”
33 So all the men of Israel fell back from their positions and drew up a battle line at Baal Tamar. Then the Israelites who were hiding in ambush came bursting out from their positions west of Geba.[e] 34 Ten thousand specially chosen men from all Israel came out against Gibeah. The battle was fierce, and the Benjaminites did not realize that calamity was about to fall upon them. 35 The Lord struck down Benjamin before Israel, and the Israelites brought Benjamin to ruin on that day. Twenty-five thousand one hundred men, who were armed with swords, fell. 36 Then the Benjaminites saw that they were beaten.
The men of Israel had given ground to Benjamin because they were relying on the men in the ambushes that they had set up near Gibeah. 37 The hidden attackers struck quickly. They dashed into Gibeah, spread out, and struck the entire city with the edge of the sword. 38 This was the signal for the men of Israel and for those in the ambush: When they saw a great cloud of smoke coming up from the city, 39 the men of Israel were to turn back to join the battle.
Benjamin had begun to strike some of the men of Israel dead, about thirty men. So they said, “Look, they are being struck down before us, as they were in the first battle.” 40 But as a column of smoke began to rise above the city, the Benjaminites turned to look behind them, and suddenly they saw that the city was going up toward heaven like a burnt offering. 41 Then the Israelites turned back, and the Benjaminites were horrified because they realized that disaster was falling upon them. 42 They fled from the men of Israel to escape toward the wilderness, but the battle kept up with them, as Israelites from the cities all around them were striking them down. 43 The Israelites encircled Benjamin, pursued them, and overran their positions all the way to Nohah, a spot east of Gibeah. 44 From Benjamin, eighteen thousand fell, all of them strong warriors. 45 The surviving Benjaminites turned and fled toward the wilderness, to the Rock of Rimmon, but five thousand of these men were picked off along the highways. The Israelites caught up with them at Gidom and struck down two thousand more of their men.
46 So the total number of Benjaminites that fell that day was twenty-five thousand men armed with swords, all of them powerful warriors. 47 But the surviving 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.
48 The men of Israel had turned back against the Benjaminites and struck them with the edge of the sword. They struck the entire city, including the animals and whatever else could be found. They burned down all the rest of the cities.
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- Judges 20:2 Literally cornerstones
- Judges 20:10 The translation follows a minority Hebrew reading. Most Hebrew manuscripts read Geba.
- Judges 20:12 The translation follows the ancient versions. The Hebrew text reads the plural tribes.
- Judges 20:31 Gibeah is the starting point of the pursuit, so it seems that the other places named should be endpoints of the pursuit some distance from Gibeah. Geographically it makes sense that the pursuit is from Gibeah to Bethel and from Gibeah to Gibeon, but there is no manuscript evidence for this. This variant is, however, mentioned in the apparatus of the BHS Hebrew text.
- Judges 20:33 If the ambush was west of Geba, as the Hebrew text reads, it was east of Gibeah. This is an ideal location to carry out the strategy described in the following verses. There is, therefore, no need to emend the text to Gibeah as some translations do.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.