Juízes 20

¹ Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together asThat is, all with one consent.one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto theTo ask counsel.LORD in Mizpeh.

² And the chief of all the people, [even] of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen thatMeaning, men able to handle their weapons.drew sword.

³ (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) ThenTo the Levite.said the children of Israel, Tell [us], how was this wickedness?

⁴ And the same Leuite, the womans husband that was slaine, answered and saide, I came vnto Gibeah that is in Beniamin with my concubine to lodge,

⁵ And the men of Gibeah arose against me, and beset the house round about vpon mee by night, thinking to haue slaine me, and haue forced my concubine that she is dead.

⁶ And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sentThat is, her pieces, to every tribe a piece, (Jdg_19:29).her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.

⁷ Behold, ye are al children of Israel: giue your aduise, and counsell herein.

⁸ And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any [of us] go to his tent, neither will we any [of us] turn into hisBefore we have avenged this wickedness.house.

⁹ But now this is that thing which we will do to Gibeah: we wil goe vp by lot against it,

¹⁰ And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetchOnly these would be charged to provide food for the rest.victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.

¹¹ So all the men of Israel were gathered against the citie, knit together, as one man.

¹² And the tribes of Israel sent men through all theThat is, every family of the tribe.tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness [is] this that is done among you?

¹³ Now therefore deliver [us] the men, the children of Belial, which [are] in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of BenjaminBecause they would not allow the wicked to be punished, they declared themselves in agreement with their evil, and therefore all were justly punished.would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel:

¹⁴ But ye children of Beniamin gathered them selues together out of the cities vnto Gibeah, to come out and fight against the children of Israel.

¹⁵ And ye children of Beniamin were nombred at that time out of the cities sixe and twenty thousand men that drewe sworde, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were nombred seuen hundreth chosen men.

¹⁶ Of all this people were seuen hundreth chosen men, being left handed: all these could sling stones at an heare breadth, and not faile.

¹⁷ Also the men of Israel, beside Beniamin, were nombred foure hundreth thousande men that drew sword, euen all men of warre.

¹⁸ And the children of Israel arose, and went upThat is, to the ark, which was in Shiloh some think in Mizpeh, as in (Jdg_20:1).to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah [shall go up] first.

¹⁹ Then the children of Israel arose vp earely and camped against Gibeah.

²⁰ And the men of Israel went out to battell against Beniamin, & the men of Israel put themselues in aray to fight against the beside Gibeah.

²¹ And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that dayThis God permitted because by this means he would punish their sins, by the strength of the Israelites.twenty and two thousand men.

²² And the people, the men of Israel plucked vp their hearts, and set their battel againe in aray in the place where they put them in aray the first day.

²³ (For the children of Israel had gone vp and wept before the Lord vnto the euening, and had asked of the Lorde, saying, Shall I goe againe to battel against the children of Beniamin my brethren? and the Lord said, Go vp against them)

²⁴ Then the children of Israel came neere against the children of Beniamin the second day.

²⁵ Also the second day Beniamin came forth to meete them out of Gibeah, and slewe downe to the grounde of the children of Israel againe eighteene thousand men: all they could handle the sword.

²⁶ Then al the children of Israel went vp and all the people came also vnto the house of God, and wept and sate there before the Lord & fasted that day vnto the euening, and offred burnt offrings and peace offrings before the Lord.

²⁷ And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God [was]That is, in Shiloh.there in those days,

²⁸ And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron,Or, served in the priest's office in those days: for the Jews write that he lived three hundred years.stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.

²⁹ And Israel set men to lie in waite round about Gibeah.

³⁰ And the children of Israel went vp against the children of Beniamin the third day, and put theselues in aray against Gibeah, as at other times.

³¹ And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, [and] wereBy the policy of the children of Israel.drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, [and] kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

³² And the children of Benjamin said, They [are] smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto theMeaning, crossways or paths to various places.highways.

³³ And all the men of Israel rose vp out of their place, and put themselues in aray at Baal-tamar: and the men that lay in wayte of the Israelites came forth of their place, euen out of the medowes of Gibeah,

³⁴ And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not thatThey did not know that God's judgment was at hand to destroy them.evil [was] near them.

³⁵ And the Lord smote Beniamin before Israel, and the children of Israel destroyed of the Beniamites the same day fiue and twenty thousand and an hundreth men: all they could handle the sword.

³⁶ So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of IsraelRetired to draw them after.gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah.

³⁷ And they that lay in wait hasted, and brake forth toward Gibeah, & the ambushment drewe themselues along, and smote all the citie with the edge of the sword.

³⁸ Also the men of Israel had appoynted a certaine time with the ambushmentes, that they should make a great flame and smoke rise vp out of the citie.

³⁹ And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began toFor they had grown bold because of the two former victories.smite [and] kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as [in] the first battle.

⁴⁰ But when the flame bega to arise out of the citie, as a pillar of smoke, the Beniamites looked backe, and behold, the flame of the citie began to ascend vp to heauen.

⁴¹ And when the men of Israel turnedAnd withstood their enemies.again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them.

⁴² Therefore they turned [their backs] before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which [came] out of the cities they destroyedFor they were surrounded from every side.in the midst of them.

⁴³ Thus they compassed the Beniamites about, and chased them at ease, and ouerranne them, euen ouer against Gibeah on the Eastside.

⁴⁴ And there were slaine of Beniamin eyghteene thousad men, which were all men of warre.

⁴⁵ And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and theyThey slew them one by one, as they were scattered abroad.gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them.

⁴⁶ So that all which fell that day of Benjamin wereBesides eleven hundred that had been slain in the previous battles.twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these [were] men of valour.

⁴⁷ But sixe hundreth men turned and fled to the wildernesse vnto the rocke of Rimmon, and abode in the rocke of Rimmon foure moneths.

⁴⁸ And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of [every] city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all theIf they belonged to the Benjamites.cities that they came to.