Benjamin

Then the army of Isra'el went up and cried before ADONAI until evening. They asked ADONAI, "Should we attack our kinsmen the people of Binyamin again? ADONAI answered, "Attack them."

So the army of Isra'el went out to attack the army of Binyamin the second day.

But Binyamin went out against them from Giv'ah the second day and slaughtered the army of Isra'el; 18,000 men armed with swords fell.

and Pinchas the son of El'azar, the son of Aharon, stood before it at that time. They asked, "Should we still go out to battle again against our kinsmen the people of Binyamin, or should we stop?" ADONAI answered, "Attack, because tomorrow I will hand them over to you."

and on the third day Isra'el attacked the army of Binyamin and took a position against Giv'ah as they had the other times.

Again the army of Binyamin went out against the people. Lured away from the city, they began attacking and killing some of the people, as they had the other times - they killed about thirty men of Isra'el in the countryside and on the roads, one of which goes up to Beit-El and the other to Giv'ah.

The army of Binyamin said, "They're defeated, just as before." But the army of Isra'el said, "Let's run off and draw them away from the city onto the roads."

For ADONAI routed Binyamin in Isra'el's presence; that day the army of Isra'el destroyed 25,100 men of Binyamin, all of whom carried swords;

and the people of Binyamin realized that they had been beaten. The men of Isra'el, trusting the ones they had put in place to ambush Binyamin, gave ground to the men of Binyamin.

at which time the men of Isra'el would turn back. When this happened, Binyamin began to attack. They killed about thirty of Isra'el's men and said, "Clearly we're defeating them again, as in the first battle."

Then, as the men of Isra'el reversed direction, those of Binyamin were overcome with terror. When they saw that disaster had come upon them,

Eighteen thousand men of Binyamin fell, all of them experienced soldiers.

Thus the total number from Binyamin who fell that day was 25,000 experienced, sword-bearing soldiers.

The men of Isra'el turned back on the people of Binyamin and killed them with the sword, the entire city, the cattle and everything they found. Moreover, they set on fire all the cities they encountered.

The men of Isra'el had sworn in Mitzpah that none of them would let his daughter marry a man from Binyamin.

The people of Isra'el became sorry for Binyamin their brother and said, "Today one tribe has been cut off from Isra'el.

Then the whole gathering sent a message proclaiming peace to the people of Binyamin who were at the Rock of Rimmon.

So Binyamin returned at that time, and the people of Isra'el gave them the women they had kept alive of the women from Yavesh-Gil'ad. But those weren't enough for them.

The people were still sorry for Binyamin because ADONAI had made a division among the tribes of Isra'el.

The leaders of the assembly asked, "What are we to do for those who still don't have wives, inasmuch as all the women of Binyamin have been killed?"

They said, "There has to be a way to help the survivors preserve Binyamin's inheritance, so that a tribe will not be eliminated from Isra'el.

Yet we can't give them our daughters as wives." For the people of Isra'el had sworn, "Cursed be whoever gives a wife to Binyamin."

They ordered the men of Binyamin, "Go, hide in the vineyards,

and keep watch. If the girls of Shiloh come out to do their dances, then come out of the vineyards, and each of you catch for himself a wife from the Shiloh girls, and go on to the land of Binyamin.

So the men of Binyamin did this - they took wives for themselves from the girls who were dancing, as many as they needed. They carried them off, went back to the land of their inheritance, rebuilt the cities and lived in them.