The Judges & Ruth

The children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to strike and kill of the people, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah, in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

The children of Benjamin said, “They are struck down before us, as at the first.” But the children of Israel said, “Let us flee, and draw them away from the city to the highways.”

All the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at Baal Tamar: and the ambushers of Israel broke out of their place, even out of Maareh Geba.

There came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was severe; but they didn’t know that evil was close on them.

The LORD struck Benjamin before Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men: all these drew the sword.

So the children of Benjamin saw that they were struck; for the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin, because they trusted the ambushers whom they had set against Gibeah.

The ambushers hurried, and rushed on Gibeah; and the ambushers drew themselves along, and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.

Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the ambushers was that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city.

The men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons; for they said, “Surely they are struck down before us, as in the first battle.”

But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them; and behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to the sky.

The men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed; for they saw that evil had come on them.

Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in its midst.

They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them, and trod them down at their resting place, as far as over against Gibeah toward the sunrise.

There fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valor.

They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them to Gidom, and struck of them two thousand men.

So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of valor.

But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and stayed in the rock of Rimmon four months.

The men of Israel turned again on the children of Benjamin, and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city, and the livestock, and all that they found: moreover all the cities which they found they set on fire.

Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “There shall not any of us give his daughter to Benjamin as wife.”

The people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept severely.

They said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?”

On the next day, the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

The children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who didn’t come up in the assembly to the LORD?” For they had made a great oath concerning him who didn’t come up to the LORD to Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.”

The children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?”