| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 1All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba and from the land of Gilead left their homes and assembled together before the LORD at Mizpah. | 1Then all Israel from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came together as one and assembled before the LORD in Mizpah. |
| 2The leaders of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God's people, which numbered four hundred thousand sword-wielding foot soldiers. | 2The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God's people, four hundred thousand men armed with swords. |
| 3The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. Then the Israelites said, "Explain how this wicked thing happened!" | 3(The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, "Tell us how this awful thing happened." |
| 4The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up, "I and my concubine stopped in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin to spend the night. | 4So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, "I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. |
| 5The leaders of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying. They wanted to kill me; instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died. | 5During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died. |
| 6I grabbed hold of my concubine and carved her up and sent the pieces throughout the territory occupied by Israel, because they committed such an unthinkable atrocity in Israel. | 6I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel's inheritance, because they committed this lewd and outrageous act in Israel. |
| 7All you Israelites, make a decision here!" | 7Now, all you Israelites, speak up and tell me what you have decided to do." |
| 8All Israel rose up in unison and said, "Not one of us will go home! Not one of us will return to his house! | 8All the men rose up together as one, saying, "None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. |
| 9Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will attack the city as the lot dictates. | 9But now this is what we'll do to Gibeah: We'll go up against it in the order decided by casting lots. |
| 10We will take ten of every group of a hundred men from all the tribes of Israel (and a hundred of every group of a thousand, and a thousand of every group of ten thousand) to get supplies for the army. When they arrive in Gibeah of Benjamin they will punish them for the atrocity which they committed in Israel." | 10We'll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeah in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for this outrageous act done in Israel." |
| 11So all the men of Israel gathered together at the city as allies. | 11So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city. |
| 12The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "How could such a wicked thing take place? | 12The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What about this awful crime that was committed among you? |
| 13Now, hand over the good-for-nothings in Gibeah so we can execute them and purge Israel of wickedness." But the Benjaminites refused to listen to their Israelite brothers. | 13Now turn those wicked men of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel." But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. |
| 14The Benjaminites came from their cities and assembled at Gibeah to make war against the Israelites. | 14From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. |
| 15That day the Benjaminites mustered from their cities twenty-six thousand sword-wielding soldiers, besides seven hundred well-trained soldiers from Gibeah. | 15At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred able young men from those living in Gibeah. |
| 16Among this army were seven hundred specially-trained left-handed soldiers. Each one could sling a stone and hit even the smallest target. | 16Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. |
| 17The men of Israel (not counting Benjamin) had mustered four hundred thousand sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior. | 17Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle. |
| 18The Israelites went up to Bethel and asked God, "Who should lead the charge against the Benjaminites?" The LORD said, "Judah should lead." | 18The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, "Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Benjamites?" The LORD replied, "Judah shall go first." |
| 19The Israelites got up the next morning and moved against Gibeah. | 19The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. |
| 20The men of Israel marched out to fight Benjamin; they arranged their battle lines against Gibeah. | 20The Israelites went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. |
| 21The Benjaminites attacked from Gibeah and struck down twenty-two thousand Israelites that day. | 21The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. |
| 22The Israelite army took heart and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before. | 22But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. |
| 23The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening. They asked the LORD, "Should we again march out to fight the Benjaminites, our brothers?" The LORD said, "Attack them!" | 23The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the LORD. They said, "Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites?" The LORD answered, "Go up against them." |
| 24So the Israelites marched toward the Benjaminites the next day. | 24Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. |
| 25The Benjaminites again attacked them from Gibeah and struck down eighteen thousand sword-wielding Israelite soldiers. | 25This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords. |
| 26So all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel. They wept and sat there before the LORD; they did not eat anything that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace to the LORD. | 26Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD. |
| 27The Israelites asked the LORD (for the ark of God's covenant was there in those days; | 27And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, |
| 28Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving the LORD in those days), "Should we once more march out to fight the Benjaminites our brothers, or should we quit?" The LORD said, "Attack, for tomorrow I will hand them over to you." | 28with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, "Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites, or not?" The LORD responded, "Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands." |
| 29So Israel hid men in ambush outside Gibeah. | 29Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah. |
| 30The Israelites attacked the Benjaminites the next day; they took their positions against Gibeah just as they had done before. | 30They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. |
| 31The Benjaminites attacked the army, leaving the city unguarded. They began to strike down their enemy just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel, the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down about thirty Israelites. | 31The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn away from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads--the one leading to Bethel and the other to Gibeah. |
| 32Then the Benjaminites said, "They are defeated just as before." But the Israelites said, "Let's retreat and lure them away from the city into the main roads." | 32While the Benjamites were saying, "We are defeating them as before," the Israelites were saying, "Let's retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads." |
| 33All the men of Israel got up from their places and took their positions at Baal Tamar, while the Israelites hiding in ambush jumped out of their places west of Gibeah. | 33All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place on the west of Gibeah. |
| 34Ten thousand men, well-trained soldiers from all Israel, then made a frontal assault against Gibeah--the battle was fierce. But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was at their doorstep. | 34Then ten thousand of Israel's able young men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize how near disaster was. |
| 35The LORD annihilated Benjamin before Israel; the Israelites struck down that day 25,100 sword-wielding Benjaminites. | 35The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. |
| 36Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated. The Israelites retreated before Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hid in ambush outside Gibeah. | 36Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten. Now the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah. |
| 37The men hiding in ambush made a mad dash to Gibeah. They attacked and put the sword to the entire city. | 37Those who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword. |
| 38The Israelites and the men hiding in ambush had arranged a signal. When the men hiding in ambush sent up a smoke signal from the city, | 38The Israelites had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city, |
| 39the Israelites counterattacked. Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites; they struck down about thirty men. They said, "There's no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle." | 39and then the Israelites would counterattack. The Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the Israelites (about thirty), and they said, "We are defeating them as in the first battle." |
| 40But when the signal, a pillar of smoke, began to rise up from the city, the Benjaminites turned around and saw the whole city going up in a cloud of smoke that rose high into the sky. | 40But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the whole city going up in smoke. |
| 41When the Israelites turned around, the Benjaminites panicked because they could see that disaster was on their doorstep. | 41Then the Israelites counterattacked, and the Benjamites were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come on them. |
| 42They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down. | 42So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the wilderness, but they could not escape the battle. And the Israelites who came out of the towns cut them down there. |
| 43They surrounded the Benjaminites, chased them from Nohah, and annihilated them all the way to a spot east of Geba. | 43They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. |
| 44Eighteen thousand Benjaminites, all of them capable warriors, fell dead. | 44Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters. |
| 45The rest turned and ran toward the wilderness, heading toward the cliff of Rimmon. But the Israelites caught five thousand of them on the main roads. They stayed right on their heels all the way to Gidom and struck down two thousand more. | 45As they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, the Israelites cut down five thousand men along the roads. They kept pressing after the Benjamites as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more. |
| 46That day twenty-five thousand sword-wielding Benjaminites fell in battle, all of them capable warriors. | 46On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. |
| 47Six hundred survivors turned and ran away to the wilderness, to the cliff of Rimmon. They stayed there four months. | 47But six hundred of them turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. |
| 48The Israelites returned to the Benjaminite towns and put the sword to them. They wiped out the cities, the animals, and everything they could find. They set fire to every city in their path. | 48The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire. |
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