| New International Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Then all Israel from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came together as one and assembled before the LORD in Mizpah. | 1All the Israelites from Dan to Beer-sheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the community assembled as one body before the LORD at Mizpah. |
| 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. | 2The leaders of all the people and of all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God's people: 400,000 armed foot soldiers. |
| 3(The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, "Tell us how this awful thing happened." | 3The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. The Israelites asked, "Tell us, how did this outrage occur?" |
| 4So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, "I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. | 4The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered: "I went to Gibeah in Benjamin with my concubine to spend the night. |
| 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. | 5Citizens of Gibeah ganged up on me and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me, but they raped my concubine, and she died. |
| 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. | 6Then I took my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout Israel's territory, because they committed a horrible shame in Israel. |
| 7Now, all you Israelites, speak up and tell me what you have decided to do." | 7Look, all of you are Israelites. Give your judgment and verdict here and now." |
| 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. | 8Then all the people stood united and said, "None of us will go to his tent or return to his house. |
| 9But now this is what we'll do to Gibeah: We'll go up against it in the order decided by casting lots. | 9Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go against it by lot. |
| 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." | 10We will take 10 men out of every 100 from all the tribes of Israel, and 100 out of every 1,000, and 1,000 out of every 10,000 to get provisions for the people when they go to Gibeah in Benjamin to punish them for all the horror they did in Israel." |
| 11So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city. | 11So all the men of Israel gathered united against the city. |
| 12The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What about this awful crime that was committed among you? | 12Then the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What is this outrage that has occurred among you? |
| 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. | 13Hand over the perverted men in Gibeah so we can put them to death and eradicate evil from Israel." But the Benjaminites would not obey their fellow Israelites. |
| 14From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. | 14Instead, the Benjaminites gathered together from their cities to Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites. |
| 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. | 15On that day the Benjaminites rallied 26,000 armed men from their cities, besides 700 choice men rallied by the inhabitants of Gibeah. |
| 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. | 16There were 700 choice men who were left-handed among all these people; all could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. |
| 17Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle. | 17The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, rallied 400,000 armed men, every one an experienced warrior. |
| 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." | 18They set out, went to Bethel, and inquired of God. The Israelites asked, "Who is to go first to fight for us against the Benjaminites?" And the LORD answered, "Judah will be first." |
| 19The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. | 19In the morning, the Israelites set out and camped near Gibeah. |
| 20The Israelites went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. | 20The men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin and took their battle positions against Gibeah. |
| 21The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. | 21The Benjaminites came out of Gibeah and slaughtered 22,000 men of Israel on the field that day. |
| 22But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. | 22But the Israelite army rallied and again took their battle positions in the same place where they positioned themselves on the first day. |
| 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." | 23They went up, wept before the LORD until evening, and inquired of Him: "Should we again fight against our brothers the Benjaminites?" And the LORD answered: "Fight against them." |
| 24Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. | 24On the second day the Israelites advanced against the Benjaminites. |
| 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. | 25That same day the Benjaminites came out from Gibeah to meet them and slaughtered an additional 18,000 Israelites on the field; all were armed men. |
| 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. | 26The whole Israelite army went to Bethel where they wept and sat before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD. |
| 27And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, | 27Then the Israelites inquired of the LORD. In those days, the ark of the covenant of God was there, |
| 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." | 28and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving before it. The Israelites asked: "Should we again fight against our brothers the Benjaminites or should we stop?" The LORD answered: "Fight, because I will hand them over to you tomorrow." |
| 29Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah. | 29So Israel set up an ambush around Gibeah. |
| 30They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. | 30On the third day the Israelites fought against the Benjaminites and took their battle positions against Gibeah as before. |
| 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. | 31Then the Benjaminites came out against the people and were drawn away from the city. They began to attack the people as before, killing about 30 men of Israel on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah through the open country. |
| 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." | 32The Benjaminites said, "We are defeating them as before." But the Israelites said, "Let's flee and draw them away from the city to the highways." |
| 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. | 33So all the men of Israel got up from their places and took their battle positions at Baal-tamar, while the Israelites in ambush charged out of their places west of Geba. |
| 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. | 34Then 10,000 choice men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce, but the Benjaminites did not know that disaster was about to strike them. |
| 35The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. | 35The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 men of Benjamin; all were armed men. |
| 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. | 36Then the Benjaminites realized they had been defeated. The men of Israel had retreated before Benjamin, because they were confident in the ambush they had set against Gibeah. |
| 37Those who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword. | 37The men in ambush had rushed quickly against Gibeah; they advanced and put the whole city to the sword. |
| 38The Israelites had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city, | 38The men of Israel had a prearranged signal with the men in ambush: when they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city, |
| 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." | 39the men of Israel would return to the battle. When Benjamin had begun to strike them down, killing about 30 men of Israel, they said, "They're defeated before us, just as they were in the first battle." |
| 40But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the whole city going up in smoke. | 40But when the column of smoke began to go up from the city, Benjamin looked behind them, and the whole city was going up in smoke. |
| 41Then the Israelites counterattacked, and the Benjamites were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come on them. | 41Then the men of Israel returned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified when they realized that disaster had struck them. |
| 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. | 42They retreated before the men of Israel toward the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities slaughtered those between them. |
| 43They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. | 43They surrounded the Benjaminites, pursued them, and easily overtook them near Gibeah toward the east. |
| 44Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters. | 44There were 18,000 men who died from Benjamin; all were warriors. |
| 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. | 45Then Benjamin turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel killed 5,000 men on the highways. They overtook them at Gidom and struck 2,000 more dead. |
| 46On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. | 46All the Benjaminites who died that day were 25,000 armed men; all were warriors. |
| 47But six hundred of them turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. | 47But 600 men escaped into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon and stayed there four months. |
| 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. | 48The men of Israel turned back against the other Benjaminites and killed them with their swords--the entire city, the animals, and everything that remained. They also burned down all the cities that remained. |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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