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Then the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What is this outrage that has occurred among you?

Hand 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.

Instead, the Benjaminites gathered together from their cities to Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites.

On that day the Benjaminites rallied 26,000 armed men^(e) from their cities, besides 700 choice men rallied by the inhabitants of Gibeah.

There were 700 choice men who were left-handed among all these people; all could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, rallied 400,000 armed men, every one an experienced warrior.

They set out, went to Bethel, and inquired of God.^(f) The Israelites asked, "Who is to go first to fight for us against the Benjaminites?" And the Lord answered, "Judah will be first."

In the morning, the Israelites set out and camped near Gibeah.

The men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin and took their battle positions against Gibeah.

The Benjaminites came out of Gibeah and slaughtered 22,000 men of Israel on the field that day.

But the Israelite army rallied and again took their battle positions in the same place where they positioned themselves on the first day.

They went up, wept^(g) 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."

On the second day the Israelites advanced against the Benjaminites.

That 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.

The whole Israelite army went to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord .^(h) They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord .

Then the Israelites inquired of the Lord . In those days, the ark of the covenant⁽ⁱ⁾ of God was there,

and 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."^(j)

So Israel set up an ambush^(k) around Gibeah.

On the third day the Israelites fought against the Benjaminites and took their battle positions against Gibeah as before.

Then the Benjaminites came out against the people and were drawn away from the city.^(l) 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.

The 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."

So 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^[a] Geba.^(m)

Then 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.

The Lord defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 men of Benjamin; all were armed men.

Then 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.

The men in ambush had rushed quickly against Gibeah; they advanced and put the whole city to the sword.

The men of Israel had a prearranged signal with the men in ambush: when they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city,

the 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."⁽ⁿ⁾

But 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.^[b]

Then the men of Israel returned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified when they realized that disaster had struck them.

They retreated before the men of Israel toward the wilderness,^(o) but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities^[c] slaughtered those between them.

They surrounded the Benjaminites, pursued them, and easily overtook them near Gibeah toward the east.

There were 18,000 men who died from Benjamin; all were warriors.

Then Benjamin turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon,^(p) and Israel killed 5,000 men on the highways. They overtook them at Gidom and struck 2,000 more dead.

All the Benjaminites who died that day were 25,000 armed men; all were warriors.

But 600 men escaped into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon and stayed there four months.

The 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.

The men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah: "None of us will give his daughter to a Benjaminite in marriage."^(a)

So the people went to Bethel and sat there before God^(b) until evening. They wept loudly and bitterly,

and cried out, "Why, Lord God of Israel, has it occurred^[a] that one tribe is missing in Israel today?"

The next day the people got up early, built an altar there,^(c) and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.

The Israelites asked, "Who of all the tribes of Israel didn't come to the Lord with the assembly?" For a great oath had been taken that anyone who had not come to the Lord at Mizpah would certainly be put to death.

But the Israelites had compassion on their brothers, the Benjaminites, and said, "Today a tribe has been cut off from Israel.

What should we do about wives for the survivors? We've sworn to the Lord not to give them any of our daughters as wives."

They asked, "Which city among the tribes of Israel didn't come to the Lord at Mizpah?" It turned out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp and the assembly.

For when the people were counted, no one was there from the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead.

The congregation sent 12,000 brave warriors^[b] there and commanded them: "Go and kill the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the sword,^(d) including women and children.

This is what you should do: Completely destroy every male, as well as every female who has slept with a man."

They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young women, who had not had sexual relations with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

The whole congregation sent a message of peace^(e) to the Benjaminites who were at the rock of Rimmon.

Benjamin returned at that time, and Israel gave them the women they had kept alive from Jabesh-gilead. But there were not enough for them.

The people had compassion on Benjamin, because the Lord had made this gap in the tribes of Israel.

The elders of the congregation said, "What should we do about wives for those who are left, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?"

They said, "There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out.

But we can't give them our daughters as wives." For the Israelites had sworn, "Anyone who gives a wife to a Benjaminite is cursed."

They also said, "Look, there's an annual festival to the Lord in Shiloh,^(f) which is north of Bethel, east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah."

Then they commanded the Benjaminites: "Go and hide in the vineyards.

Watch, and when you see the young women of Shiloh come out to perform the dances,^(g) each of you leave the vineyards and catch a wife for yourself from the young women of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

When their fathers or brothers come to us and protest, we will tell them, ‘Show favor to them, since we did not get enough wives for each of them in the battle. You didn't actually give the women to them, so^[c] you are not guilty of breaking your oath.'"

The Benjaminites did this and took the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities,^(h) and lived in them.

At that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and family. Each returned from there to his own inheritance.

In those days there was no king in Israel;⁽ⁱ⁾ everyone did whatever he wanted.^[d]