| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh. | 1Then all Israel from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came together as one and assembled before the LORD in Mizpah. |
| 2And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. | 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. |
| 3(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell us, how was this wickedness? | 3(The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, "Tell us how this awful thing happened." |
| 4And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. | 4So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, "I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. |
| 5And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead. | 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. |
| 6And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly 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. |
| 7Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel. | 7Now, all you Israelites, speak up and tell me what you have decided to do." |
| 8And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into 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. |
| 9But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it; | 9But now this is what we'll do to Gibeah: We'll go up against it in the order decided by casting lots. |
| 10And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought 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 were gathered against the city, knit together as one man. | 11So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city. |
| 12And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you? | 12The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What about this awful crime that was committed among you? |
| 13Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel: | 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. |
| 14But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. | 14From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. |
| 15And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men. | 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 all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss. | 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. |
| 17And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war. | 17Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle. |
| 18And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first. | 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." |
| 19And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah. | 19The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. |
| 20And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah. | 20The Israelites went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. |
| 21And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men. | 21The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. |
| 22And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day. | 22But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. |
| 23(And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.) | 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." |
| 24And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day. | 24Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. |
| 25And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword. | 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. |
| 26Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before 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. |
| 27And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, | 27And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, |
| 28And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand. | 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." |
| 29And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah. | 29Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah. |
| 30And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. | 30They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. |
| 31And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel. | 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. |
| 32And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways. | 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." |
| 33And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows 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. |
| 34And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them. | 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. |
| 35And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword. | 35The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. |
| 36So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside 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. |
| 37And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword. | 37Those who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword. |
| 38Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city. | 38The Israelites had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city, |
| 39And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first 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 flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven. | 40But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the whole city going up in smoke. |
| 41And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them. | 41Then the Israelites counterattacked, and the Benjamites were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come on them. |
| 42Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of 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. |
| 43Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising. | 43They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. |
| 44And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valour. | 44Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters. |
| 45And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them. | 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. |
| 46So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour. | 46On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. |
| 47But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months. | 47But six hundred of them turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. |
| 48And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to. | 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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