| New Living Translation | New International Version |
| 1Then all the Israelites were united as one man, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, including those from across the Jordan in the land of Gilead. The entire community assembled in the presence of 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 and all the tribes of Israel—400,000 warriors armed with swords—took their positions in the assembly of the people of God. | 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(Word soon reached the land of Benjamin that the other tribes had gone up to Mizpah.) The Israelites then asked how this terrible crime had 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 woman who had been murdered, said, “My concubine and I came to spend the night in Gibeah, a town that belongs to the people of Benjamin. | 4So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, "I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. |
| 5That night some of the leading citizens of Gibeah surrounded the house, planning to kill me, and they raped my concubine until she was 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. |
| 6So I cut her body into twelve pieces and sent the pieces throughout the territory assigned to Israel, for these men have committed a terrible and shameful crime. | 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. |
| 7Now then, all of you—the entire community of Israel—must decide here and now what should be done about this!” | 7Now, all you Israelites, speak up and tell me what you have decided to do." |
| 8And all the people rose to their feet in unison and declared, “None of us will return home! No, not even one of us! | 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. |
| 9Instead, this is what we will do to Gibeah; we will draw lots to decide who will attack it. | 9But now this is what we'll do to Gibeah: We'll go up against it in the order decided by casting lots. |
| 10One-tenth of the men from each tribe will be chosen to supply the warriors with food, and the rest of us will take revenge on Gibeah of Benjamin for this shameful thing they have done 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 Israelites were completely united, and they gathered together to attack the town. | 11So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city. |
| 12The Israelites sent messengers to the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What a terrible thing has been 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? |
| 13Give up those evil men, those troublemakers from Gibeah, so we can execute them and purge Israel of this evil.” But the people of Benjamin would not listen. | 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. |
| 14Instead, they came from their towns and gathered at Gibeah to fight the Israelites. | 14From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. |
| 15In all, 26,000 of their warriors armed with swords arrived in Gibeah to join the 700 elite troops who lived there. | 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 Benjamin’s elite troops, 700 were left-handed, and each of them could sling a rock and hit a target within a hairsbreadth without missing. | 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. |
| 17Israel had 400,000 experienced soldiers armed with swords, not counting Benjamin’s warriors. | 17Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle. |
| 18Before the battle the Israelites went to Bethel and asked God, “Which tribe should go first to attack the people of Benjamin?” The LORD answered, “Judah is to go 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." |
| 19So the Israelites left early the next morning and camped near Gibeah. | 19The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. |
| 20Then they advanced toward Gibeah to attack the men of Benjamin. | 20The Israelites went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. |
| 21But Benjamin’s warriors, who were defending the town, came out and killed 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield that day. | 21The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. |
| 22But the Israelites encouraged each other and took their positions again at the same place they had fought the previous day. | 22But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. |
| 23For they had gone up to Bethel and wept in the presence of the LORD until evening. They had asked the LORD, “Should we fight against our relatives from Benjamin again?” And the LORD had said, “Go out and fight against 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 next day they went out again to fight against the men of Benjamin, | 24Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. |
| 25but the men of Benjamin killed another 18,000 Israelites, all of whom were experienced with 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 Israelites went up to Bethel and wept in the presence of the LORD and fasted until evening. They also brought burnt offerings and peace offerings 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 went up seeking direction from the LORD. (In those days the Ark of the Covenant of God was in Bethel, | 27And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, |
| 28and Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron was the priest.) The Israelites asked the LORD, “Should we fight against our relatives from Benjamin again, or should we stop?” The LORD said, “Go! 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 the Israelites set an ambush all around Gibeah. | 29Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah. |
| 30They went out on the third day and took their positions at the same place as before. | 30They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. |
| 31When the men of Benjamin came out to attack, they were drawn away from the town. And as they had done before, they began to kill the Israelites. About thirty Israelites died in the open fields and along the roads, one leading to Bethel and the other leading back to Gibeah. | 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 warriors of Benjamin shouted, “We’re defeating them as we did before!” But the Israelites had planned in advance to run away so that the men of Benjamin would chase them along the roads and be drawn away from the town. | 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." |
| 33When the main group of Israelite warriors reached Baal-tamar, they turned and took up their positions. Meanwhile, the Israelites hiding in ambush to the west of Gibeah jumped up to fight. | 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. |
| 34There were 10,000 elite Israelite troops who advanced against Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that Benjamin didn’t realize the impending disaster. | 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. |
| 35So the LORD helped Israel defeat Benjamin, and that day the Israelites killed 25,100 of Benjamin’s warriors, all of whom were experienced swordsmen. | 35The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. |
| 36Then the men of Benjamin saw that they were beaten. The Israelites had retreated from Benjamin’s warriors in order to give those hiding in ambush more room to maneuver against 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. |
| 37Then those who were hiding rushed in from all sides and killed everyone in the town. | 37Those who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword. |
| 38They had arranged to send up a large cloud of smoke from the town as a signal. | 38The Israelites had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city, |
| 39When the Israelites saw the smoke, they turned and attacked Benjamin’s warriors. By that time Benjamin’s warriors had killed about thirty Israelites, and they shouted, “We’re defeating them as we did 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 warriors of Benjamin looked behind them and saw the smoke rising into the sky from every part of the town, | 40But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the whole city going up in smoke. |
| 41the men of Israel turned and attacked. At this point the men of Benjamin became terrified, because they realized disaster was close at hand. | 41Then the Israelites counterattacked, and the Benjamites were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come on them. |
| 42So they turned around and fled before the Israelites toward the wilderness. But they couldn’t escape the battle, and the people who came out of the nearby towns were also killed. | 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. |
| 43The Israelites surrounded the men of Benjamin and chased them relentlessly, finally overtaking them east of Gibeah. | 43They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. |
| 44That day 18,000 of Benjamin’s strongest warriors died in battle. | 44Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters. |
| 45The survivors fled into the wilderness toward the rock of Rimmon, but Israel killed 5,000 of them along the road. They continued the chase until they had killed another 2,000 near Gidom. | 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 day the tribe of Benjamin lost 25,000 strong warriors armed with swords, | 46On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. |
| 47leaving only 600 men who escaped to the rock of Rimmon, where they lived for 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 Israelites returned and slaughtered every living thing in all the towns—the people, the livestock, and everything they found. They also burned down all the towns 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. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | 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. |
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