21 So he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto the asses: and they washed their
feet, and did eat and drink.
22 Nowas they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of
Belial, beset the house round about, andbeat at the door, and spake to the master of the house,
the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.
23 And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my
brethren, nay, I pray you, do not sowickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do
not this folly.
24 Behold, here ismy daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and
humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile
a thing.
25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth
unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day
began to spring, they let her go.
26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's
house where her lord was, till it was light.
27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go
his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down atthe door of the house, and her
hands wereupon the threshold.
28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up
upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.
29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and
divided her, togetherwith her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of
Israel.
30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day
that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take
advice, and speak your minds.
1 Then 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.
2 And the chief of all the people, evenof all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the
assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.
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?
4 And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into
Gibeah that belongethto Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.
5 And 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.
6 And 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.
7 Behold, ye areall children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel.
8 And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of usgo to his tent, neither will
we any of usturn into his house.
9 But now this shall bethe thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go upby lot against it;
10 And 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.
11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What
wickedness isthis that is done among you?
13 Now therefore deliver usthe men, the children of Belial, which arein 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:
14 But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to
go out to battle against the children of Israel.
15 And 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.
16 Among all this people there wereseven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could
sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.
17 And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that
drew sword: all these weremen of war.
18 And 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 upfirst.
19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.
20 And 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.
21 And 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.
22 And 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.
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.)
24 And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day.
25 And 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.
26 Then 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.
27 And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was
there in those days,
28 And 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.
29 And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.
30 And 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.
31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, andwere drawn away from the
city; and they began to smite of the people, andkill, 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.
32 And the children of Benjamin said, They aresmitten 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.
33 And 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, evenout of the
34 And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was
sore: but they knew not that evil wasnear them.
35 And 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.
36 So 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.
37 And 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.
38 Now 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.
39 And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite andkill of the
men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in
the first battle.
40 But 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.
41 And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw
that evil was come upon them.
42 Therefore they turned their backsbefore the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness;
but the battle overtook them; and them which cameout of the cities they destroyed in the midst
of them.
43 Thusthey inclosed the Benjamites round about, andchased them, andtrode them down with
ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.
44 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these weremen of valour.
45 And 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.
46 So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew
the sword; all these weremen of valour.
47 But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in
the rock Rimmon four months.
48 And 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 everycity, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also
they set on fire all the cities that they came to.
1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter
unto Benjamin to wife.
2 And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up
their voices, and wept sore;
3 And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day
one tribe lacking in Israel?
4 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and
offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5 And the children of Israel said, Who is thereamong all the tribes of Israel that came not up
with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came
not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one
tribe cut off from Israel this day.
7 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we
will not give them of our daughters to wives?
