1. |
And all the sons of Israel go out, and the company is assembled as one man, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, and the land of Gilead, unto Jehovah, at Mizpeh. |
2. |
And the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, station themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen drawing sword. |
3. |
And the sons of Benjamin hear that the sons of Israel have gone up to Mizpeh. And the sons of Israel say, `Speak ye, how hath this evil been?' |
4. |
And the man, the Levite, husband of the woman who hath been murdered, answereth and saith, `Into Gibeah (which `is' to Benjamin) I have come, I and my concubine, to lodge; |
5. |
and rise against me do the masters of Gibeah -- and they go round the house against me by night -- me they thought to slay, and my concubine they have humbled, and she dieth; |
6. |
and I lay hold on my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and send her into all the country of the inheritance of Israel; for they have done wickedness and folly in Israel; |
7. |
lo, ye `are' all sons of Israel; give for you a word and counsel here.' |
8. |
And all the people rise as one man, saying, `None of us doth go to his tent, and none of us doth turn aside to his house; |
9. |
and now, this `is' the thing which we do to Gibeah -- against it by lot! |
10. |
and we have taken ten men of a hundred, of all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of a myriad, to receive provision for the people, to do, at their coming to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly which it hath done in Israel.' |
11. |
And every man of Israel is gathered unto the city, as one man -- companions. |
12. |
And the tribes of Israel send men among all the tribes of Benjamin, saying, `What `is' this evil which hath been among you? |
13. |
And now, give up the men -- sons of worthlessness -- which `are' in Gibeah, and we put them to death, and we put away evil from Israel.' And `the sons of' Benjamin have not been willing to hearken to the voice of their brethren, the sons of Israel; |
14. |
and the sons of Benjamin are gathered out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle with the sons of Israel. |
15. |
And the sons of Benjamin number themselves on that day; out of the cities `are' twenty and six thousand men drawing sword, apart from the inhabitants of Gibeah, `who' numbered themselves, seven hundred chosen men; |
16. |
among all this people `are' seven hundred chosen men, bound of their right hand, each of these slinging with a stone at the hair, and he doth not err. |
17. |
And the men of Israel numbered themselves, apart from Benjamin, four hundred thousand men, drawing sword, each of these a man of war. |
18. |
And they rise and go up to Beth-El, and ask of God, and the sons of Israel say, `Who doth go up for us at the commencement to battle with the sons of Benjamin?' and Jehovah saith, `Judah -- at the commencement.' |
19. |
And the sons of Israel rise in the morning, and encamp against Gibeah, |
20. |
and the men of Israel go out to battle with Benjamin, and the men of Israel set themselves in array with them, `for' battle against Gibeah, |
21. |
and the sons of Benjamin come out from Gibeah, and destroy in Israel on that day two and twenty thousand men -- to the earth. |
22. |
And the people, the men of Israel, strengthen themselves, and add to set the battle in array in the place where they arranged themselves on the first day. |
23. |
And the sons of Israel go up and weep before Jehovah till the evening, and ask of Jehovah, saying, `Do I add to draw nigh to battle with the sons of Benjamin, my brother?' And Jehovah saith, `Go up against him.' |
24. |
And the sons of Israel draw near unto the sons of Benjamin on the second day, |
25. |
and Benjamin cometh out to meet them from Gibeah on the second day, and destroy among the sons of Israel again eighteen thousand men -- to the earth; all these are drawing sword. |
26. |
And all the sons of Israel go up, even all the people, and come in to Beth-El, and weep, and sit there before Jehovah, and fast on that day till the evening, and cause to ascend burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah. |
27. |
And the sons of Israel ask of Jehovah, -- and there `is' the ark of the covenant of God in those days, |
28. |
and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, is standing before it in those days -- saying, `Do I add again to go out to battle with the sons of Benjamin, my brother, or do I cease?' And Jehovah saith, `Go up, for to-morrow I give him into thy hand.' |
29. |
And Israel setteth liers in wait against Gibeah, round about, |
30. |
and the sons of Israel go up against the sons of Benjamin, on the third day, and arrange themselves against Gibeah, as time by time. |
31. |
And the sons of Benjamin come out to meet the people; they have been drawn away out of the city, and begin to smite `some' of the people -- wounded as time by time, in the highways (of which one is going up to Beth-El, and the other to Gibeah in the field), `are' about thirty men of Israel. |
32. |
And the sons of Benjamin say, `They are smitten before us as at the beginning;' but the sons of Israel said, `Let us flee, and draw them away out of the city, unto the highways.' |
33. |
And all the men of Israel have risen from their place, and arrange themselves at Baal-Tamar, and the ambush of Israel is coming forth out of its place, out of the meadow of Gibeah. |
34. |
And they come in over against Gibeah -- ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel -- and the battle `is' grievous, and they have not known that the evil is striking against them. |
35. |
And Jehovah smiteth Benjamin before Israel, and the sons of Israel destroy in Benjamin, on that day, twenty and five thousand, and a hundred men; all these `are' drawing sword. |
36. |
And the sons of Benjamin see that they have been smitten -- and the men of Israel give place to Benjamin, for they have trusted unto the ambush which they had set against Gibeah, |
37. |
and the ambush have hasted, and push against Gibeah, and the ambush draweth itself out, and smiteth the whole of the city by the mouth of the sword. |
38. |
And there was the appointed sign to the men of Israel with the ambush -- their causing to go up a great volume of smoke from the city. |
39. |
And the men of Israel turn in battle, and Benjamin hath begun to smite the wounded among the men of Israel, about thirty men, for they said, `Surely they are utterly smitten before us, as `at' the first battle; |
40. |
and the volume hath begun to go up from the city -- a pillar of smoke -- and Benjamin turneth behind, and lo, gone up hath the perfection of the city toward the heavens. |
41. |
And the men of Israel have turned, and the men of Benjamin are troubled, for they have seen that the evil hath stricken against them -- |
42. |
and they turn before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness, and the battle hath followed them; and those who `are' from the city are destroying them in their midst; |
43. |
they have compassed the Benjamites -- they have pursued them -- with ease they have trodden them down till over-against Gibeah, at the sun-rising. |
44. |
And there fall of Benjamin eighteen thousand men -- the whole of these `are' men of valour; |
45. |
and they turn and flee toward the wilderness, unto the rock of Rimmon; and they glean of them in the highways five thousand men, and follow after them unto Gidom, and smite of them two thousand men. |
46. |
And all those falling of Benjamin are twenty and five thousand men drawing sword, on that day -- the whole of these `are' men of valour; |
47. |
and there turn and flee into the wilderness, unto the rock of Rimmon six hundred men, and they dwell in the rock Rimmon four months. |
48. |
And the men of Israel have turned back unto the sons of Benjamin, and smite them by the mouth of the sword out of the city, -- men unto cattle, unto all that is found; also all the cities which are found they have sent into fire. |