Chapter III: Part 3

07:020:022 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.

07:020:023 (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.)

07:020:024 And the children of Israel came near against the children of
Benjamin the second day.

07:020:025 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.

07:020:026 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.

07:020:027 And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark
of the covenant of God was there in those days,

07:020:028 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.

07:020:029 And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.

07:020:030 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.

07:020:031 And 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.

07:020:032 And 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.

07:020:033 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, even out of the meadows
of Gibeah.

07:020:034 And 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.

07:020:035 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.

07:020:036 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.

07:020:037 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.

07:020:038 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.

07:020:039 And 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.

07:020:040 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.

07:020:041 And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin
were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them.

07:020:042 Therefore 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.

07:020:043 Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased
them, and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward
the sunrising.

07:020:044 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these
were men of valour.

07:020:045 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.

07:020:046 So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and
five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of
valour.

07:020:047 But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the
rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.

07:020:048 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 every city, as the beast, and all that came to
hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

07:021:001 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall
not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.

07:021:002 And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till
even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;

07:021:003 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?

07:021:004 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.

07:021:005 And the children of Israel said, Who is there among 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.

07:021:006 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their
brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this
day.

07:021:007 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?

07:021:008 And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that
came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came
none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.

07:021:009 For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of
the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.

07:021:010 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the
valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the
inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with
the women and the children.

07:021:011 And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly
destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.

07:021:012 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four
hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any
male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is
in the land of Canaan.

07:021:013 And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children
of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call
peaceably unto them.

07:021:014 And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives
which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and
yet so they sufficed them not.

07:021:015 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the
LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

07:021:016 Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for
wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out
of Benjamin?

07:021:017 And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be
escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of
Israel.

07:021:018 Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the
children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that
giveth a wife to Benjamin.

07:021:019 Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh
yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the
east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem,
and on the south of Lebonah.

07:021:020 Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go
and lie in wait in the vineyards;

07:021:021 And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to
dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch
you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to
the land of Benjamin.

07:021:022 And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come
unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable
unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man
his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this
time, that ye should be guilty.

07:021:023 And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives,
according to their number, of them that danced, whom they
caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and
repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.

07:021:024 And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every
man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from
thence every man to his inheritance.

07:021:025 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that
which was right in his own eyes.