that by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of LORD to walk in it, as their fathers kept it, or not.

But he himself turned back from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand to thee, O king. And he said, Keep silence. And all who stood by him went out from him.

And his master said to him, We will not turn aside into the city of a foreigner that is not of the sons of Israel, but we will pass over to Gibeah.

And he said to his servant, Come and let us draw near to one of these places, and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.

So they passed on and went their way. And the sun went down upon them near to Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

And they turned aside there, to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And he went in, and sat down in the street of the city, for there was no man that took them into his house to lodge.

And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at evening. Now the man was of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjamites.

And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.

And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about me by night. They thought to have me slain, and they forced my concubine, and she is dead.

But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: [We will go up] against it by lot,

and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch provision for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin,

Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows, who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brothers the sons of Israel.

And the sons of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel.

And the sons of Benjamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty-six thousand men who drew a sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

And the sons of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.

And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin. And the men of Israel set the battle in array against them at Gibeah.

And the sons of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day twenty-two thousand men.

And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the sons of Israel again eighteen thousand men. All these drew the sword.

And Israel set an ambushment against Gibeah round about.

And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.

And the sons of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. And they began to smite and kill of the people as at other times, in the highways, of which one goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah, in

And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at Baal-tamar, and the ambushment of Israel broke forth out of their place, even out of Maareh-geba.

And there came opposite Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was severe, but they knew not that evil was close upon them.

So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were smitten, for the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin because they trusted to the ambushment whom they had set against Gibeah.

And the ambushment hastened, and rushed upon Gibeah. And the ambushment drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.

They enclosed the Benjamites round about, [and] chased them, [and] trod them down at [their] resting-place, as far as opposite Gibeah toward the sunrise.