Then the tribes of Israel sent men throughout all the tribes of Benjamin, saying, "What [is] this wickedness that happened among you?

But the {Israelites} had compassion for Benjamin, their relatives, and they said, "Today one tribe is cut off from Israel.

And they said, "[There must be] a remnant for Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be blotted out from Israel.

We will take ten men of one hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred of one thousand, and one thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions to the troops, to repay [them] when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin for all the disgraceful things they did in Israel."

And the people felt sorry for Benjamin because {Yahweh weakened the tribes of Israel}.

But the descendants of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived among the descendants of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

And Yahweh defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and the {Israelites} destroyed on that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin, all of them {sword-wielding}.

The descendants of Benjamin saw that they were defeated, and the men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin because they trusted the ambush that they had set against Gibeah.

In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites [was] seeking territory for itself to live in, because until that day it had not been allotted territory among the tribes of Israel.

From Ephraim [is] their root into Amalek, after you, Benjamin, with your family; from Makir [the] commanders went down, and from Zebulun [those] carrying [the] scepter of [the] military commander.

The {Ammonites} crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim; and Israel was very distressed.

So they crossed over and went their way, and the sun went down on them beside Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

Then behold, an old man [was] coming from his work from the field in the evening, and the man [was] from the hill country of Ephraim, and he [was] dwelling as a foreigner in Gibeah. (The people of the place [were] descendants of Benjamin.)

(The descendants of Benjamin heard that the {Israelites} had gone up [to] Mizpah.) And the {Israelites} said, "Tell us, how did this evil act occur?"

The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered and said, "I came to Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night.

So then, hand over the men, {the perverse lot}, who [are] in Gibeah, so that we may kill them and purge [this] wickedness from Israel." But the descendants of Benjamin were not willing to listen to the voice of their relatives, the {Israelites}.

And the descendants of Benjamin were gathered from the cities to Gibeah to go out for battle against the {Israelites}.

From the cities the descendants of Benjamin were counted on that day twenty-six thousand {sword-wielding men}, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were counted seven hundred well-trained men.

And the men of Israel besides Benjamin were counted four hundred thousand {sword-wielding men}; {all were warriors}.

Then the {Israelites} got up and went up [to] Bethel, and they inquired of God, saying, "Who will go up first for the battle against the descendants of Benjamin?" And Yahweh said, "Judah [will go] first."

Then the men of Israel marched out for the battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel took up positions against them [for] battle at Gibeah.

The descendants of Benjamin went out from Gibeah, and they struck down on that day twenty-two thousand men of Israel to the ground.

The {Israelites} went up and wept before Yahweh until evening and inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Should we again draw near from the battle against the descendants of Benjamin, our relatives?" And Yahweh said, "Go up against them."

And the {Israelites} drew near to the descendants of Benjamin on the second day.

And Benjamin went out from Gibeah to meet them on the second day, and they struck down the {Israelites} again, eighteen thousand men to the ground; all of these [were] {sword-wielding}.

and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, [was] standing {before it} [to minister] in those days), saying, "Should we go out once more to battle against the descendants of Benjamin our relatives, or should we stop?" And Yahweh said, "Go up tomorrow; I will give them into your hand."

And the {Israelites} went up against the descendants of Benjamin on the third day, and they took up positions against Gibeah as before.

The descendants of Benjamin went out to meet the troops, and they lured [them] away from the city and began to inflict casualties on the troops as before, on the main road, one of which goes up [to] Bethel, the other to Gibeah; [and] in the field [there were] about thirty men of Israel.

And the descendants of Benjamin thought, "They [are] being defeated before us {as previously}," and the {Israelites} said, "Let us flee and lure them away from the city to the main roads."

And the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to inflict casualties on about thirty men of Israel because they thought, "They will be completely defeated before us as in the first battle."

And the cloud of smoke began to go up from the city in a column of smoke, and Benjamin turned backward, and behold, the whole city was going up {in smoke}!

And the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed because they saw that disaster was {closing in} on them.

They surrounded Benjamin; they pursued them without rest [and] trod them down opposite Gibeah to the east.

And eighteen thousand men from Benjamin fell, all of them {able men}.

So all of Benjamin who fell on that day were twenty-five thousand {sword-wielding men}; all of these [were] {able men}.

And the men of Israel returned to the descendants of Benjamin, and they put them to {the edge of the sword}, both the inhabitants of city and [the] animals that were found; they also set on fire all the cities that they found.

The men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, saying, "None of us will give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife."

Then the congregation sent and spoke all [this] to the descendants of Benjamin who [were] at the rock of Rimmon, and {they assured them they would not be hurt}.

And Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave to them the women whom they kept alive from Jabesh-gilead; but they were not enough for them.

So the elders of the congregation said, "What should we do for the remaining [ones] for wives, since the women from Benjamin have been destroyed?"

But we cannot give them wives from our daughters." (For the {Israelites} swore, saying, "Cursed be [anyone] who gives a wife to Benjamin.")

They instructed the descendants of Benjamin, saying, "Go, lie in ambush in the vineyards,

and watch and look; when the daughters of Shiloh dance in the dances, come out from the vineyards and seize for yourselves a wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

The descendants of Benjamin did likewise, and they took wives for each of them from the dancers whom they seized, and they went and returned to their territory, and they rebuilt the cities and they lived in them.