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chapter 20
1
Then
all the children of Israel went out and gathered together as one man from Dan
to Bersabee, with the land of Galaad, to the Lord in Maspha:
2 And all the chiefs of the people, and all the tribes
of Israel met together in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred
thousand footmen fit for war.
3 (Nor were the children of Benjamin ignorant that the
children of Israel were come up to Maspha.) And the Levite the husband of the
woman that was killed, being asked, how so great a wickedness had been
committed,
4 Answered: I came into Gabaa of Benjamin with my wife,
and there I lodged:
5 And behold the men of that city in the night beset
the house wherein I was, intending to kill me, and abused my wife with an
incredible fury of lust, so that at last she died.
6 And I took her and cut her in pieces, and sent the,
parts into all the borders of your possession: because there never was so
heinous a crime, and so great an abomination committed in Israel.
7 You are all here, O children of Israel, determine
what you ought to do.
8 And all the people standing, answered as by the voice
of one man: We will not return to our tents, neither shall any one of us go
into his own house:
9 But this we will do in common against Gabaa:
10 We will take ten men of a hundred out of all the
tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten
thousand, to bring victuals for the army, that we might fight against Gabaa of
Benjamin, and render to it for its wickedness, what it deserveth.
11 And all Israel were gathered together against the
city, as one man, with one mind, and one counsel:
12 And they sent messengers to all the tribe of
Benjamin to say to them: Why hath so great an abomination been found among you?
13 Deliver up the men of Gabaa, that have committed
this heinous crime, that they may die, and the evil may be taken away out of
Israel. But they would not hearken to the proposition of their brethren the
children of Israel:
14 But out of all the cities which were of their lot,
they gathered themselves together into Gabaa, to aid them, and to fight against
the whole people of Israel.
15 And there were found of Benjamin five and twenty
thousand men that drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gabaa,
16 Who were seven hundred most valiant men, fighting
with the left hand as well as with the right: and slinging stones so sure that
they could hit even a hair, and not miss by the stone's going on either side.
17 Of the men of Israel also, beside the children of
Benjamin, were found four hundred thousand that drew swords, and were prepared
to fight.
18 And they arose and came to the house of God, that
is, to Silo: and they consulted God, and said: Who shall be in our army the
first to go to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the Lord
answered them: Let Juda be your leader.
19 And forthwith the children of Israel rising in the
morning, camped by Gabaa:
20 And going out from thence to fight against Benjamin,
began to assault the city.
21 And the children of Benjamin coming out of Gabaa,
slew of the children of Israel that day two and twenty thousand men.
22 Again Israel trusting in their strength and their
number, set their army in array in the same place, where they had fought
before:
23 Yet so that they first went up and wept before the
Lord until night: and consulted him, and said: Shall I go out any more to fight
against the children of Benjamin my brethren, or not? And he answered them: Go
up against them, and join battle.
24 And when the children of Israel went out the next
day to fight against the children of Benjamin,
25 The children of Benjamin sallied forth out of the
gates of Gabaa: and meeting them made so great a slaughter of them, as to kill
eighteen thousand men that drew the sword.
26 Wherefore all the children of Israel came to the
house of God, and sat and wept before the Lord: and they fasted that day till
the evening, and offered to him holocausts, and victims of peace offerings,
27 And inquired of him concerning their state. At that
time the ark of the covenant of the Lord was there,
28 And Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron was
over the house. So they consulted the Lord and said: Shall we go out any more
to fight against the children of Benjamin our brethren, or shall we cease? And
the Lord said to them: Go up, for to morrow I will deliver them into your
hands.
29 And the children of Israel set ambushes round about
the city of Gabaa:
30 And they drew up their army against Benjamin the
third time, as they had done the first and second.
31 And the children of Benjamin boldly issued out of
the city, and seeing their enemies flee, pursued them a long way, so as to
wound and kill some of them, as they had done the first and second day, whilst
they fled by two highways, whereof one goeth up to Bethel, and the other to
Gabaa, and they slew about thirty men:
32 For they thought to cut them off, as they did
before. But they artfully feigning a flight, designed to draw them away from
the city, and by their seeming to flee to bring them to the highways aforesaid.
33 Then all the children of Israel rising up out of the
places where they were, set their army in battle array, in the place which is
called Baalthamar. The ambushes also which were about the city, began by little
and little to come forth,
34 And to march from the west side of the city. And
other ten thousand men chosen out of all Israel attacked the inhabitants of the
city. And the battle grew hot against the children of Benjamin: and they
understood not that present death threatened them on every side.
35 And the Lord defeated them before the children of
Israel, and they slew of them in that day five and twenty thousand, and one hundred,
all fighting men and that drew the sword.
36 But the children of Benjamin when they saw
themselves to be too weak, began to flee. Which the children of Israel seeing,
gave them place to flee, that they might come to the ambushes that were
prepared, which they had set near the city.
37 And they that were in ambush arose on a sudden out
of their coverts, and whilst Benjamin turned their backs to the slayers, went
into the city, and smote it with the edge of the sword.
38 Now the children of Israel had given a sign to them,
whom they had laid in ambushes, that after they had taken the city, they should
make a fire: that by the smoke rising on high, they might shew that the city
was taken.
39 And when the children of Israel saw this in the
battle (for the children of Benjamin thought they fled and pursued them
vigorously, killing thirty men of their army)
40 And perceived as it were a pillar of smoke rise up
from the city; and Benjamin looking back, saw that the city was taken, and that
the flames ascended on high:
41 They that before had made as if they fled, turning
their faces stood bravely against them; which the children of Benjamin seeing,
turned their backs,
42 And began to go towards the way of the desert, the
enemy pursuing them thither also. And they that fired the city came also out to
meet them.
43 And so it was, that they were slain on both sides by
the enemies, and there was no rest of their men dying. They fell and were
beaten down on the east side of the city Gabaa.
44 And they that were slain in the same place were
eighteen thousand men, all most valiant soldiers.
45 And when they that remained of Benjamin saw this,
they fled into the wilderness and made towards the rock that is called Remmon.
In that flight, also as they were straggling and going different ways, they
slew of them five thousand men. And as they went farther, they still pursued
them, and slew also other two thousand.
46 And so it came to pass, that all that were slain of
Benjamin in divers places, were five and twenty thousand fighting men, most
valiant for war.
47 And there remained of all the number of Benjamin
only six hundred men that were able to escape, and flee to the wilderness: and
they abode in the rock Remmon four months.
48 But the children of Israel returning, put all the
remains of the city to the sword, both men and beasts, and all the cities and
villages of Benjamin were consumed with devouring flames.
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