Parallel Bible results for "judges 20"

Judges 20

The Complete Jewish Bible CJB

1 All the people of Isra'el came out, from Dan to Be'er-sheva, including Gil'ad; the community assembled with one accord before ADONAI at Mitzpah.

2 The leaders of all the tribes of Isra'el presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 foot soldiers armed with swords.

3 Now the people of Binyamin heard that the people of Isra'el had gone up to Mitzpah. The people of Isra'el said, "Tell us, how was this crime committed?"

4 The Levi, the husband of the murdered woman, answered, "I came to Giv'ah, which belongs to Binyamin, I and my concubine, to stay the night;

5 and the men in Giv'ah attacked me and surrounded the house I was staying in at night. They wanted to kill me, but instead they raped my concubine to death.

6 I took my concubine's body, cut it into pieces and sent them throughout all the territories belonging to Isra'el; because they committed a shockingly obscene and degrading crime in Isra'el.

7 Look, you are all people of Isra'el. So discuss what to do, and give your advice here and now."

8 All the people stood up in agreement and said, "None of us will go home to his tent or his house.

9 What we will do now to Giv'ah is this: we'll draw lots,

10 we'll take ten men out of each hundred throughout all the tribes of Isra'el, and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand to collect food for the others. When these come to Giv'ah in Binyamin, they will avenge the crime that was committed."

11 Thus all the men of Isra'el, joined together in complete agreement, assembled to attack the city.

12 The tribes of Isra'el sent men throughout all the tribe of Binyamin with this message: "What is this crime committed by some of your people?

13 Turn over these good-for-nothings who are in Giv'ah at once, so that we can execute them and rid Isra'el of such evil." But the people of Binyamin refused to obey the order of their kinsmen the people of Isra'el.

14 Instead the people of Binyamin gathered themselves together from their cities and went to Giv'ah to fight the people of Isra'el.

15 On that day there were 26,000 men from Binyamin armed with swords, besides the inhabitants of Giv'ah, who numbered 700 specially chosen men.

16 All of these 700 specially picked men were left-handed, and every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

17 The army of Isra'el, apart from Binyamin, numbered 400,000 men with swords; they were all experienced soldiers.

18 The army of Isra'el began by going up to Beit-El, where they asked God, "Who should go up first to attack the army of Binyamin?" ADONAI said, "Y'hudah first."

19 So the army of Isra'el got up in the morning and set up their camp near Giv'ah.

20 Then the army of Isra'el went out to attack Binyamin and set up their battle line in front of Giv'ah.

21 But the army of Binyamin came out of Giv'ah and slaughtered the army of Isra'el; on that day 22,000 men fell.

22 The people, the men of Isra'el, restored their morale and again positioned themselves for battle where they had been the first day.

23 Then the army of Isra'el went up and cried before ADONAI until evening. They asked ADONAI, "Should we attack our kinsmen the people of Binyamin again? ADONAI answered, "Attack them."

24 So the army of Isra'el went out to attack the army of Binyamin the second day.

25 But Binyamin went out against them from Giv'ah the second day and slaughtered the army of Isra'el; 18,000 men armed with swords fell.

26 Then the whole army of Isra'el, all the people, went up to Beit-El and cried and sat there in the presence of ADONAI. They fasted that day until evening, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to ADONAI,

27 and asked ADONAI what to do. The ark for the covenant of God was there at that time;

28 and Pinchas the son of El'azar, the son of Aharon, stood before it at that time. They asked, "Should we still go out to battle again against our kinsmen the people of Binyamin, or should we stop?" ADONAI answered, "Attack, because tomorrow I will hand them over to you."

29 Isra'el hid some men around Giv'ah,

30 and on the third day Isra'el attacked the army of Binyamin and took a position against Giv'ah as they had the other times.

31 Again the army of Binyamin went out against the people. Lured away from the city, they began attacking and killing some of the people, as they had the other times - they killed about thirty men of Isra'el in the countryside and on the roads, one of which goes up to Beit-El and the other to Giv'ah.

32 The army of Binyamin said, "They're defeated, just as before." But the army of Isra'el said, "Let's run off and draw them away from the city onto the roads."

33 All the men of Isra'el left their places and took up a battle position at Ba'al-Tamar, while the other Isra'el men burst out of their hiding places at Ma'areh-Geva.

34 Ten thousand men chosen out of all Isra'el came over to attack Giv'ah, and the combat was intense. But the army of Binyamin didn't know that they were about to be defeated.

35 For ADONAI routed Binyamin in Isra'el's presence; that day the army of Isra'el destroyed 25,100 men of Binyamin, all of whom carried swords;

36 and the people of Binyamin realized that they had been beaten. The men of Isra'el, trusting the ones they had put in place to ambush Binyamin, gave ground to the men of Binyamin.

37 Then the men who had been lying in wait rushed in on Giv'ah, drew their swords and destroyed the city.

38 The army of Isra'el and the ambushers had agreed that as a signal they would make a huge cloud of smoke rise from the city,

39 at which time the men of Isra'el would turn back. When this happened, Binyamin began to attack. They killed about thirty of Isra'el's men and said, "Clearly we're defeating them again, as in the first battle."

40 But when the smoke signal began rising from the city, the men of Binyamin looked behind them and saw the whole city going up to the sky in smoke.

41 Then, as the men of Isra'el reversed direction, those of Binyamin were overcome with terror. When they saw that disaster had come upon them,

42 they turned their backs on the men of Isra'el and made for the road to the desert. But the battle followed them, and those who came out of the city destroyed them from the rear.

43 They surrounded the men of Binyamin, chased them and trampled them down across from Giv'ah on the east.

44 Eighteen thousand men of Binyamin fell, all of them experienced soldiers.

45 They turned and fled toward the desert to the Rock of Rimmon; and 5,000 of them were killed on the roads. They followed them to Gid'om and killed another 2,000.

46 Thus the total number from Binyamin who fell that day was 25,000 experienced, sword-bearing soldiers.

47 But 600 turned and fled toward the desert to the Rock of Rimmon, and lived there four months.

48 The men of Isra'el turned back on the people of Binyamin and killed them with the sword, the entire city, the cattle and everything they found. Moreover, they set on fire all the cities they encountered.

The Bible in Basic English BBE

1 Then all the children of Israel took up arms, and the people came together like one man, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and the land of Gilead, before the Lord at Mizpah.

2 And the chiefs of the people, out of all the tribes of Israel, took their places in the meeting of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen armed with swords.

3 (Now the children of Benjamin had word that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the children of Israel said, Make clear how this evil thing took place.

4 Then the Levite, the husband of the dead woman, said in answer, I came to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin, I and my servant-wife, for the purpose of stopping there for the night.

5 And the townsmen of Gibeah came together against me, going round the house on all sides by night; it was their purpose to put me to death, and my servant-wife was violently used by them and is dead.

6 So I took her, cutting her into parts which I sent through all the country of the heritage of Israel: for they have done an act of shame in Israel.

7 Here you all are, you children of Israel; give now your suggestions about what is to be done.

8 Then all the people got up as one man and said, Not one of us will go to his tent or go back to his house:

9 But this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by the decision of the Lord;

10 And we will take ten men out of every hundred, through all the tribes of Israel, a hundred out of every thousand, a thousand out of every ten thousand, to get food for the people, so that they may give to Gibeah of Benjamin the right punishment for the act of shame they have done in Israel.

11 So all the men of Israel were banded together against the town, united like one man.

12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin saying, What is this evil which has been done among you?

13 Now give up those good-for-nothing persons in Gibeah so that we may put them to death, clearing away the evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not give ear to the voice of their brothers, the children of Israel.

14 And the children of Benjamin came together from all their towns to Gibeah, to go to war with the children of Israel.

15 And the children of Benjamin who came that day from the towns were twenty-six thousand men armed with swords, in addition to the people of Gibeah, numbering seven hundred of the best fighting-men,

16 Who were left-handed, able to send a stone at a hair without error.

17 And the men of Israel, other than Benjamin, were four hundred thousand in number, all armed with swords; they were all men of war.

18 And they got up and went up to Beth-el to get directions from God, and the children of Israel said, Who is to be the first to go up to the fight against the children of Benjamin? And the Lord said, Judah is to go up first.

19 So the children of Israel got up in the morning and put themselves in position against Gibeah.

20 And the men of Israel went out to war against Benjamin (and the men of Israel put their forces in fighting order against them at Gibeah).

21 Then the children of Benjamin came out from Gibeah, cutting down twenty-two thousand of the Israelites that day.

22 But the people, the men of Israel, taking heart again, put their forces in order and took up the same position as on the first day.

23 Now the children of Israel went up, weeping before the Lord till evening, requesting the Lord and saying, Am I to go forward again to the fight against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the Lord said, Go up against him.

24 So the children of Israel went forward against the children of Benjamin the second day.

25 And the second day Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah, cutting down eighteen thousand men of the children of Israel, all swordsmen.

26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up to Beth-el, weeping and waiting there before the Lord, going without food all day till evening, and offering burned offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord.

27 And the children of Israel made request to the Lord, (for the ark of the agreement of the Lord was there in those days,

28 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, was in his place before it,) and said, Am I still to go on with the fight against the children of Benjamin my brother, or am I to give it up? And the Lord said, Go on; for tomorrow I will give him into your hands.

29 So Israel put men secretly all round Gibeah to make a surprise attack on it.

30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in fighting order against Gibeah as before.

31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, moving away from the town; and as before, at their first attack, they put to death about thirty men of Israel on the highways, of which one goes up to Beth-el and the other to Gibeah, and in the open country.

32 And the children of Benjamin said, They are giving way before us as at first. But the children of Israel said, Let us go in flight and get them away from the town, into the highways.

33 So all the men of Israel got up and put themselves in fighting order at Baal-tamar: and those who had been waiting secretly to make a surprise attack came rushing out of their place on the west of Geba.

34 And they came in front of Gibeah, ten thousand of the best men in all Israel, and the fighting became more violent; but the children of Benjamin were not conscious that evil was coming on them.

35 Then the Lord sent sudden fear on Benjamin before Israel; and that day the children of Israel put to death twenty-five thousand, one hundred men of Benjamin, all of them swordsmen.

36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were overcome: and the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, putting their faith in the watchers who were to make the surprise attack on Gibeah.

37 And the watchers, rushing on Gibeah and overrunning it, put all the town to the sword without mercy.

38 Now the sign fixed between the men of Israel and those making the surprise attack was that when they made a pillar of smoke go up from the town,

39 The men of Israel were to make a turn about in the fight. And Benjamin had overcome and put to death about thirty of the men of Israel, and were saying, Certainly they are falling back before us as in the first fight.

40 Then the sign went up out of the town in the pillar of smoke, and the Benjamites, turning back, saw all the town going up in smoke to heaven.

41 And the men of Israel had made a turn about, and the men of Benjamin were overcome with fear, for they saw that evil had overtaken them.

42 So turning their backs on the men of Israel, they went in the direction of the waste land; but the fight overtook them; and those who came out of the town were heading them off and putting them to the sword.

43 And crushing Benjamin down, they went after them, driving them from Nohah as far as the east side of Gibeah.

44 Eighteen thousand men of Benjamin came to their death, all strong men of war.

45 And turning, they went in flight to the rock of Rimmon in the waste land: and on the highways five thousand of them were cut off by the men of Israel, who, pushing on hard after them to Geba, put to death two thousand more.

46 So twenty-five thousand of the swordsmen of Benjamin came to their end that day, all strong men of war.

47 But six hundred men, turning back, went in flight to the rock of Rimmon in the waste land, and were living on the rock of Rimmon for four months.

48 And the men of Israel, turning again against the children of Benjamin, put to the sword without mercy all the towns and the cattle and everything there was, burning every town which came into their hands.