Judges 20:21-31

21 And the sons of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah and destroyed down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites that day.
22 And the people encouraged themselves, and the men of Israel set their battle again in order in the place where they put themselves in order the first day.
23 (And the sons of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the sons of Benjamin, my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.)
24 And the sons of Israel came near against the sons of Benjamin the second day.
25 And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day and again destroyed down to the ground eighteen thousand of the sons of Israel; all these drew the sword.
26 Then all the sons 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 evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
27 And the sons of Israel enquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
28 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 sons of Benjamin, my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into thy hand.
29 And Israel set ambushes round about Gibeah.
30 And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and put themselves in order against Gibeah as at the other times.
31 And the sons 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 the other times in the highways, one of which goes up to the house of God and the other to Gibeah by the field, and they killed about thirty men of Israel.

Judges 20:21-31 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 20

This chapter relates, how that there was an assembly of the children of Israel at Mizpeh, upon what had happened to the concubine of the Levite, where he appeared and related the whole affair to them, Jud 20:1-7 upon which they unanimously agreed to chastise the inhabitants of Gibeah for what they had done, Jud 20:8-11, and in order to do that sent to the tribe of Benjamin to deliver the guilty, but instead of that they took to their arms, and prepared for battle in defence of them, Jud 20:12-17 and two battles ensued on this, in which the Israelites, who were on the right side of the question, were worsted, Jud 20:18-25 but upon their seeking the Lord again, and their humiliation before him, they engaged a third time in battle, and got an entire victory over the Benjaminites, and destroyed them all excepting six hundred men, Jud 20:26-48.

The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010