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- Then the men of Israel besides Benjamin were numbered, 400,000 men who draw the sword; all these were men of war.
- Now the sons of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God and said, "Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?" Then the LORD said, "Judah shall go up first."
- So the sons of Israel arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah.
- The men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel arrayed for battle against them at Gibeah.
- Then the sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and felled to the ground on that day 22,000 men of Israel.
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- Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fighting men.
- The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, "Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?" The LORD replied, "Judah shall go first."
- The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah.
- The men of Israel went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah.
- The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day.
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- But the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves and arrayed for battle again in the place where they had arrayed themselves the first day.
- The sons of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall we again draw near for battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin?" And the LORD said, "Go up against him."
- Then the sons of Israel came against the sons of Benjamin the second day.
- Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah the second day and felled to the ground again 18,000 men of the sons of Israel; all these drew the sword.
- Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept; thus they remained there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
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- But the men of Israel encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day.
- The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the LORD. They said, "Shall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our brothers?" The LORD answered, "Go up against them."
- Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day.
- This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords.
- Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD.
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- The sons of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
- and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, Aaron's son, stood before it to minister in those days), saying, "Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?" And the LORD said, "Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand."
- So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah.
- The sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and arrayed themselves against Gibeah as at other times.
- The sons of Benjamin went out against the people and were drawn away from the city, and they began to strike and kill some of the people as at other times, on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, and in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
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- And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,
- with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, "Shall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?" The LORD responded, "Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands."
- Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah.
- They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before.
- The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn away from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads--the one leading to Bethel and the other to Gibeah.
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- The sons of Benjamin said, "They are struck down before us, as at the first." But the sons of Israel said, "Let us flee that we may draw them away from the city to the highways."
- Then all the men of Israel arose from their place and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar; and the men of Israel in ambush broke out of their place, even out of Maareh-geba.
- When ten thousand choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, the battle became fierce; but Benjamin did not know that disaster was close to them.
- And the LORD struck Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day, all who draw the sword.
- So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. When the men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah,
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- While the Benjamites were saying, "We are defeating them as before," the Israelites were saying, "Let's retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads."
- All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place on the west of Gibeah.
- Then ten thousand of Israel's finest men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize how near disaster was.
- The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.
- Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten. Now the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah.
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- the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.
- Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city.
- Then the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel, for they said, "Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle."
- But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, Benjamin looked behind them; and behold, the whole city was going up in smoke to heaven.
- Then the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified; for they saw that disaster was close to them.
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- The men who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword.
- The men of Israel had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city,
- and then the men of Israel would turn in the battle. The Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the men of Israel (about thirty), and they said, "We are defeating them as in the first battle."
- But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the smoke of the whole city going up into the sky.
- Then the men of Israel turned on them, and the men of Benjamin were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come upon them.
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- Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel toward the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them while those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of them.
- They surrounded Benjamin, pursued them without rest and trod them down opposite Gibeah toward the east.
- Thus 18,000 men of Benjamin fell; all these were valiant warriors.
- The rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, but they caught 5,000 of them on the highways and overtook them at Gidom and killed 2,000 of them.
- So all of Benjamin who fell that day were 25,000 men who draw the sword; all these were valiant warriors.
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- So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the desert, but they could not escape the battle. And the men of Israel who came out of the towns cut them down there.
- They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east.
- Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters.
- As they turned and fled toward the desert to the rock of Rimmon, the Israelites cut down five thousand men along the roads. They kept pressing after the Benjamites as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more.
- On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters.
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- But 600 men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon four months.
- The men of Israel then turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found.
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- But six hundred men turned and fled into the desert to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months.
- The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire.
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