Judges 20:45 - Prayer Tents



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Judges 20
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Israel Prepares for War

20All the people of Israel from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, as well as from the land of Gilead in the east, answered the call. They gathered in one body in the LORD's presence at Mizpah.H1121H3478H3318H5712H6950H259H376H1835H884H776H1568H3068H4709
2The leaders of all the tribes of Israel were present at this gathering of God's people, and there were 400,000 foot soldiers.H6438H5971H7626H3478H3320H6951H5971H430H702H3967H505H376H7273H8025H2719
3Meanwhile the people of Benjamin heard that all the other Israelites had gathered at Mizpah. The Israelites asked, "Tell us, how was this crime committed?"H1121H1144H8085H1121H3478H5927H4709H559H1121H3478H1696H1961H7451
4The Levite whose concubine had been murdered answered, "My concubine and I went to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin to spend the night.H3881H376H376H802H7523H6030H559H935H1390H1144H6370H3885
5The men of Gibeah came to get me and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me; instead they raped my concubine, and she died.H1167H1390H6965H5437H1004H5437H3915H1819H2026H6370H6031H4191
6I took her body, cut it in pieces, and sent one piece to each of the twelve tribes of Israel. These people have committed an evil and immoral act among us.H270H6370H5408H7971H7704H5159H3478H6213H2154H5039H3478
7All of you here are Israelites. What are we going to do about this?"H1121H3478H3051H1988H1697H6098
8All the people stood up together and said, "None of us, whether he lives in a tent or in a house, will go home.H5971H6965H259H376H559H376H3212H168H376H5493H1004
9This is what we will do: we will draw lots and choose some men to attack Gibeah.H1697H6213H1390H1486
10One tenth of the men in Israel will provide food for the army, and the others will go and punish Gibeah for this immoral act that they have committed in Israel."H3947H6235H582H3967H7626H3478H3967H505H505H7233H3947H6720H5971H6213H935H1387H1144H5039H6213H3478
11So all the men in Israel assembled with one purpose - to attack the town.H376H3478H622H5892H2270H259H376
12The Israelite tribes sent messengers all through the territory of the tribe of Benjamin to say, "What is this crime that you have committed?H7626H3478H7971H582H7626H1144H559H7451H1961
13Now hand over those perverts in Gibeah, so that we can kill them and remove this evil from Israel." But the people of Benjamin paid no attention to the other Israelites.H5414H582H1121H1100H1390H4191H1197H7451H3478H1121H1144H14H8085H6963H251H1121H3478
14From all the cities of Benjamin they came to Gibeah to fight the other people of Israel.H1121H1144H622H5892H1390H3318H4421H1121H3478
15They called out twenty-six thousand soldiers from their cities that day.H1121H1144H6485H3117H5892H6242H8337H505H376H8025H2719H3427H1390H6485H7651H3967H977H376
16Besides these, the citizens of Gibeah gathered seven hundred specially chosen men who were left-handed. Every one of them could sling a stone at a strand of hair and never miss.H5971H7651H3967H977H376H334H3027H3225H7049H68H8185H2398
17Not counting the tribe of Benjamin, the Israelites gathered 400,000 trained soldiers.H376H3478H1144H6485H702H3967H505H376H8025H2719H376H4421

The War against the Benjaminites

18The Israelites went to the place of worship at Bethel, and there they asked God, "Which tribe should attack the Benjaminites first?" The LORD answered, "The tribe of Judah."H1121H3478H6965H5927H1004H430H1008H7592H430H559H4310H5927H8462H4421H1121H1144H3068H559H3063H8462
19So the Israelites started out the next morning and camped near the city of Gibeah.H1121H3478H6965H1242H2583H1390
20They went to attack the army of Benjamin, and placed the soldiers in position facing the city.H376H3478H3318H4421H1144H376H3478H6186H4421H1390
21The army of Benjamin came out of the city, and before the day was over they had killed twenty-two thousand Israelite soldiers.H1121H1144H3318H1390H7843H776H3478H3117H6242H8147H505H376
22Then the Israelites went to the place of worship and mourned in the presence of the LORD until evening. They asked him, "Should we go again into battle against our brothers the Benjaminites?"H5971H376H3478H2388H4421H3254H6186H4725H6186H7223H3117
23The LORD answered, "Yes." So the Israelite army was encouraged, and they placed their soldiers in position again, where they had been the day before.H1121H3478H5927H1058H6440H3068H6153H7592H3068H559H5066H3254H4421H1121H1144H251H3068H559H5927
24They marched against the army of Benjamin a second time.H1121H3478H7126H1121H1144H8145H3117
25And for the second time the Benjaminites came out of Gibeah, and this time they killed eighteen thousand trained Israelite soldiers.H1144H3318H7125H1390H8145H3117H7843H776H1121H3478H8083H6240H505H376H8025H2719
26Then all the people of Israel went up to Bethel and mourned. They sat there in the LORD's presence and did not eat until evening. They offered fellowship sacrifices and burned some sacrifices whole - all in the presence of the LORD.H1121H3478H5971H5927H935H1004H430H1008H1058H3427H6440H3068H6684H3117H6153H5927H5930H8002H6440H3068
27God's Covenant Box was there at Bethel in those days, and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, was in charge of it.H1121H3478H7592H3068H727H1285H430H3117
28The people asked the LORD, "Should we go out to fight our brothers the Benjaminites again, or should we give up?" The LORD answered, "Fight. Tomorrow I will give you victory over them."H6372H1121H499H1121H175H5975H6440H3117H559H3254H3318H4421H1121H1144H251H2308H3068H559H5927H4279H5414H3027
29So the Israelites put some soldiers in hiding around Gibeah.H3478H7760H693H5439H1390
30Then for the third straight day they marched against the army of Benjamin and placed their soldiers in battle position facing Gibeah, as they had done before.H1121H3478H5927H1121H1144H7992H3117H6186H1390H6471
31The Benjaminites came out to fight and were led away from the city. As they had before, they began killing some Israelites in the open country, on the road to Bethel and on the road to Gibeah. They killed about thirty Israelites.H1121H1144H3318H7125H5971H5423H5892H2490H5221H5971H2491H6471H4546H259H5927H1004H430H1008H259H1390H7704H7970H376H3478
32The Benjaminites said, "We've beaten them just as before." But the Israelites had planned to retreat and lead them away from the city onto the roads.H1121H1144H559H5062H6440H7223H1121H3478H559H5127H5423H5892H4546
33So when the main army of the Israelites pulled back and regrouped at Baaltamar, the men surrounding Gibeah suddenly rushed out of their hiding places in the rocky country around the city.H376H3478H6965H4725H6186H1193H693H3478H1518H4725H4629H1387
34Ten thousand men, specially chosen out of all Israel, attacked Gibeah, and the fighting was hard. The Benjaminites had not realized that they were about to be destroyed.H935H5048H1390H6235H505H977H376H3478H4421H3513H3045H7451H5060
35The LORD gave Israel victory over the army of Benjamin. The Israelites killed 25,100 of the enemy that day,H3068H5062H1144H6440H3478H1121H3478H7843H1145H3117H6242H2568H505H3967H376H8025H2719

How the Israelites Won

36and the Benjaminites realized they were defeated. The main body of the Israelite army had retreated from the Benjaminites because they were relying on the men that they had put in hiding around Gibeah.H1121H1144H7200H5062H376H3478H5414H4725H1145H982H693H7760H1390
37These men ran quickly toward Gibeah; they spread out in the city and killed everyone there.H693H2363H6584H1390H693H4900H5221H5892H6310H2719
38The main Israelite army and the men in hiding had arranged a signal. When they saw a big cloud of smoke going up from the town,H4150H376H3478H5973H693H7235H4864H6227H5927H5892
39the Israelites out on the battlefield were to turn around. By this time the Benjaminites had already killed the thirty Israelites. They told themselves, "Yes, we've beaten them just as before."H376H3478H2015H4421H1144H2490H5221H2491H376H3478H7970H376H559H5062H5062H6440H7223H4421
40Then the signal appeared; a cloud of smoke began to go up from the town. The Benjaminites looked behind them and were amazed to see the whole city going up in flames.H4864H2490H5927H5892H5982H6227H1145H6437H310H3632H5892H5927H8064
41Then the Israelites turned around, and the Benjaminites were thrown into panic because they realized that they were about to be destroyed.H376H3478H2015H376H1144H926H7200H7451H5060
42They retreated from the Israelites and ran toward the open country, but they could not escape. They were caught between the main army and the men who were now coming out of the city, and they were destroyed.H6437H6440H376H3478H1870H4057H4421H1692H5892H7843H8432
43The Israelites had the enemy trapped, and without stopping they pursued them as far as a point east of Gibeah, killing them as they went.H3803H1145H3803H7291H1869H4496H5227H1390H4217H8121
44Eighteen thousand of the best Benjaminite soldiers were killed.H5307H1144H8083H6240H505H376H582H2428
45The others turned and ran toward the open country to Rimmon Rock. Five thousand of them were killed on the roads. The Israelites continued to pursue the rest to Gidom, killing two thousand.H6437H5127H4057H5553H7417H5953H4546H2568H505H376H1692H310H1440H5221H505H376
46In all, twenty-five thousand Benjaminites were killed that day - all of them brave soldiers.H5307H3117H1144H6242H2568H505H376H8025H2719H582H2428
47But six hundred men were able to escape to the open country to Rimmon Rock, and they stayed there four months.H8337H3967H376H6437H5127H4057H5553H7417H3427H5553H7417H702H2320
48The Israelites turned back against the rest of the Benjaminites and killed them all - men, women, and children, and animals as well. They burned every town in the area.H376H3478H7725H1121H1144H5221H6310H2719H4974H5892H5704H929H4672H7971H784H5892H4672


Good News Translation. Scripture taken from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission. More details.
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