Judges 20:45 - Prayer Tents



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Judges 20
New King James Version Help

Israel’s War with the Benjamites

20So all the children of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, as well as from the land of Gilead, and the congregation gathered together as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.H1121H3478H3318H5712H6950H259H376H1835H884H776H1568H3068H4709 2And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers who drew the sword.H6438H5971H7626H3478H3320H6951H5971H430H702H3967H505H376H7273H8025H2719 3(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the children of Israel said, "Tell us, how did this wicked deed happen?"H1121H1144H8085H1121H3478H5927H4709H559H1121H3478H1696H1961H7451 4So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, "My concubine and I went into Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, to spend the night.H3881H376H376H802H7523H6030H559H935H1390H1144H6370H3885 5"And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me, but instead they ravished my concubine so that she died.H1167H1390H6965H5437H1004H5437H3915H1819H2026H6370H6031H4191 6"So I took hold of my concubine, cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel, because they committed lewdness and outrage in Israel.H270H6370H5408H7971H7704H5159H3478H6213H2154H5039H3478 7"Look! All of you are children of Israel; give your advice and counsel here and now!"H1121H3478H3051H1988H1697H6098 8So all the people arose as one man, saying, "None of us will go to his tent, nor will any turn back to his house;H5971H6965H259H376H559H376H3212H168H376H5493H1004 9"but now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: We will go up against it by lot.H1697H6213H1390H1486 10"We will take ten men out of every hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, to make provisions for the people, that when they come to Gibeah in Benjamin, they may repay all the vileness that they have done in Israel."H3947H6235H582H3967H7626H3478H3967H505H505H7233H3947H6720H5971H6213H935H1387H1144H5039H6213H3478 11So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united together as one man.H376H3478H622H5892H2270H259H376 12Then the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What is this wickedness that has occurred among you?H7626H3478H7971H582H7626H1144H559H7451H1961 13"Now therefore, deliver up the men, the perverted men who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and remove the evil from Israel!" But the children of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brethren, the children of Israel.H5414H582H1121H1100H1390H4191H1197H7451H3478H1121H1144H14H8085H6963H251H1121H3478 14Instead, the children of Benjamin gathered together from their cities to Gibeah, to go to battle against the children of Israel.H1121H1144H622H5892H1390H3318H4421H1121H3478 15And from their cities at that time the children of Benjamin numbered twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered seven hundred select men.H1121H1144H6485H3117H5892H6242H8337H505H376H8025H2719H3427H1390H6485H7651H3967H977H376 16Among all this people were seven hundred select men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair's breadth and not miss.H5971H7651H3967H977H376H334H3027H3225H7049H68H8185H2398 17Now besides Benjamin, the men of Israel numbered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.H376H3478H1144H6485H702H3967H505H376H8025H2719H376H4421 18Then the children of Israel arose and went up to the house of God to inquire of God. They said, "Which of us shall go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin?" The LORD said, "Judah first!"H1121H3478H6965H5927H1004H430H1008H7592H430H559H4310H5927H8462H4421H1121H1144H3068H559H3063H8462 19So the children of Israel rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah.H1121H3478H6965H1242H2583H1390 20And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel put themselves in battle array to fight against them at Gibeah.H376H3478H3318H4421H1144H376H3478H6186H4421H1390 21Then the children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day cut down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites.H1121H1144H3318H1390H7843H776H3478H3117H6242H8147H505H376 22And the people, that is, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves and again formed the battle line at the place where they had put themselves in array on the first day.H5971H376H3478H2388H4421H3254H6186H4725H6186H7223H3117 23Then the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, "Shall I again draw near for battle against the children of my brother Benjamin?" And the LORD said, "Go up against him."H1121H3478H5927H1058H6440H3068H6153H7592H3068H559H5066H3254H4421H1121H1144H251H3068H559H5927 24So the children of Israel approached the children of Benjamin on the second day.H1121H3478H7126H1121H1144H8145H3117 25And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day, and cut down to the ground eighteen thousand more of the children of Israel; all these drew the sword.H1144H3318H7125H1390H8145H3117H7843H776H1121H3478H8083H6240H505H376H8025H2719 26Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.H1121H3478H5971H5927H935H1004H430H1008H1058H3427H6440H3068H6684H3117H6153H5927H5930H8002H6440H3068 27So the children of Israel inquired of the LORD (the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,H1121H3478H7592H3068H727H1285H430H3117 28and 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 children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?" And the LORD said, "Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand."H6372H1121H499H1121H175H5975H6440H3117H559H3254H3318H4421H1121H1144H251H2308H3068H559H5927H4279H5414H3027 29Then Israel set men in ambush all around Gibeah.H3478H7760H693H5439H1390 30And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in battle array against Gibeah as at the other times.H1121H3478H5927H1121H1144H7992H3117H6186H1390H6471 31So the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. They began to strike down and kill some of the people, as at the other times, in the highways (one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah) and in the field, about thirty men of Israel.H1121H1144H3318H7125H5971H5423H5892H2490H5221H5971H2491H6471H4546H259H5927H1004H430H1008H259H1390H7704H7970H376H3478 32And the children of Benjamin said, "They are defeated before us, as at first." But the children of Israel said, "Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways."H1121H1144H559H5062H6440H7223H1121H3478H559H5127H5423H5892H4546 33So all the men of Israel rose from their place and put themselves in battle array at Baal Tamar. Then Israel's men in ambush burst forth from their position in the plain of Geba.H376H3478H6965H4725H6186H1193H693H3478H1518H4725H4629H1387 34And ten thousand select men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not know that disaster was upon them.H935H5048H1390H6235H505H977H376H3478H4421H3513H3045H7451H5060 35The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel. And the children of Israel destroyed that day twenty-five thousand one hundred Benjamites; all these drew the sword.H3068H5062H1144H6440H3478H1121H3478H7843H1145H3117H6242H2568H505H3967H376H8025H2719 36So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel had given ground to the Benjamites, because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah.H1121H1144H7200H5062H376H3478H5414H4725H1145H982H693H7760H1390 37And the men in ambush quickly rushed upon Gibeah; the men in ambush spread out and struck the whole city with the edge of the sword.H693H2363H6584H1390H693H4900H5221H5892H6310H2719 38Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise up from the city,H4150H376H3478H5973H693H7235H4864H6227H5927H5892 39whereupon the men of Israel would turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to strike and kill about thirty of the men of Israel. For they said, "Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle."H376H3478H2015H4421H1144H2490H5221H2491H376H3478H7970H376H559H5062H5062H6440H7223H4421 40But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and there was the whole city going up in smoke to heaven.H4864H2490H5927H5892H5982H6227H1145H6437H310H3632H5892H5927H8064 41And when the men of Israel turned back, the men of Benjamin panicked, for they saw that disaster had come upon them.H376H3478H2015H376H1144H926H7200H7451H5060 42Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them, and whoever came out of the cities they destroyed in their midst.H6437H6440H376H3478H1870H4057H4421H1692H5892H7843H8432 43They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them, and easily trampled them down as far as the front of Gibeah toward the east.H3803H1145H3803H7291H1869H4496H5227H1390H4217H8121 44And eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all these were men of valor.H5307H1144H8083H6240H505H376H582H2428 45Then they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon; and they cut down five thousand of them on the highways. Then they pursued them relentlessly up to Gidom, and killed two thousand of them.H6437H5127H4057H5553H7417H5953H4546H2568H505H376H1692H310H1440H5221H505H376 46So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of valor.H5307H3117H1144H6242H2568H505H376H8025H2719H582H2428 47But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they stayed at the rock of Rimmon for four months.H8337H3967H376H6437H5127H4057H5553H7417H3427H5553H7417H702H2320 48And the men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword—from every city, men and beasts, all who were found. They also set fire to all the cities they came to.H376H3478H7725H1121H1144H5221H6310H2719H4974H5892H5704H929H4672H7971H784H5892H4672


New King James Version (NKJV). Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. More details.
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