Judges 20:29-44

International Standard Version

²⁹ So Israel set soldiers in ambush around Gibeah. ³⁰ The Israelis went out against the descendants of Benjamin on the third day, arraying themselves against Gibeah as they had done previously. ³¹ They attacked the army and were drawn away from the city as they began to inflict casualties on the soldiers along the roads to Bethel and Gibeah, just as they had done the other times. About 30 soldiers from Israel fell in battle there^[a] and in the fields.

³² Then the descendants of Benjamin told themselves,^[b] “They’re falling right in front of us, just like before!”

But the army of Israel told themselves, “Let’s draw them away by escaping to the highways from the city.” ³³ So the entire army of Israel moved from their location and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamer while that part of their army moved from their ambush positions from Maareh-geba. ³⁴ As 10,000 of Israel’s best soldiers came to fight Gibeah, the battle became fierce, but the army of Benjamin didn’t know that disaster was close at hand. ³⁵ The Lord struck Benjamin in the full view of Israel. As a result, the Israelis destroyed 25,100 soldiers of Benjamin that day, all expert swordsmen.

³⁶ Then the descendants of Benjamin realized that they had been defeated. The army of Israel pretended to retreat from the army of Benjamin, knowing that they had set some soldiers in ambush near Gibeah. ³⁷ The soldiers in ambush rushed out to attack Gibeah, deploying in force^[c] and executing the entire city with swords. ³⁸ Meanwhile, the army of Israel had arranged to signal their soldiers who had been hiding in ambush by sending up a cloud of smoke from the city. ³⁹ The army of Israel turned around in the battle, and the army of Benjamin began to attack and kill about 30 soldiers, thinking, “Now we’re really defeating them,^[d] just like before.”

⁴⁰ But then the smoke began to rise from the city in a column. The army of Benjamin observed behind them that the whole city was going up in flames^[e] straight into the sky! ⁴¹ At that point, as the army of Israel turned back to face the army of Benjamin,^[f] the army of Benjamin was filled with terror, because they realized that disaster was about to overtake them. ⁴² So they turned tail and ran away from the army of Israel toward the wilderness, but they were overtaken in battle when soldiers came out from the cities to destroy them.^{[g] 43} They surrounded the army of Benjamin, pursuing them ceaselessly until they defeated them near the east-facing^[h] border of Gibeah. ⁴⁴ That’s how 18,000 men from the tribe of Benjamin fell in battle, all of whom were valiant soldiers.