34. And there came against Gibeah 10,000 chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was hard; but the Benjamites did not know disaster was close upon them.
35. And the Lord overcame Benjamin before Israel, and the Israelites destroyed of the Benjamites that day 25,100 men, all of whom were swordsmen.
36. So the Benjamites saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel gave ground to the Benjamites, because they trusted in the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah.
37. And the men in ambush quickly rushed upon Gibeah, and the liers-in-wait moved out and smote all the city with the sword.
38. Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that when they made a great cloud of smoke arise from the city,
39. The men of Israel should all turn back in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to smite and kill some of the men of Israel, about thirty persons. They said, Surely they are falling before us as in the first battle.
40. But when the [signal] cloud began to rise out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to the heavens.
41. When the men of Israel turned back again, the men of Benjamin were dismayed, for they saw that disaster had come upon them.
42. Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel and fled toward the wilderness, but the battle followed close behind and overtook them; and the inhabitants of the cities destroyed those [Benjamites] who came through them in their midst.
43. They surrounded the Benjamites, pursued them, and overtook and trod them down at their resting-place as far as opposite Gibeah toward the east.
44. And there fell 18,000 men of Benjamin, all of them men of valor.
45. And [the Benjamites] turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel picked off on the highways 5,000 men of them; they pursued hard after them to Gidom and slew 2,000 more of them.
46. So that all of Benjamin who fell that day were 25,000 men who drew the sword, all of them men of valor.
47. But 600 men turned and fled to the wilderness to the rock Rimmon and remained at the rock Rimmon four months.
48. And the men of Israel turned back against the Benjamites and smote them with the sword, men and beasts and all that they found. Also they set on fire all the towns to which they came.