1. Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beer-sheba, as well as from the area of Gilead, marched out, and the group assembled as one body in the Lord’s presence at Mizpah.
2. The commanders of the people and of all the tribes of Israel took their place in the assembly of God’s people, four hundred thousand foot soldiers armed with swords.
3. And the Benjaminites got word that the Israelites had marched up to Mizpah.The Israelites inquired, "Tell us how this evil act happened."
4. So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered, "My secondary wife and I came to Gibeah of Benjamin to spend the night,
5. and the leading citizens of Gibeah tried to attack me. They surrounded me in the house at night and were determined to kill me. They abused my secondary wife until she died.
6. I took her, chopped her up, and sent her pieces into every part of Israel’s territory, because they had committed a disgraceful act in Israel.
7. All you Israelites, say what you think should be done here and now!"
8. At this, all the people stood as one to say, "Not a single one of us is going home or returning to our house!
9. This is what we’re now going to do to Gibeah: We’ll march up against it as the lot determines.
10. From all the tribes of Israel, we’ll get ten men for every hundred, one hundred for every thousand, and one thousand for every ten thousand to take supplies for the troops who are going to pay back Gibeah of Benjamin for the disgraceful act they’ve done in Israel."
11. So all the Israelites joined together and were united as one against the city.
12. The Israelite tribes sent men throughout the whole tribe of Benjamin with this message: "What about this evil act that happened among you?
13. Now hand over those perverse men in Gibeah so that we can execute them and remove the evil from Israel." But the Benjaminites refused to comply with the demand of their own relatives the Israelites.
14. Instead, the Benjaminites from all the cities came together at Gibeah to march out for battle against the Israelites.
15. On that day, the Benjaminites called up from their cities twenty-six thousand men armed with swords, not counting those living in Gibeah.
16. Out of this entire army, seven hundred specially chosen men were left-handed, and every one of them could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.