9-10. We'll send one tenth of the men from each tribe to get food for the army. And we'll ask God who should attack Gibeah, because those men deserve to be punished for committing such a horrible crime in Israel.”
11. Everyone agreed that Gibeah had to be punished.
12. The tribes of Israel sent messengers to every town and village in Benjamin. And wherever the messengers went, they said, “How could those worthless men in Gibeah do such a disgusting thing?
13. We can't allow such a terrible crime to go unpunished in Israel! Hand the men over to us, and we will put them to death.”But the people of Benjamin refused to listen to the other Israelites.
14. Men from towns all over Benjamin's territory went to Gibeah and got ready to fight Israel.
15. The Benjamin tribe had twenty-six thousand soldiers, not counting the seven hundred who were Gibeah's best warriors.
16. In this army there were seven hundred left-handed experts who could sling a stone at a target the size of a hair and hit it every time.
17. The other Israelite tribes organized their army and found they had four hundred thousand experienced soldiers.
18. So they went to the place of worship at Bethel and asked God, “Which tribe should be the first to attack the people of Benjamin?”“Judah,” the Lord answered.
19. The next morning the Israelite army moved its camp to a place near Gibeah.
20. Then they left their camp and got into position to attack the army of Benjamin.
21. Benjamin's soldiers came out of Gibeah and attacked, and when the day was over, twenty-two thousand Israelite soldiers lay dead on the ground.
22-24. The people of Israel went to the place of worship and cried until sunset. Then they asked the Lord, “Should we attack the people of Benjamin again, even though they are our relatives?”“Yes,” the Lord replied, “attack them again!”The Israelite soldiers encouraged each other to be brave and to fight hard. Then the next day they went back to Gibeah and took up the same positions as they had before.
25. That same day, Benjamin's soldiers came out of Gibeah and attacked, leaving another eighteen thousand Israelite soldiers dead on the battlefield.
26-28. The people of Israel went to the place of worship at Bethel, where the sacred chest was being kept. They sat on the ground, crying and not eating for the rest of the day. Then about sunset, they offered sacrifices to please the Lord and to ask his blessing. Phinehas the priest then prayed, “Our Lord, the people of Benjamin are our relatives. Should we stop fighting or attack them again?”“Attack!” the Lord answered. “Tomorrow I will let you defeat them.”
29. The Israelites surrounded Gibeah, but stayed where they could not be seen.