35. The Lord used the Israelites to defeat the Benjaminites. On that day the Israelites killed 25,100 Benjaminites. All these men were armed with swords.
36. Then the Benjaminites saw that they were defeated.The men of Israel had moved back. They backed up because they were depending on the surprise attack. They had set it up near Gibeah.
37. The men in hiding rushed into Gibeah. They spread out and killed everyone in the city with their swords.
38. Now the men of Israel had made a plan with the men in hiding. The men in the surprise attack were to send up a signal. It was to be a big cloud of smoke from the city.
39. So the army of Israel turned around in the battle.The Benjaminites had killed about 30 Israelites. They were saying, “We are winning, as in the first battle!”
40. But then the big cloud of smoke began to rise from the city. The Benjaminites turned around and saw it. The whole city was full of smoke that went up into the sky.