Judges 20:20–32

²⁰The Israelites went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. ²¹The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites^r on the battlefield that day. ²²But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. ²³The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord^s until evening,^t and they inquired of the Lord.^u They said, “Shall we go up again to fight^v against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites?”

The Lord answered, “Go up against them.”

²⁴Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. ²⁵This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites,^w all of them armed with swords.

²⁶Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord.^x They fasted^y that day until evening and presented burnt offerings^z and fellowship offerings^a to the Lord.^{b 27}And the Israelites inquired of the Lord.^c (In those days the ark of the covenant of God^d was there, ²⁸with Phinehas son of Eleazar,^e the son of Aaron, ministering before it.)^f They asked, “Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites, or not?”

The Lord responded, “Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.^g”

²⁹Then Israel set an ambush^h around Gibeah. ³⁰They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. ³¹The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn awayⁱ from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads—the one leading to Bethel^j and the other to Gibeah. ³²While the Benjamites were saying, “We are defeating them as before,”^k the Israelites were saying, “Let’s retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads.”