Judges 20:29–38

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.”

³³All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place^l on the west^c of Gibeah.^{d 34}Then ten thousand of Israel’s able young men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize^m how near disaster was.^{n 35}The Lord defeated Benjamin^o before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. ³⁶Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten.

Now the men of Israel had given way^p before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush^q they had set near Gibeah. ³⁷Those who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword.^{r 38}The Israelites had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke^s from the city,^t