26. Then all the men of Israel and all the troops went to Bethel. They sat there and cried in the presence of the Lord and fasted that day until evening. Then they sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord.
27. In those days the ark of God’s promise was at Bethel.
28. (Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, served in front of it.) So the people of Israel asked the Lord, “Should we continue to wage war against our close relatives, the men of Benjamin? Or should we stop?”The Lord answered, “Go! Tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”
29. Then Israel placed troops in ambush around Gibeah.
30. On the third day the men of Israel went to fight the men of Benjamin. They formed their battle line facing Gibeah as they did before.
31. The men of Benjamin went out to attack Israel’s troops and were led away from the city. They started to inflict casualties as before. They killed about 30 men from Israel in the open country and on the roads to Bethel and Gibeah.
32. The men of Benjamin shouted, “They’re defeated as before!”But the men of Israel had said, “Let’s flee in order to lead them from the city to the roads.”
33. So the men of Israel left their positions. They formed their battle line at Baal Tamar. Meanwhile, those waiting in ambush rushed from their position to the west of Gibeah.
34. Then 10,000 of Israel’s best men attacked Gibeah. The battle was fierce. But Benjamin’s men didn’t realize their own evil was about to overtake them.
35. So the Lord defeated them in front of Israel. On that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 men from Benjamin who were armed with swords.
36. Then the men of Benjamin realized they were defeated.The Israelites had allowed the men of Benjamin to take back some ground. The Israelites relied on those waiting in ambush near Gibeah.
37. The men in ambush quickly charged toward Gibeah. They spread out in the city and killed everyone.