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.
38. The men of Israel had arranged with those waiting in ambush that they would make a big column of smoke rise from the city as a signal.
39. Then the men of Israel would turn around in the battle.The men of Benjamin had already killed about 30 men of Israel. They even said, “Israel is completely defeated, just like in the first battle.”
40. But when the column of smoke started to rise from the city, the men of Benjamin turned around and saw the whole city going up in smoke.
41. Then the men of Israel turned around, and the men of Benjamin panicked. They realized that their evil had overtaken them.
42. They turned in front of Israel toward the road to the desert. But the battle caught up with the men of Benjamin. Israel slaughtered whoever came out of the cities on the road to the desert.