28. Phinehas was serving as priest at the ark. He was the son of Eleazar. Eleazar was the son of Aaron. The people of Israel asked, "Should we go up again to fight against the men of Benjamin? They are our fellow Israelites." The Lord answered, "Go. Tomorrow I will hand them over to you."
29. Then Israel hid some men and had them wait all around Gibeah.
30. They went up to fight against the men of Benjamin on the third day. They took up their positions against Gibeah, just as they had done before.
31. The men of Benjamin came out to fight against them. They were drawn away from the city. They began to wound and kill the men of Israel just as they had done before. About 30 men fell in battle. They fell in the open fields and on the roads. One of the roads led to Bethel. The other led to Gibeah.
32. The men of Benjamin said, "We're winning the battle over them, just as we did before." But the men of Israel said, "Let's pull back. Let's draw them away from the city to the roads."
33. All of the men of Israel moved away from their places. They took up new battle positions at Baal Tamar. The men who had been hiding charged out. They came from west of Gibeah.
34. Then 10,000 of Israel's finest men attacked Gibeah. The men of Benjamin didn't realize they were about to be destroyed. The fighting was very heavy.
35. The Lord helped Israel win the battle over Benjamin. On that day the men of Israel struck down 25,100 men of Benjamin. All of the men who died had been carrying swords.
36. Then the men of Benjamin saw that they had lost the battle. The men of Israel had moved away from their positions in front of Benjamin. They had depended on the men they had hidden near Gibeah.
37. Suddenly the men who had been hiding rushed into Gibeah. They spread out. Then they killed everyone in the city with their swords.
38. The men of Israel had made a plan with those who had been hiding. They had told them to send up a large cloud of smoke from the city.
39. Then the men of Israel would turn around and attack. The men of Benjamin had begun to wound and kill the men of Israel. They had struck down about 30 of them. They had said, "We're winning the battle over them, just as we did the first time."
40. But a column of smoke began to go up from the city. The men of Benjamin turned around. They saw the smoke of the whole city going up into the sky.
41. Then the men of Israel turned around and attacked them. The men of Benjamin were terrified. They realized they were going to be destroyed.
42. So they ran away from the men of Israel. They ran toward the desert. But they couldn't escape the battle. Other men of Israel came out of the towns. There they struck the men of Benjamin down.
43. They surrounded them. They chased them and easily caught up with them. That happened east of Gibeah.
44. So 18,000 men of Benjamin fell in battle. All of them were brave fighters.