The Decree of the Assembly

¹Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.

²The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: 400,000 men on foot, armed with swords.

³(Meanwhile the Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) And the Israelites asked, “Tell us, how did this wicked thing happen?”

⁴So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered: “I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night.

⁵And during the night, the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house. They intended to kill me, but they abused my concubine, and she died.

⁶Then I took my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance, because they had committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.

⁷Behold, all you Israelites, give your advice and verdict here and now.”

⁸Then all the people stood as one man and said, “Not one of us will return to his tent or to his house.

⁹Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will go against it as the lot dictates.

¹⁰We will take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, to supply provisions for the army when they go to Gibeahin Benjamin to punish them for the atrocity they have committed in Israel.”

¹¹So all the men of Israel gathered as one man, united against the city.

¹²And the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you?

¹³Hand over the wicked men of Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge Israel of this evil.”But the Benjamites refused to heed the voice of their fellow Israelites.

¹⁴And from their cities they came together at Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites.

¹⁵On that day the Benjamites mobilized 26,000 swordsmen from their cities, in addition to the 700 select men of Gibeah.

¹⁶Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing.

¹⁷The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mobilized 400,000 swordsmen, each one an experienced warrior.

Civil War against Benjamin

¹⁸The Israelites set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, “Who of us shall go up first to fight against the Benjamites?”“Judah will be first,” the LORD replied.

¹⁹The next morning the Israelites set out and camped near Gibeah.

²⁰And the men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin and took up their battle positions at Gibeah.

²¹And the Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield that day.

²²But the Israelite army took courage and again took their battle positions in the same place where they had arrayed themselves on the first day.

²³They went up and wept before the LORD until evening, inquiring of Him, “Should we again draw near for battle against our brothers the Benjamites?”And the LORD answered, “Go up against them.”

²⁴On the second day the Israelites advanced against the Benjamites.

²⁵That same day the Benjamites came out against them from Gibeah and cut down another 18,000 Israelites, all of them armed with swords.

²⁶Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.

²⁷And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,

²⁸and Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, served before it.) The Israelites asked, “Should we again go out to battle against our brothers the Benjamites, or should we stop?”The LORD answered, “Fight, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”

²⁹So Israel set up an ambush around Gibeah.

³⁰On the third day the Israelites went up against the Benjamites and arrayed themselves against Gibeah as they had done before.

³¹The Benjamites came out against them and were drawn away from the city. They began to attack the people as before, killing about thirty men of Israel in the fields and on the roads, one of which led up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah.

³²“We are defeating them as before,” said the Benjamites.But the Israelites said, “Let us retreat and draw them away from the city onto the roads.”

³³So all the men of Israel got up from their places and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar, and the Israelites in ambush charged from their positions west of Gibeah.

³⁴Then 10,000 select men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not realize that disaster was upon them.

³⁵The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.

³⁶Then the Benjamites realized they had been defeated.Now the men of Israel had retreated before Benjamin because they were relying on the ambush they had set against Gibeah.

³⁷The men in ambush rushed suddenly against Gibeah; they advanced and put the whole city to the sword.

³⁸The men of Israel had arranged a signal with the men in ambush: When they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city,

³⁹the men of Israel would turn in the battle.When the Benjamites had begun to strike them down, killing about thirty men of Israel, they said, “They are defeated before us as in the first battle.”

⁴⁰But when the column of smoke began to go up from the city, the Benjamites looked behind them and saw the whole city going up in smoke.

⁴¹Then the men of Israel turned back on them, and the men of Benjamin were terrified when they realized that disaster had come upon them.

⁴²So they fled before the men of Israel toward the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and the men coming out of the cities struck them down there.

⁴³They surrounded the Benjamites, pursued them, and easily overtook them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east.

⁴⁴And 18,000 Benjamites fell, all men of valor.

⁴⁵Then the Benjamites turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel cut down 5,000 men on the roads. And they overtook them at Gidom and struck down 2,000 more.

⁴⁶That day 25,000 Benjamite swordsmen fell, all men of valor.

⁴⁷But 600 men turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months.

⁴⁸And the men of Israel turned back against the other Benjamites and put to the sword all the cities, including the animals and everything else they found. And they burned down all the cities in their path.

Habakkuk’s Prayer

¹This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth:

²O LORD, I have heard the report of You;I stand in awe, O LORD, of Your deeds.Revive them in these years;make them known in these years.In Your wrath, remember mercy!

³God came from Teman,and the Holy One from Mount Paran.SelahHis glory covered the heavens,and His praise filled the earth.

⁴His radiance was like the sunlight;rays flashed from His hand,where His power is hidden.

⁵Plague went before Him,and fever followed in His steps.

⁶He stood and measured the earth;He looked and startled the nations;the ancient mountains crumbled;the perpetual hills collapsed.His ways are everlasting.

⁷I saw the tents of Cushan in distress;the curtains of Midian were trembling.

⁸Were You angry at the rivers, O LORD?Was Your wrath against the streams?Did You rage against the seawhen You rode on Your horses,on Your chariots of salvation?

⁹You brandished Your bow;You called for many arrows.SelahYou split the earth with rivers.

¹⁰The mountains saw You and quaked;torrents of water swept by.The deep roared with its voiceand lifted its hands on high.

¹¹Sun and moon stood stillin their placesat the flash of Your flying arrows,at the brightness of Your shining spear.

¹²You marched across the earth with fury;You threshed the nations in wrath.

¹³You went forth for the salvation of Your people,to save Your anointed.You crushed the head of the house of the wickedand stripped him from head to toe.Selah

¹⁴With his own spear You pierced his head,when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,gloating as though readyto secretly devour the weak.

¹⁵You trampled the sea with Your horses,churning the great waters.

¹⁶I heard and trembled within;my lips quivered at the sound.Decay entered my bones;I trembled where I stood.Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distressto come upon the people who invade us.

Habakkuk Rejoices

¹⁷Though the fig tree does not budand no fruit is on the vines,though the olive crop failsand the fields produce no food,though the sheep are cut off from the foldand no cattle are in the stalls,

¹⁸yet I will exult in the LORD;I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

¹⁹GOD the Lord is my strength;He makes my feet like those of a deer;He makes me walk upon the heights!For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.

Wives for the Benjamites

¹Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”

²So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly.

³“Why, O LORD God of Israel,” they cried out, “has this happened in Israel? Today in Israel one tribe is missing!”

⁴The next day the people got up early, built an altar there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings.

⁵The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah would surely be put to death.

⁶And the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites, and said, “Today a tribe is cut off from Israel.

⁷What should we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them our daughters in marriage?”

⁸So they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah?” And, in fact, no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.

⁹For when the people were counted, none of the residents of Jabesh-gilead were there.

¹⁰So the congregation sent 12,000 of their most valiant men and commanded them: “Go and put to the sword those living in Jabesh-gilead, including women and children.

¹¹This is what you are to do: Devote to destructionevery male, as well as every female who has had relations with a man.”

¹²So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young women who had not had relations with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

¹³Then the whole congregation sent a message of peace to the Benjamites who were at the rock of Rimmon.

¹⁴And at that time the Benjamites returned and were given the women who were spared from Jabesh-gilead. But there were not enough women for all of them.

¹⁵The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a void in the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶Then the elders of the congregation said, “What should we do about wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?”

¹⁷They added, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out.

¹⁸But we cannot give them our daughters as wives.”For the Israelites had sworn, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to a Benjamite.”

¹⁹“But look,” they said, “there is a yearly feast to the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”

²⁰So they commanded the Benjamites: “Go, hide in the vineyards

²¹and watch. When you see the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, each of you is to come out of the vineyards, catch for himself a wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

²²When their fathers or brothers come to us to complain, we will tell them, ‘Do us a favor by helping them, since we did not get wives for each of them in the war. Since you did not actually give them your daughters, you have no guilt.’”

²³The Benjamites did as instructed and carried away the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and settled in them.

²⁴And at that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and clan, each to his own inheritance.

²⁵In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

The LORD Is My Rock

¹I love You, O LORD, my strength.

²The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,my shield, and the horn of my salvation,my stronghold.

³I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;so shall I be saved from my enemies.

⁴The cords of death encompassed me;the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.

⁵The cords of Sheol entangled me;the snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the LORD;I cried to my God for help.From His temple He heard my voice,and my cry for His help reached His ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and quaked,and the foundations of the mountains trembled;they were shaken because He burned with anger.

⁸Smoke rose from His nostrils,and consuming fire came from His mouth;glowing coals blazed forth.

⁹He parted the heavens and came downwith dark clouds beneath His feet.

¹⁰He mounted a cherub and flew;He soared on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness His hiding place,and storm clouds a canopy around Him.

¹²From the brightness of His presenceHis clouds advanced—hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³The LORD thundered from heaven;the voice of the Most High resounded—hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴He shot His arrows and scattered the foes;He hurled lightning and routed them.

¹⁵The channels of the sea appeared,and the foundations of the world were exposed,at Your rebuke, O LORD,at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

¹⁶He reached down from on high and took hold of me;He drew me out of deep waters.

¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemy,from foes too mighty for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in my day of calamity,but the LORD was my support.

¹⁹He brought me out into the open;He rescued me because He delighted in me.

²⁰The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness;He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the LORDand have not wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all His ordinances are before me;I have not disregarded His statutes.

²³And I have been blameless before Himand kept myself from iniquity.

²⁴So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness,according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

²⁵To the faithful You show Yourself faithful,to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

²⁶to the pure You show Yourself pure,but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

²⁷For You save an afflicted people,but You humble those with haughty eyes.

²⁸For You, O LORD, light my lamp;my God lights up my darkness.

²⁹For in You I can charge an army,and with my God I can scale a wall.

³⁰As for God, His way is perfect;the word of the LORD is flawless.He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

³¹For who is God besides the LORD?And who is the Rock except our God?

³²It is God who arms me with strengthand makes my way clear.

³³He makes my feet like those of a deerand stations me upon the heights.

³⁴He trains my hands for battle;my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵You have given me Your shield of salvation;Your right hand upholds me,and Your gentleness exalts me.

³⁶You broaden the path beneath meso that my ankles do not give way.

³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them;I did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁸I crushed them so they could not rise;they have fallen under my feet.

³⁹You have armed me with strength for battle;You have subdued my foes beneath me.

⁴⁰You have made my enemies retreat before me;I destroyed those who hated me.

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but He did not answer.

⁴²I ground them as dust in the face of the wind;I trampled themlike mud in the streets.

⁴³You have delivered me from the strife of the people;You have made me the head of nations;a people I had not known shall serve me.

⁴⁴When they hear me, they obey me;foreigners cower before me.

⁴⁵Foreigners lose heartand come trembling from their strongholds.

⁴⁶The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock!And may the God of my salvation be exalted—

⁴⁷the God who avenges meand subdues nations beneath me,

⁴⁸who delivers me from my enemies.You exalt me above my foes;You rescue me from violent men.

⁴⁹Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations;I will sing praises to Your name.

⁵⁰Great salvation He brings to His king.He shows loving devotion to His anointed,to David and his descendants forever.