Judges 20:29-36

Expanded Bible

²⁹ Then the Israelites set up ambushes all around Gibeah. ³⁰ They went to fight against the Benjaminites at Gibeah on the third day, getting into position for battle as they had done before. ³¹ When the Benjaminites came out to fight them, the ·Israelites [^Lpeople] backed up and drew them away from the city. The ·Benjaminites [^Lsons/descendants of Benjamin] began to kill some of the ·Israelites [^Lpeople] as they had done before. About thirty Israelites were killed—some in the fields and some on the roads leading to Bethel and to Gibeah.

³² The ·Benjaminites [^Lsons/descendants of Benjamin] said, “We are winning as before!”

But the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] said, “Let’s ·run [retreat; flee]. Let’s ·trick them into going farther away [^Ldraw/lure them away] from their city and onto the roads.”

³³ All the Israelites moved from their places and got into battle positions at a place named Baal Tamar. Then the Israelites ·ran out [charged; jumped up] from their hiding places ·west of Gibeah [or from Maareh-geba]. ³⁴ Ten thousand of the ·best trained [elite; chosen] soldiers from all of Israel attacked Gibeah. The battle was very hard. The Benjaminites did not know disaster was ·about to come to them [close at hand; ^Ltouching against them]. ³⁵ The Lord ·used the Israelites to defeat the Benjaminites [^Lstruck Benjamin in front of Israel]. On that day the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] killed 25,100 Benjaminites, ·all armed with swords [^Lwho drew the sword]. ³⁶ Then the ·Benjaminites [^Lsons/descendants of Benjamin] saw that they were defeated.

The Israelites had ·moved back [retreated] because they were depending on the ·surprise attack [ambush] they had set up near Gibeah [^Cverses 36b–45 now detail the account summarized in verses 29–36a)].