O Israel, you have sinned since the time of Gibeah, and there you have remained. Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?

“以色列啊，你从基比亚的日子以来时常犯罪。你们的先人曾站在那里，现今住基比亚的人以为攻击罪孽之辈的战事临不到自己。

以色列啊，你从基比亚的日子以来就时常犯罪，他们仍停留在那里。攻击罪孽之辈的战事岂不会临到基比亚吗？

以色列啊，你从基比亚的日子以来就时常犯罪，他们仍停留在那里。攻击罪孽之辈的战事岂不会临到基比亚吗？

耶和华说：“以色列人啊，从基比亚的日子以来，你们一直不断地犯罪，从未改变。难道战祸没有临到基比亚的邪恶之辈吗？

以色列啊！从基比亚的日子以来，你就犯罪，他们仍然留在那里，难道攻击恶人的战祸不能在基比亚赶上他们吗？

以色列啊，你從基比亞的日子以來時常犯罪。你們的先人曾站在那裏，現今住基比亞的人以為攻擊罪孽之輩的戰事臨不到自己。

以色列啊，你從基比亞的日子以來就時常犯罪，他們仍停留在那裏。攻擊罪孽之輩的戰事豈不會臨到基比亞嗎？

以色列啊，你從基比亞的日子以來就時常犯罪，他們仍停留在那裏。攻擊罪孽之輩的戰事豈不會臨到基比亞嗎？

耶和華說：「以色列人啊，從基比亞的日子以來，你們一直不斷地犯罪，從未改變。難道戰禍沒有臨到基比亞的邪惡之輩嗎？

以色列啊！從基比亞的日子以來，你就犯罪，他們仍然留在那裡，難道攻擊惡人的戰禍不能在基比亞趕上他們嗎？

以色列啊，從基比亞的日子以來、你就時常犯罪了。以色列人仍然在那裏停留着；難道戰禍就不能在基比亞趕上他們麼？對驕橫之輩

以色列歟、爾之干罪、較在基比亞時為尤甚、彼眾立於基比亞、以免攻不義者之戰及之、

耶和華曰、昔在其庇亞、以色列族犯罪、至於今、若出一轍、余將降災於惡人、其庇亞之民豈能逭罰、

昔在基比亞、以色列犯罪、自其時以來、爾恆犯罪、其時爾曹先人、立於基比亞、護彼惡類、免被徵伐、

“ Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel, and there you have remained. Will not war again overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?

The Lord says,“ Israel, you have done evil things ever since your people sinned at Gibeah long ago. And you are still doing what is evil. War will come again to those who sinned at Gibeah.

From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel; there they have continued. Shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah?

The Lord says,“ O Israel, ever since Gibeah, there has been only sin and more sin! You have made no progress whatsoever. Was it not right that the wicked men of Gibeah were attacked?

Israel, you have sinned since the days of Gibeah; they have taken their stand there. Will not war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah?

Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, Israel; There they stand! Will the battle against the sons of injustice not overtake them in Gibeah?

“ O Israel, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah; There they stood. The battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity Did not overtake them.

O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood; the battle against the children of iniquity doth not overtake them in Gibeah.

Israel, you have sinned since the days of Gibeah; they have taken their stand there. Will not war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah?

O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.

“ Israel, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah. There they remained. The battle against the children of iniquity doesn’t overtake them in Gibeah.

They have sunk deep into corruption as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their wrongdoing. He will repay them for their sins.

“ I destroyed nations; their walled cities are in ruins. I turned their streets into ruins; no one passes through them. Their cities are desolate; no one lives there.I thought,‘ Certainly you will respect me! Now you will accept correction!’ If she had done so, her home would not be destroyed by all the punishments I have threatened. But they eagerly sinned in everything they did.

The men of Israel( not counting Benjamin) had mustered four hundred thousand sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior.The Israelites went up to Bethel and asked God,“ Who should lead the charge against the Benjaminites?” The LORD said,“ Judah should lead.”The Israelites got up the next morning and moved against Gibeah.The men of Israel marched out to fight Benjamin; they arranged their battle lines against Gibeah.The Benjaminites attacked from Gibeah and struck down twenty-two thousand Israelites that day.The Israelite army took heart and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before.The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening. They asked the LORD,“ Should we again march out to fight the Benjaminites, our brothers?” The LORD said,“ Attack them!”So the Israelites marched toward the Benjaminites the next day.The Benjaminites again attacked them from Gibeah and struck down eighteen thousand sword-wielding Israelite soldiers.So all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel. They wept and sat there before the LORD; they did not eat anything that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace to the LORD.The Israelites asked the LORD( for the ark of God’s covenant was there in those days;Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving the LORD in those days),“ Should we once more march out to fight the Benjaminites our brothers, or should we quit?” The LORD said,“ Attack, for tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”So Israel hid men in ambush outside Gibeah.The Israelites attacked the Benjaminites the next day; they took their positions against Gibeah just as they had done before.The Benjaminites attacked the army, leaving the city unguarded. They began to strike down their enemy just as they had done before. On the main roads( one leads to Bethel, the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down about thirty Israelites.Then the Benjaminites said,“ They are defeated just as before.” But the Israelites said,“ Let’s retreat and lure them away from the city into the main roads.”All the men of Israel got up from their places and took their positions at Baal Tamar, while the Israelites hiding in ambush jumped out of their places west of Gibeah.Ten thousand men, well-trained soldiers from all Israel, then made a frontal assault against Gibeah– the battle was fierce. But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was at their doorstep.The LORD annihilated Benjamin before Israel; the Israelites struck down that day 25,100 sword-wielding Benjaminites.Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated. The Israelites retreated before Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hid in ambush outside Gibeah.The men hiding in ambush made a mad dash to Gibeah. They attacked and put the sword to the entire city.The Israelites and the men hiding in ambush had arranged a signal. When the men hiding in ambush sent up a smoke signal from the city,the Israelites counterattacked. Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites; they struck down about thirty men. They said,“ There’s no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle.”But when the signal, a pillar of smoke, began to rise up from the city, the Benjaminites turned around and saw the whole city going up in a cloud of smoke that rose high into the sky.When the Israelites turned around, the Benjaminites panicked because they could see that disaster was on their doorstep.They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down.They surrounded the Benjaminites, chased them from Nohah, and annihilated them all the way to a spot east of Geba.Eighteen thousand Benjaminites, all of them capable warriors, fell dead.The rest turned and ran toward the wilderness, heading toward the cliff of Rimmon. But the Israelites caught five thousand of them on the main roads. They stayed right on their heels all the way to Gidom and struck down two thousand more.That day twenty-five thousand sword-wielding Benjaminites fell in battle, all of them capable warriors.Six hundred survivors turned and ran away to the wilderness, to the cliff of Rimmon. They stayed there four months.The Israelites returned to the Benjaminite towns and put the sword to them. They wiped out the cities, the animals, and everything they could find. They set fire to every city in their path.

Now, hand over the good-for-nothings in Gibeah so we can execute them and purge Israel of wickedness.” But the Benjaminites refused to listen to their Israelite brothers.The Benjaminites came from their cities and assembled at Gibeah to make war against the Israelites.

They were having a good time, when suddenly some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, surrounded the house and kept beating on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house,“ Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him.”The man who owned the house went outside and said to them,“ No, my brothers! Don’t do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don’t do such a disgraceful thing!Here are my virgin daughter and my guest’s concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like. But don’t do such a disgraceful thing to this man!”The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite grabbed his concubine and made her go outside. They raped her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn.The woman arrived back at daybreak and was sprawled out on the doorstep of the house where her master was staying until it became light.When her master got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and went outside to start on his journey, there was the woman, his concubine, sprawled out on the doorstep of the house with her hands on the threshold.He said to her,“ Get up, let’s leave!” But there was no response. He put her on the donkey and went home.When he got home, he took a knife, grabbed his concubine, and carved her up into twelve pieces. Then he sent the pieces throughout Israel.Everyone who saw the sight said,“ Nothing like this has happened or been witnessed during the entire time since the Israelites left the land of Egypt! Take careful note of it! Discuss it and speak!”

And the LORD smelled the soothing aroma and said to himself,“ I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, even though the inclination of their minds is evil from childhood on. I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

The leaders of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying. They wanted to kill me; instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died.

By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets.Fill up then the measure of your ancestors!

But the LORD saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time.