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Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people who were therein, how they lived in security, in the way of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was none in the land, possessing authority, that might put [them] to shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with any man.

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They came to their brothers to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brothers said to them, “What do you say?”

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They said, “Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. Do you stand still? Don’t be slothful to go and to enter in to possess the land.

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When you go, you shall come to a secure people, and the land is large; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth.”

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There set forth from there of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men girt with weapons of war.

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They went up, and encamped in Kiriath Jearim, in Judah: therefore they called that place Mahaneh Dan, to this day; behold, it is behind Kiriath Jearim.

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They passed there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

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Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered, and said to their brothers, “Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and an engraved image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you have to do.”

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They turned aside there, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare.

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The six hundred men girt with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.

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The five men who went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the engraved image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men girt with weapons of war.

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When these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the engraved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

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They said to him, “Hold your peace, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?”

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The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the engraved image, and went in the midst of the people.

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So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the goods before them.

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When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near to Micah’s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.

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They cried to the children of Dan. They turned their faces, and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you come with such a company?”

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He said, “You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what more do I have? How then do you say to me, ‘What ails you?’”

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The children of Dan said to him, “Don’t let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall on you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household.”

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The children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

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They took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt the city with fire.

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There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any man; and it was in the valley that lies by Beth Rehob. They built the city, and lived therein.

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They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel: however the name of the city was Laish at the first.

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The children of Dan set up for themselves the engraved image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.

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So they set them up Micah’s engraved image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

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It happened in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite living on the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehem Judah.

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His concubine played the prostitute against him, and went away from him to her father’s house to Bethlehem Judah, and was there the space of four months.

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Her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly to her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of donkeys: and she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young lady saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

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His father-in-law, the young lady’s father, retained him; and he stayed with him three days: so they ate and drink, and lodged there.

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It happened on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart: and the young lady’s father said to his son-in-law, “Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward you shall go your way.”

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So they sat down, ate, and drank, both of them together: and the young lady’s father said to the man, “Please be pleased to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.”

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The man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law urged him, and he lodged there again.

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He arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the young lady’s father said, “Please strengthen your heart and stay until the day declines;” and they both ate.

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When the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the young lady’s father, said to him, “Behold, now the day draws toward evening, please stay all night: behold, the day grows to an end, lodge here, that your heart may be merry; and tomorrow go on your way early, that you may go home.”

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But the man wouldn’t stay that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus (the same is Jerusalem): and there were with him a couple of donkeys saddled; his concubine also was with him.

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When they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Please come and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.”

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His master said to him, “We won’t turn aside into the city of a foreigner, that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to Gibeah.”

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He said to his servant, “Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.”

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So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them near to Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

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They turned aside there, to go in to lodge in Gibeah: and he went in, and sat him down in the street of the city; for there was no man who took them into his house to lodge.

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Behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at evening: now the man was of the hill country of Ephraim, and he lived in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites.

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He lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?”

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He said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem Judah to the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem Judah. I am going to the house of Yahweh; and there is no man who takes me into his house.

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Yet there is both straw and provender for our donkeys; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your handmaid, and for the young man who is with your servants: there is no want of anything.”

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The old man said, “Peace be to you; howsoever let all your wants lie on me; only don’t lodge in the street.”

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So he brought him into his house, and gave the donkeys fodder; and they washed their feet, and ate and drink.

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As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, surrounded the house, beating at the door; and they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may have sex with him!”

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The man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, “No, my brothers, please don’t act so wickedly; since this man is come into my house, don’t do this folly.

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Behold, here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. I will bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them what seems good to you; but to this man don’t do any such folly.”

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But the men wouldn’t listen to him: so the man laid hold of his concubine, and brought her out to them; and they had sex with her, and abused her all night until the morning: and when the day began to dawn, they let her go.

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Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, until it was light.

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Her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold.

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He said to her, “Get up, and let us be going!” but no one answered. Then he took her up on the donkey; and the man rose up, and went to his place.

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When he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Israel.

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It was so, that all who saw it said, “There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day! Consider it, take counsel, and speak.”

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Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, to Yahweh at Mizpah.

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The chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen who drew sword.

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(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) The children of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wickedness happen?”

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The Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered, “I came into Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.

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The men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house by night. They thought to have slain me, and they forced my concubine, and she is dead.

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I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel; for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.

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Behold, you children of Israel, all of you, give here your advice and counsel.”

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All the people arose as one man, saying, “We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn to his house.

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But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: [we will go up] against it by lot;

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and we will take ten men of one hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred of one thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to get food for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have worked in Israel.”

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So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.

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The tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What wickedness is this that is happen among you?

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Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows, who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel.” But Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers the children of Israel.

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The children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.

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The children of Benjamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

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Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; everyone could sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not miss.

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The men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men who drew sword: all these were men of war.

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The children of Israel arose, and went up to Bethel, and asked counsel of God; and they said, “Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin?” Yahweh said, “Judah [shall go up] first.”

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The children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.

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The men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel set the battle in array against them at Gibeah.

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The children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day Twenty-two thousand men.

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The people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, and set the battle again in array in the place where they set themselves in array the first day.

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The children of Israel went up and wept before Yahweh until evening; and they asked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I again draw near to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?” Yahweh said, “Go up against him.”

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The children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day.

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Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.

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Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before Yahweh, and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Yahweh.

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The children of Israel asked of Yahweh (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

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and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease?” Yahweh said, “Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver him into your hand.”

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Israel set ambushes all around Gibeah.

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The children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.

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The children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to strike and kill of the people, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah, in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

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The children of Benjamin said, “They are struck down before us, as at the first.” But the children of Israel said, “Let us flee, and draw them away from the city to the highways.”

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All the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at Baal Tamar: and the ambushers of Israel broke forth out of their place, even out of Maareh Geba.

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There came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was severe; but they didn’t know that evil was close on them.

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Yahweh struck Benjamin before Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men: all these drew the sword.

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So the children of Benjamin saw that they were struck; for the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin, because they trusted the ambushers whom they had set against Gibeah.

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The ambushers hurried, and rushed on Gibeah; and the ambushers drew themselves along, and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.

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Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the ambushers was that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city.

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The men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons; for they said, “Surely they are struck down before us, as in the first battle.”

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But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them; and behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to the sky.

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The men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed; for they saw that evil had come on them.

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Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in its midst.

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They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them, [and] trod them down at [their] resting place, as far as over against Gibeah toward the sunrise.

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There fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these [were] men of valor.

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They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them to Gidom, and struck of them two thousand men.