Study Desk

"So I took my concubine and cut her [corpse] in pieces and sent her [body parts] throughout the land of the inheritance of Israel; for the men of Gibeah have committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.

and we will take ten men out of a hundred throughout the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand to bring provisions for the men, so that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, they may punish them for all the despicable acts which they have committed in Israel."

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

"Now therefore, turn over the men [involved], the worthless and wicked men in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and remove this wickedness from Israel." But the Benjamites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel.

So the sons of Israel came against the sons of Benjamin the second day.

So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah.

And the LORD struck down [the tribe of] Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin that day, all of whom were swordsmen.

So the Benjamites realized that they were defeated. Then men of Israel gave ground to the Benjamites, because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had placed against Gibeah.

So the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel, for they said, "Certainly they are defeated before us as in the first battle!"

So all of Benjamin who fell that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword, all of them brave and able warriors.

So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.

So [the survivors of] Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the women of Jabesh-gilead; but there were not enough [to provide wives] for them.

They said, "There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be wiped out from Israel.

So they said, "Listen, there is the yearly feast of the LORD at Shiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south side of Lebonah."

So they instructed the sons of Benjamin, saying, "Go, set an ambush in the vineyards,

So the sons of [the tribe of] Benjamin did as instructed and took wives according to their number, from the dancers whom they carried away. Then they went and returned to their inheritance, and rebuilt the towns and lived in them.

and then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so the woman [Naomi] was left without her two sons and her husband.

So she left the place where she was living, her two daughters-in-law with her, and they started on the way back to the land of Judah.

So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole city was stirred because of them, and the women asked, "Is this Naomi?"

So Naomi returned from the country of Moab, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law. And they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.