AThen wente the children of Israel out
and gathered a congregacion together
as one man, fr&obar; Dan vntill Bersaba,
and from the londe of Gilead vnto the
LORDE to Mispa: and there came together
of all the quarters of the people, and of all
the trybes of Israel in to the congregacion
of the people of God, foure hundreth thousande
fote men that drue out þe; swerde. But
the children of BenIamin herde, how that
þe; children of Israel were gone vp vnto Mispa.
And the children of Israel sayde: Tell vs,
how happened this euell?
Then answered the Leuite the hu&esset;bande
of the woman that was slayne, and sayde: I
came to Gibea in BenIamin with my concubyne,
to tary there allnight, then the cytesins
of Gibea gat them vp agaynst me, and
compased me aboute in the house by night,
and thoughte to slaye me, and defyled my c&obar;cubyne,
so that she dyed: then toke I my c&obar;cubyne,
and cut her in peces, and sent the peces
in to euery countre of the inheritaunce
of Israel: for they haue done an abhominacion
and folye in Israel. Beholde, here are ye
children of Israel: aduyse you well, and take
this matter in hande.
B So all the people gat them vp as one m&abar;,
and sayde: Nom&abar; shal go in to his tente, ner
departe to his house, but this wil we do now
agaynst Gibea: Let vs cast lot, and take ten
men of an hundreth, and an hundreth of a
thousande, and a thousande of ten thousande,
out of all þe; trybes of Israel, þt; they maie
take fode for þe; people, to come ∧ do with Gibea
BenIamin, acordynge to their folye
which they haue done in Israel. Thus all the
men of Israel beynge confederate, gathered
them selues together as one man vnto the
cite: and the trybes of Israel sent men vnto
all the kinreds of BenIamin, and caused to
saye vnto them: What maner of wickydnes
is this, that is done amonge you? Delyuer here
therfore the men the children of Belial at
Gibea, that we maye put them to death, and
do awaye the euell out of Israel. Neuertheles
the children of BenIamin wolde not folowe
the voyce of their brethren the children
of Israel, but gathered them selues out of þe;
cities vnto Gibea, to go forth in battayll agaynst
the children of Israel.
C And the same daye were there nombred
of the children of BenIamin out of the cities,
sixe and twentye thousande men, that
drue the swerde, beside the citesyns of Gibea
of whom there were tolde seu&ebar; hundreth chosen
men. And am&obar;ge all this people there were
chosen out seuen hundreth men, which vsed
not the right hande but the lefte, and yet &wt;
the slynge coulde they touch an heer, and not
mysse. But the men of Israel, beside them of
B&ebar;Iamin, were n&obar;bred foure h&ubar;dreth thousande,
which drue the swerde, ∧ were all men
of armes. And the children of Israel arose,
and wente vp to the house of God (in Silo)
and axed at God, and sayde: Who shall go
vp for vs to beginne the battayll with þe; children
of BenIamin? The LORDE saide: Iuda
shall begynne.
So the children of Israel gat th&ebar; vp in þe;
morn&ibar;ge, ∧ pitched ouer aga&ibar;st Gibea, ∧ euery
-- --
man of Israel w&ebar;te out to fighte with Ben
Iamin, and set them selues in araye to fighte
agaynst Gibea. Then fell the children of
Ben Iamin out of Gibea, and slewe the same
daye amonge Israel two ∧ twentye thousande
to the grounde.
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D But the people of the men of Israel comforted
them selues, and made them ready to
fighte yet more in the same place, after they
had prepared them selues the daye afore.
And the children of Israel wente vp, and
wepte before the LORDE vntyll the euenynge,
and axed at the LORDE, ∧ sayde: Shall
we go enymore to fighte with oure brethren
the children of Ben Iamin? The LORDE
sayde: Go vp vnto them. And whan the children
of Israel gat them vp to the childr&ebar; of
Ben Iamin on þe; next daye, the Ben Iamites
fell out of Gibea agaynst them the same
daye, and slewe yet eightene thousande of þe;
children of Israel to the grounde, which all
drue the swerde.
Then wente all the children of Israel vp,
and all the people, and came to the house of
God, and wepte, and taried there before the
LORDE, ∧ fasted that daye vntyll the euen,
and offred burntofferynges and deedofferinges
before the LORDE. And the children of
Israel axed at the LORDE (the Arke of the
couenaunt of God was there at that tyme,
and Phineas the sonne of Eleasar the sonne
of Aaron stode before him at the same tyme)
∧ they sayde: Shal we go forth eny more
to fighte with oure brethren the childr&ebar; of
Ben Iamin, or shal we leaue of? The LORDE
sayde: Go vp, tomorow wyll I delyuer
them in to youre handes.
E And the children of Israel set a preuy
watch agaynst Gibea rounde aboute, and so
the children of Israel wente vp to the children
of Ben Iamin on the thirde daye, and
set them selues in araye agaynst Gibea like
as the other two tymes afore. Th&ebar; came the
children of Ben Iamin out agaynst the people,
∧ brake out of the cite, ∧ beganne to slaye
certayne wounded of the people (like as the
other two times afore) in the felde vpon two
stretes: wherof one goeth towarde Bethel,
the other vnto Gilead vpon a thirtye men
in Israel. Then thought the childr&ebar; of Ben
Iamin: They are smytten before vs like as
afore. But the childr&ebar; of Israel sayde: Let vs
flye, that we maie prouoke them out of the cite
in to the hye stretes.
Then all the men of Israel gat them vp
from their place, and prepared them selues
vnto Baal Thamar. And the hinder watch
of Israel brake out of their place, from þe; caue
of Gaba, and came vnto Gibea, twentye
thousande chosen men out of all Israel, so
that it was a sore battayll: but they knewe
not that the euell shulde happen vnto them.
Thus the LORDE smote BenIamin before
the children of Israel, so that the same daye
the children of Israel destroyed fyue ∧ twentye
thousande and an hundreth men in Ben
Iamin, which all drue the swerde.
For whan the childr&ebar; of BenIamin sawe
that they were smitten, the men of Israel gaue
them rowme (to flye). F For they trusted
to the watch, which they had sett by Gibea.
And the watch made haist also, ∧ brake forth
vnto Gibea, and wente vpon it, and smote
all the cite with the edge of þe; swerde. They
were appoynted betwene them selues the
men of Israel and the hynder watch, to fall
vpon them with the swerde, whan the smoke
of the cite arose. Now whan the men of Israel
turned them in the battayll, and Ben
Iamin beganne to smyte the wounded in Israel
vpon a thirtie men, and thoughte, they
are smytten before vs, like as in the battayll
afore, then beganne there a piler of smoke to
arise vp from the cite. And BenIamin loked
behinde them: and beholde, the flamme of þe;
cite wente vp vnto heauen. And the men of
Israel turned them, and were fearce vpon þe;
men of BenIamin: for they sawe that the euell
wolde happen vnto them.
G And they turned them before the men of
Israel in the waye to the wyldernesse, but
the battayll folowed vpon them. And them
of the cite destroyed they am&obar;ge them. And
they compased BenIamin rounde aboute,
and folowed vpon them vnto Mennah, and
trode them downe tyll afore Gibea eastwarde.
And there fell of BenIamin eightene
thousande men, which were all men of
armes.
Whan the remnaunt of BenIamin sawe
that, they turned them and fled towarde the
wildernesse vnto the stonye rocke of Rimon.
-- --
But in the same strete they slewe fyue thousande
men, and folowed vpon them vnto Gideom,
and slewe two thousande of th&ebar;: and
so there fell the same daye of BenIamin fyue
and twenty thousande men which drue þe;
swerde, and were all m&ebar; of armes. Onely sixe
hundreth men turned backe, and fled towarde
the wyldernesse vnto the stonye rocke of
Rimon, and abode in the rocke of Rimon
foure monethes. And the men of Israel came
agayne to the children of BenIamin, and
smote them that were in the cite with þe; edge
of the swerde, both m&ebar; and catell and all
that was founde: and what soeuer was fo&ubar;de
in the cite, they cast it in to the fyre.
