New Living Translation (NLT)
Judges 20
42 So they turned around and fled before the Israelites toward the wilderness. But they couldn’t escape the battle, and the people who came out of the nearby towns were also killed.
43 The Israelites surrounded the men of Benjamin and chased them relentlessly, finally overtaking them east of Gibeah.
44 That day 18,000 of Benjamin’s strongest warriors died in battle.
45 The survivors fled into the wilderness toward the rock of Rimmon, but Israel killed 5,000 of them along the road. They continued the chase until they had killed another 2,000 near Gidom.
46 So that day the tribe of Benjamin lost 25,000 strong warriors armed with swords,
47 leaving only 600 men who escaped to the rock of Rimmon, where they lived for four months.
48 And the Israelites returned and slaughtered every living thing in all the towns—the people, the livestock, and everything they found. They also burned down all the towns they came to.
Judges 21
1 The Israelites had vowed at Mizpah, “We will never give our daughters in marriage to a man from the tribe of Benjamin.”
2 Now the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly.
3 “O LORD, God of Israel,” they cried out, “why has this happened in Israel? Now one of our tribes is missing from Israel!”
4 Early the next morning the people built an altar and presented their burnt offerings and peace offerings on it.
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