13 Now hand over the wicked men in Gibeah, so that we can kill them and purge the evil from Israel.”Yet the Benjamites were not willing to listen to their fellow children of Israel.
14 The Benjamites gathered from their cities at Gibeah in order to go out and wage war against the children of Israel.
15 That day, the Benjamites mustered twenty-six thousand armed men from the cities and seven hundred specially chosen men from Gibeah.
16 Out of all these people there were seven hundred specially chosen men who were left-handed, all of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
17 The men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, gathered four hundred thousand armed men who drew the sword; all of them were men of war.
18 The children of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and asked God, “Who should go up first to wage war against the Benjamites?”The Lord said, “Judah first.”
19 The children of Israel got up in the morning and camped against Gibeah.