Judges 20:36-46

36Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated. The Israelites retreated before Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hid in ambush outside Gibeah.

37The men hiding in ambush made a mad dash to Gibeah. They attacked and put the sword to the entire city.

38The Israelites and the men hiding in ambush had arranged a signal. When the men hiding in ambush sent up a smoke signal from the city,

39the Israelites counterattacked. Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites; they struck down about thirty men. They said, “There’s no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle.”

40But when the signal, a pillar of smoke, began to rise up from the city, the Benjaminites turned around and saw the whole city going up in a cloud of smoke that rose high into the sky.

41When the Israelites turned around, the Benjaminites panicked because they could see that disaster was on their doorstep.

42They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down.

43They surrounded the Benjaminites, chased them from Nohah, and annihilated them all the way to a spot east of Geba.

44Eighteen thousand Benjaminites, all of them capable warriors, fell dead.

45The rest turned and ran toward the wilderness, heading toward the cliff of Rimmon. But the Israelites caught five thousand of them on the main roads. They stayed right on their heels all the way to Gidom and struck down two thousand more.

46That day twenty-five thousand sword-wielding Benjaminites fell in battle, all of them capable warriors.