Common misinterpretations of this verse frame it as divine endorsement of indiscriminate genocide or bloodthirsty vigilantism, ignoring its specific context within an intra-tribal conflict where Israel acted as an instrument of judgment against Benjamin's protection of grave sexual violence akin to Sodom's sin; it is not a model for modern warfare or hatred but a tragic illustration of civil strife's horrors and the near-extinction of a tribe due to collective guilt, later mitigated by God's mercy in preserving remnants for Israel's unity.
Judges 20:45
King James Version (1769)
45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them.
Judges 20:45 recounts the Israelites' relentless pursuit and slaughter of 7,000 Benjaminite warriors near Gidom during a civil war sparked by the tribe's failure to punish the perpetrators of a brutal gang rape and murder in Gibeah, emphasizing the fierce execution of communal justice against deep-seated sin and moral corruption within Israel, serving as a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of unchecked wickedness and the high cost of retribution in restoring righteousness among God's people.