Judges 12
12
The Ephraim tribe fights Jephthah's army
1The men of the Ephraim tribe got together an army and went across the River Jordan to Zaphon to meet with Jephthah. They said, “Why did you go to war with the Ammonites without asking us to help? Just for that, we're going to burn down your house with you inside!”
2“But I did ask for your help,” Jephthah answered. “That was back when the people of Gilead and I were having trouble with the Ammonites, and you wouldn't do a thing to help us. 3So when we realized you weren't coming, we risked our lives and attacked the Ammonites. And the LORD let us defeat them. There's no reason for you to come here today to attack me.”
4But the men from Ephraim said, “You people of Gilead are nothing more than refugees from Ephraim. You even live on land that belongs to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.”#12.4 You people of Gilead…Ephraim and Manasseh: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
So Jephthah called together the army of Gilead, then they attacked and defeated the army from Ephraim. 5The army of Gilead also posted guards at all the places where the soldiers from Ephraim could cross the River Jordan to return to their own land.
Whenever one of the men from Ephraim would try to cross the river, the guards would say, “Are you from Ephraim?”
“No,” the man would answer, “I'm not from Ephraim.”
6The guards would then tell them to say “Shibboleth”, because they knew that people of Ephraim could say “Sibboleth”, but not “Shibboleth”.
If the man said “Sibboleth”, the guards would grab him and kill him there. Altogether, forty-two thousand men from Ephraim were killed in the battle and at the Jordan.
7Jephthah was a leader#12.7 leader: See 2.16 and the note there. of Israel for six years, before he died and was buried in his home town Mizpah#12.7 his home town Mizpah: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. in Gilead.
Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon
Ibzan
8Ibzan, the next leader#12.8 leader: See 2.16 and the note there. of Israel, came from Bethlehem. 9He had thirty daughters and thirty sons, and he let them all marry outside his clan.
Ibzan was a leader for seven years, 10before he died and was buried in Bethlehem.
Elon
11Elon from the Zebulun tribe was the next leader#12.11 leader: See 2.16 and the note there. of Israel. He was a leader for ten years, 12before he died and was buried in Aijalon that belonged to the Zebulun tribe.
Abdon
13-15Abdon the son of Hillel was the next leader#12.13-15 leader: See 2.16 and the note there. of Israel. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, and each one of them had his own donkey.#12.13-15 each…donkey: A sign that the family was wealthy. Abdon was a leader for eight years, before he died and was buried in his home town of Pirathon, which is in the part of the hill country of Ephraim where Amalekites used to live.
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Judges 12: CEVUK
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
Judges 12
12
1And the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thy house upon thee with fire. 2And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye saved me not out of their hand. 3And when I saw that ye saved me not, I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and Jehovah delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me? 4Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye are fugitives of Ephraim, ye Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, and in the midst of Manasseh. 5And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And it was so, that, when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; 6then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth; for he could not frame to pronounce it right: then they laid hold on him, and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. And there fell at that time of Ephraim forty and two thousand.
7And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
8And after him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel. 9And he had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty daughters he brought in from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years. 10And Ibzan died, and was buried at Beth-lehem.
11And after him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years. 12And Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
13And after him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. 14And he had forty sons and thirty sons’ sons, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years. 15And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill-country of the Amalekites.
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