士師記 12
1 以法蓮人聚集，到了北方，對耶弗他說：「你去與亞捫人爭戰，為甚麼沒有招我們同去呢？我們必用火燒你和你的房屋。」
The men of the tribe of Ephraim summoned their soldiers, and they crossed [the Jordan River] to [the town of] Zaphon [to talk with] Jephthah. They said to him, “(Why did you not ask us for help?/You should have requested us) to help your army fight the Ammon people-group. So we will burn down your house while you are in it.”
2 耶弗他對他們說：「我和我的民與亞捫人大大爭戰；我招你們來，你們竟沒有來救我脫離他們的手。
Jephthah replied, “The Ammon people-group were oppressing us greatly. When we were prepared to start to attack them, I requested you to come and help us, but you refused. My men and I defeated the Ammon people-group, but you did not help us.
3 我見你們不來救我，我就拚命前去攻擊亞捫人，耶和華將他們交在我手中。你們今日為甚麼上我這裏來攻打我呢？」
When I saw that you would not help us, I was willing to be killed in the battle against the Ammon people-group. But Yahweh helped us to defeat them. [You did not help us when we requested it before], so (why have you come here today to fight against me?/you should not have come here today to fight against me.)” [RHQ]
4 於是耶弗他招聚基列人，與以法蓮人爭戰。基列人擊殺以法蓮人，是因他們說：「你們基列人在以法蓮、瑪拿西中間，不過是以法蓮逃亡的人。」
Then Jephthah summoned the men of [the] Gilead [region] to fight [against the men of the tribe of] Ephraim. The men of the tribe of Ephraim said, “You men from [the] Gilead [region] are men who deserted us. Long ago you left us and moved to the area between our tribe and the tribe of Manasseh.” [Because of their saying that], the men of [the] Gilead [region] attacked the men of the tribe of Ephraim.
5 基列人把守約旦河的渡口，不容以法蓮人過去。以法蓮逃走的人若說：「容我過去。」基列人就問他說：「你是以法蓮人不是？」他若說：「不是」，
The men of Gilead captured that (ford/place where people can walk across) at the Jordan [River] to go to the land where the tribe of Ephraim live. Whenever one of the soldiers from the tribe of Ephraim came to the ford to try to escape, he would say, “Let me cross the river.” Then the men of Gilead would ask him, “Are you from the tribe of Ephraim?” If he said “No,”
6 就對他說：「你說『示播列』。」以法蓮人因為咬不真字音，便說「西播列」。基列人就將他拿住，殺在約旦河的渡口。那時以法蓮人被殺的有四萬二千人。
they would say to him, “Say the word ‘Shibboleth’.” The men of Ephraim could not pronounce that word correctly. So if the person from the tribe of Ephraim said ‘Sibboleth’, [they would know that he was lying and that he was really from the tribe of Ephraim, and] they would kill him there at the ford. So the men of Gilead killed 42,000 people from the tribe of Ephraim at that time.
7 耶弗他作以色列的士師六年。基列人耶弗他死了，葬在基列的一座城裏。
Jephthah, the man from [the] Gilead [region], was a leader of the Israeli people for six years. Then he died and was buried in a town in [the] Gilead [region].
8 耶弗他以後，有伯利恆人以比讚作以色列的士師。
After Jephthah died, a man named Ibzan, from Bethlehem, became the leader of the Israeli people.
9 他有三十個兒子，三十個女兒；女兒都嫁出去了。他給眾子從外鄉娶了三十個媳婦。他作以色列的士師七年。
He had 30 sons and 30 daughters. He forced all his daughters to marry men who were not in his clan, and brought women from outside his clan to marry his sons. He was the leader of the Israeli people for seven years.
10 以比讚死了，葬在伯利恆。
When he died, he was buried in Bethlehem.
11 以比讚之後，有西布倫人以倫，作以色列的士師十年。
After Ibzan died, a man named Elon, from the tribe of Zebulun, became the leader of the Israeli people. He was their leader for ten years.
12 西布倫人以倫死了，葬在西布倫地的亞雅崙。
Then he died and was buried in Aijalon [city] in the area where the tribe of Zebulun lives.
13 以倫之後，有比拉頓人希列的兒子押頓作以色列的士師。
After Elon died, a man named Abdon who was the son of Hillel, from Pirathon [city, in the area where the tribe of Ephraim live] became the leader of the Israeli people.
14 他有四十個兒子，三十個孫子，騎着七十匹驢駒。押頓作以色列的士師八年。
He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons. Each of them had his own donkey on which to ride. Abdon was the leader of the Israeli people for eight years.
15 比拉頓人希列的兒子押頓死了，葬在以法蓮地的比拉頓，在亞瑪力人的山地。
When Abdon died, he was buried in Pirathon, in the hilly area where the descendants of Amalek lived previously, [but now it is the area where the tribe of Ephraim lives].
