Judges 12

1 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.”

Then the men of Ephraim assembled and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why have you crossed over to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down with you inside!”

2 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.

But Jephthah replied, “My people and I had a serious conflict with the Ammonites, and when I called, you did not save me out of their hands.

3 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]

When I saw that you would not save me, I risked my life and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come today to fight against me?”

4 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.

Jephthah then gathered all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are fugitives in Ephraim, living in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.”

5 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,”

The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim would say, “Let me cross over,” the Gileadites would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he answered, “No,”

6 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.

they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. So at that time 42,000 Ephraimites were killed.

7 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].

Jephthah judged Israel six years, and when he died, he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

8 After Jephthah died, a man named Ibzan, from Bethlehem, became the leader of the Israeli people.

After Jephthah, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

9 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.

He had thirty sons, as well as thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage to men outside his clan; and for his sons he brought back thirty wives from elsewhere. Ibzan judged Israel seven years.

10 When he died, he was buried in Bethlehem.

Then Ibzan died, and he was buried in Bethlehem.

11 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.

After Ibzan, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel ten years.

12 Then he died and was buried in Aijalon [city] in the area where the tribe of Zebulun lives.

Then Elon the Zebulunite died, and he was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

13 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.

After Elon, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, judged Israel.

14 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.

He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years.

15 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].

Then Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, died, and he was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.