Judges 12
1599 Geneva Bible
12 6 Jephthah killeth two and forty thousand Ephraimites, 8 After Jephthah succeedeth Ibzan, 11 Elon, 13 and Abdon.
1 And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went [a]Northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore wentest thou to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call [b]us to go with thee? we will therefore burn thine house upon thee with fire.
2 And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon, and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands.
3 So when I saw that ye delivered me not, [c]I put my life in mine hands, and went upon the children of Ammon: so the Lord delivered them into mine hands. Wherefore then are ye come upon me now to fight against me?
4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are runagates of Ephraim [d]among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites.
5 Also the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites, and when the Ephraimites that were escaped, said, Let me pass, then the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay,
6 Then said they unto him, Say now [e]Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not so pronounce: then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites two and forty thousand.
7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years: then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
8 ¶ After him [f]Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel,
9 Who had thirty sons and thirty daughters, which he sent out, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons: and he judged Israel seven years.
10 Then Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.
11 ¶ And after him judged Israel Elon, a Zebulunite, and he judged Israel ten years.
12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.
13 ¶ And after him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.
14 And he had forty sons and thirty [g]nephews that rode on seventy [h]asscolts: and he judged Israel eight years.
15 Then died Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite, and was buried in Pirathon, in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.
Footnotes
- Judges 12:1 After they had passed Jordan.
- Judges 12:1 Thus ambition envieth God’s work in others as they did also against Gideon, Judg. 8:1.
- Judges 12:3 That is, I ventured my life, and when man’s help failed, I put my trust only in God.
- Judges 12:4 Ye ran from us, and chose Gilead, and now in respect of us, ye are nothing.
- Judges 12:6 Which signifieth the fall of waters, or an ear of corn.
- Judges 12:8 Some think that this was Boaz the husband of Ruth.
- Judges 12:14 Hebrew, sons’ sons.
- Judges 12:14 Or, horse colts.
Judges 12
English Standard Version
Jephthah's Conflict with Ephraim
12 (A)The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire.” 2 And Jephthah said to them, “I and my people had a great dispute with the Ammonites, and when I called you, you did not save me from their hand. 3 And when I saw that you would not save me, (B)I took my life in my hand and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?” 4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, (C)“You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh.” 5 And the Gileadites captured (D)the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me go over,” the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” When he said, “No,” 6 they said to him, “Then say Shibboleth,” and he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at (E)the fords of the Jordan. At that time 42,000 of the Ephraimites fell.
7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead.[a]
Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon
8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. 9 He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters he gave in marriage outside his clan, and thirty daughters he brought in from outside for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years. 10 Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem.
11 After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel, and he judged Israel ten years. 12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
13 After him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. 14 He had forty (F)sons and thirty grandsons, who (G)rode on seventy donkeys, and he judged Israel eight years. 15 Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
Footnotes
- Judges 12:7 Septuagint; Hebrew in the cities of Gilead
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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