Judges 12

1 The men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they said to Jephthah, “Why did you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didn’t call us to go with you? We will burn your house around you with fire!”

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 Jephthah said to them, “I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, you didn’t save me out of their hand.

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 When I saw that you didn’t save me, I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and Yahweh delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me today, to fight against me?”

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 Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim. The men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, “You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the middle of Ephraim, and in the middle of Manasseh.”

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 The Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. Whenever a fugitive of Ephraim said, “Let me go over,” the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No;”

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 then they said to him, “Now say ‘Shibboleth;’” and he said “Sibboleth”; for he couldn’t manage to pronounce it correctly, then they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time, forty-two thousand of Ephraim fell.

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 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in the cities of Gilead.

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 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

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

9 He had thirty sons. He sent his thirty daughters outside his clan, and he brought in thirty daughters from outside his clan for his sons. He judged Israel seven years.

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 Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.

When he died, he was buried in Bethlehem.

11 After him, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.

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

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

13 After him, Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.

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 He had forty sons and thirty sons’ sons who rode on seventy donkey colts. He judged Israel eight years.

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 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.

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].