Judges 12
1 And the
men of
Ephraim gathered themselves
together, and
went northward, and
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 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 And when I
saw that ye
delivered me not, I
put my
life in my
hands, and passed
over against the
children of
Ammon, and the
LORD delivered them into my
hand: wherefore then are ye come
up unto me this
day, to
fight against me?
4 Then
Jephthah gathered
together all the
men of
Gilead, and
fought with
Ephraim: and the
men of
Gilead smote Ephraim, because they
said, Ye
Gileadites are
fugitives of
Ephraim among the
Ephraimites, and
among the
Manassites. 5 And the
Gileadites took the
passages of
Jordan before the
Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those
Ephraimites which were
escaped said, Let me go
over; that the
men of
Gilead said unto him, Art thou an
Ephraimite? If he
said, Nay;
6 Then
said they unto him,
Say now
Shibboleth: and he
said Sibboleth: for he could not
frame to
pronounce it
right. Then they
took him, and
slew him at the
passages of
Jordan: and there
fell at that
time of the
Ephraimites forty and
two thousand. 7 And
Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then
died Jephthah the
Gileadite, and was
buried in one of the
cities of
Gilead. 8 And
after him
Ibzan of
Bethlehem judged Israel. 9 And he had
thirty sons, and
thirty daughters, whom he
sent abroad, and
took in
thirty daughters from
abroad for his
sons. And he
judged Israel seven years. 10 Then
died Ibzan, and was
buried at
Bethlehem. 11 And
after him
Elon, a
Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he
judged Israel ten years. 12 And
Elon the
Zebulonite died, and was
buried in
Aijalon in the
country of
Zebulun. 13 And
after him
Abdon the
son of
Hillel, a
Pirathonite, judged Israel. 14 And he had
forty sons and
thirty nephews, that
rode on threescore and
ten ass
colts: and he
judged Israel eight years. 15 And
Abdon the
son of
Hillel the
Pirathonite died, and was
buried in
Pirathon in the
land of
Ephraim, in the
mount of the
Amalekites.