Judges Chapter 12
King James Version (KJV)
Other Translations
asv (asv) - eBible.org engASV USFM
1
And they went out into the field, and gathered their vineyards, and trod
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the grapes, and held festival, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech.
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And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve ye the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: but why should we serve him?
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And would that this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.
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And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.
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And he sent messengers unto Abimelech craftily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren are come to Shechem; and, behold, they constrain the city
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to take part against thee.
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Now therefore, up by night, thou and the people that are with thee, and lie in wait in the field:
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and it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and rush upon the city; and, behold, when he and the people that are with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion.
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And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.
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And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from the ambushment.
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And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the tops of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.
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And Gaal spake again and said, See, there come people down by the middle of the land, and one company cometh by the way of the oak of Meonenim.
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Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, that thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out now, I pray, and fight with them.
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And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.
darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext
1
And the men of Ephraim were called together, and passed over northwards, and said to Jephthah, Why didst thou pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? We will burn thy house upon thee with fire.
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And Jephthah said to them, I was at great strife, I and my people, with the children of Ammon; and I called you, but ye saved me not out of their hand.
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And when I saw that ye would not save me, I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and Jehovah gave them into my hand. Why then are ye come up to me this day, to fight against me?
4
And Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye, Gilead, ye are fugitives of Ephraim in the midst of Ephraim, [and] in the midst of Manasseh.
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And Gilead took the fords of the Jordan before Ephraim; and it came to pass that when the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said to him, Art thou an Ephraimite? and he said, No.
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Then they said to him, Say now Shibboleth! and he said, Sibboleth, and did not manage to pronounce [it] rightly. Then they took him, and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. And there fell at that time of Ephraim forty-two thousand.
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And Jephthah judged Israel six years. And Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in [one of] the cities of Gilead.
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And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
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And he had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent out of the house, and thirty daughters he took in from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.
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And Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.
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And after him Elon, the Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.
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And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Ajalon in the land of Zebulun.
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And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, judged Israel.
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And he had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy ass colts. And he judged Israel eight years.
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And 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.
lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM
1
And the men of Ephraim assembled [themselves], and passed on to the north, and said to Jephthae, Wherefore didst thou go over to fight with the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thy house over thee with fire.
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And Jephthae said to them, I and my people and the children of Ammon were very much engaged in war; and I called for you, and ye did not save me out of their hand.
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And I saw that thou wert no helper, and I put my life in my hand, and passed on to the sons of Ammon; and the Lord delivered them into my hand: and wherefore are ye come up against me this day to fight with me?
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And Jephthae gathered all the men of Galaad, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Galaad smote Ephraim, because they that were escaped of Ephraim said, Ye [are] of Galaad in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasse.
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And Galaad took the fords of Jordan before Ephraim; and they that escaped of Ephraim said to them, Let us go over: and the men of Galaad said, Art thou an Ephrathite? and he said, No.
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Then they said to him, Say now Stachys; and he did not rightly pronounce it so: and they took him, and slew him at the fords of Jordan; and there fell at that time of Ephraim two and forty thousand.
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And Jephthae judged Israel six years; and Jephthae the Galaadite died, and was buried in his city Galaad.
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And after him Abaissan of Bethleem judged Israel.
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And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent forth; and he brought in thirty daughters for his sons from without; and he judged Israel seven years.
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And Abaissan died, and was buried in Bethleem.
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And after him Ælom of Zabulon judged Israel ten years.
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And Ælom of Zabulon died, and was buried in Ælom in the land of Zabulon.
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And after him Abdon the son of Ellel, the Pharathonite, judged Israel.
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And he had forty sons, and thirty grandsons, that rode upon seventy colts: and he judged Israel eight years.
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And Abdon the son of Ellel, the Pharathonite, died, and was buried in Pharathon in the land of Ephraim in the mount of Amalec.
vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)
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Ecce autem in Ephraim orta est seditio. nam transeuntes contra aquilonem, dixerunt ad Iephte: Quare vadens ad pugnam contra filios Ammon, vocare nos noluisti, ut pergeremus tecum? Igitur incendemus domum tuam.
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Quibus ille respondit: Disceptatio erat mihi et populo meo contra filios Ammon vehemens: vocavique vos, ut præberetis mihi auxilium, et facere noluistis.
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Quod cernens posui animam meam in manibus meis, transivique ad filios Ammon, et tradidit eos Dominus in manus meas. Quid commerui, ut adversum me consurgatis in prælium?
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Vocatis itaque ad se cunctis viris Galaad, pugnabat contra Ephraim: percusseruntque viri Galaad Ephraim, quia dixerat: Fugitivus est Galaad de Ephraim, et habitat in medio Ephraim et Manasse.
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Occupaveruntque Galaaditæ vada Iordanis, per quæ Ephraim reversurus erat. Cumque venisset ad ea de Ephraim numero, fugiens, atque dixisset: Obsecro ut me transire permittatis: dicebant ei Galaaditæ: Numquid Ephrathæus es? quo dicente: Non sum:
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interrogabant eum: Dic ergo Scibboleth, quod interpretatur Spica. Qui respondebat, Sibboleth: eadem littera spicam exprimere non valens. Statimque apprehensum iugulabant in ipso Iordanis transitu. Et ceciderunt in illo tempore de Ephraim quadraginta duo millia.
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Iudicavit itaque Iephte Galaadites Israel sex annis: et mortuus est, ac sepultus in civitate sua Galaad.
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Post hunc iudicavit Israel Abesan de Bethlehem:
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qui habuit triginta filios, et totidem filias, quas emittens foras, maritis dedit, et eiusdem numeri filiis suis accepit uxores, introducens in domum suam. Qui septem annis iudicavit Israel.
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mortuusque est, ac sepultus in Bethlehem.
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Cui successit Ahialon Zabulonites: et iudicavit Israel decem annis:
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mortuusque est, ac sepultus in Zabulon.
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Post hunc iudicavit Israel Abdon, filius Illel Pharathonites:
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qui habuit quadraginta filios, et triginta ex eis nepotes, ascendentes super septuaginta pullos asinarum, et iudicavit Israel octo annis:
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mortuusque est, ac sepultus in Pharathon terræ Ephraim, in monte Amalec.
web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV
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!”
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.
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 the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me today, to fight against me?”
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.”
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;”
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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.
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Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in the cities of Gilead.
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After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
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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.
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Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.
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After him, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.
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Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
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After him, Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.
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He had forty sons and thirty sons’ sons who rode on seventy donkey colts. He judged Israel eight years.
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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.
ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8
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And the men of Ephraim are called together, and pass over northward, and say to Jephthah, `Wherefore has thou passed over to fight against the Bene-Ammon, and on us hast not called to go with thee? thy house we burn over thee with fire.'
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And Jephthah saith unto them, `A man of great strife I have been (I and my people) with the Bene-Ammon, and I call you, and ye have not saved me out of their hand,
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and I see that thou art not a saviour, and I put my life in my hand, and pass over unto the Bene-Ammon, and Jehovah giveth them into my hand--and why have ye come up unto me this day to fight against me?'
4
And Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead, and fighteth with Ephraim, and the men of Gilead smite Ephraim, because they said, `Fugitives of Ephraim <FI>are<Fi> ye Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim--in the midst of Manasseh.'
5
And Gilead captureth the passages of the Jordan to Ephraim, and it hath been, when <FI>any of<Fi> the fugitives of Ephraim say, `Let me pass over,' and the men of Gilead say to him, `An Ephramite thou?' and he saith, `No;'
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that they say to him, `Say, I pray thee, Shibboleth;' and he saith, `Sibboleth,' and is not prepared to speak right--and they seize him, and slaughter him at the passages of the Jordan, and there fall at that time, of Ephraim, forty and two chiefs.
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And Jephthah judged Israel six years, and Jephthah the Gileadite dieth, and is buried in <FI>one of<Fi> the cities of Gilead.
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And after him Ibzan of Beth-Lehem judgeth Israel,
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and he hath thirty sons and thirty daughters, he hath sent without and thirty daughters hath brought in to his sons from without; and he judgeth Israel seven years.
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And Ibzan dieth, and is buried in Beth-Lehem.
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And after him Elon the Zebulunite judgeth Israel, and he judgeth Israel ten years,
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and Elon the Zebulunite dieth, and is buried in Aijalon, in the land of Zebulun.
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And after him, Abdon son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, judgeth Israel,
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and he hath forty sons, and thirty grandsons, riding on seventy ass-colts, and he judgeth Israel eight years.
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And Abdon son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, dieth, and is buried in Pirathon, in the land of Ephraim, in the hill-country of the Amalekite.
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).