Judges 12 · Verse 2

Judges 12:2

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.
Judges 12:2, King James Version

Judges 12:2 in other translations

BSBBut 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.
WEBJephthah 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.
ASVAnd Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye saved me not out of their hand.
YLTAnd 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,
DARBYAnd 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.
BBEAnd Jephthah said to them, I and my people were in danger, and the children of Ammon were very cruel to us, and when I sent for you, you gave me no help against them.
WebsterAnd Jephthah said to 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.

What does Judges 12:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
2. when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands--The straightforward answer of Jephthah shows that their charge was false; their complaint of not being treated as confederates and allies entirely without foundation; and their boast of a ready contribution of their services came with an ill grace from people who had purposely delayed appearing till the crisis was past.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Judges 12:1-7

The Ephraimites had the same quarrel with Jephthah as with Gideon. Pride was at the bottom of the quarrel; only by that comes contention. It is ill to fasten names of reproach upon persons or countries, as is common, especially upon those under outward disadvantages. It often occasions quarrels that prove of ill consequence, as it did here. No contentions are so bitter as those between brethren or rivals for honour…

Read the full comment on Judges 12:1-7 →

Judges 12:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֤אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
יִפְתָּח֙yif.TachJephthahH3316
אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם'a.lei.Hemto themH413
אִ֣ישׁ'isha man ofH376
רִ֗יבRivstrifeH7379
הָיִ֛יתִיha.Yi.tiI wasH1961
אֲנִ֛י'a.NiIH589
וְעַמִּ֥יve.'a.Miand people myH5971
וּבְנֵֽי\־u.ve.nei-and [the] people ofH1121
עַמּ֖וֹןa.MonAmmonH5983
מְאֹ֑דme.'OdexceedinglyH3966
וָאֶזְעַ֣קva.'ez.'Akand I summonedH2199
אֶתְכֶ֔ם'et.Khem<obj.> youH853
וְלֹֽא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
הוֹשַׁעְתֶּ֥םho.sha'.Temyou deliveredH3467
אוֹתִ֖י'o.Ti<obj.> meH853
מִיָּדָֽם\׃mi.ya.Damfrom hand theirH3027

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Judges 12:2

  • Judges 11:12-33

    And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land? And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably. And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon: And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon: …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
I and my.
11:12-33

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 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.

  • Judges 12:2

    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.

  • Judges 12:3

    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?

Read all of Judges 12

Judges 12:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y Jephté les respondió: Yo tuve, y mi pueblo, una gran contienda con los hijos de Ammón, y os llamé, y no me defendisteis de sus manos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Jephthé leur dit: Nous avons eu de grands débats, moi et mon peuple, avec les fils d’Ammon; et je vous ai appelés, et vous ne m’avez pas sauvé de leur main.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Jephtha sprach zu ihnen: Einen heftigen Streit haben wir gehabt, ich und mein Volk, mit den Kindern Ammon; und ich rief euch, aber ihr habt mich nicht aus ihrer Hand gerettet.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quibus ille respondit: Disceptatio erat mihi et populo meo contra filios Ammon vehemens: vocavique vos, ut præberetis mihi auxilium, et facere noluistis.