Judges 12:4
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.
Judges 12:4 in other translations
| BSB | Jephthah then gathered all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are fugitives in Ephraim, living in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.” |
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| WEB | 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.” |
| ASV | Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye are fugitives of Ephraim, ye Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, and in the midst of Manasseh. |
| YLT | 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 are ye Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim--in the midst of Manasseh.' |
| DARBY | 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. |
| BBE | Then Jephthah got together all the men of Gilead and made war on Ephraim; and the men of Gilead overcame Ephraim. |
| Webster | Then Jephthah collected 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. |
What does Judges 12:4 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 12:4-6
Jud 12:4-15. Discerned by the Word Sibboleth, Are Slain by the Gileadites.
4-6. the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim--The remonstrances of Jephthah, though reasonable and temperate, were not only ineffectual, but followed by insulting sneers that the Gileadites were reckoned both by the western Manassites and Ephraimites as outcasts--the scum and refuse of their common stock. This was addressed to a peculiarly sensitive people. A feud immediately ensued. The Gileadites, determined to chastise this public affront, gave them battle; and having defeated the Ephraimites, they chased their foul-mouthed but cowardly assailants out of the territory. Then rushing to the fords of the Jordan, they intercepted and slew every fugitive. The method adopted for discovering an Ephraimite was by the pronunciation of a word naturally suggested by the place where they stood. Shibboleth, means "a stream"; Sibboleth, "a burden." The Eastern tribe had, it seems, a dialectical provincialism in the sound of Shibboleth; and the Ephraimites could not bring their organs to pronounce it.Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · 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…
Judges 12:4 in the original Hebrew
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Cross references for Judges 12:4
- Proverbs 12:13
The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.
- 1 Samuel 25:10
And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.
- Numbers 32:39-40
And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it. And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.
- Nehemiah 4:4
Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:
- Judges 11:10
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The Lord be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
- Deuteronomy 3:12-17
And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites. And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants. Jair the son of Manasseh took all the country of Argob unto the coasts of Geshuri and Maachathi; and called them after his own name, Bashan–havoth–jair, unto this day. And I gave Gilead unto Machir. …
- Psalms 78:9
The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.
- Proverbs 15:1
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Context
- 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?
- Judges 12:4
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.
- Judges 12:5
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;
Judges 12:4 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Y juntando Jephté á todos los varones de Galaad, peleó contra Ephraim; y los de Galaad hirieron á Ephraim, porque habían dicho: Vosotros sois fugitivos de Ephraim, vosotros sois Galaaditas entre Ephraim y Manasés. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Et Jephthé rassembla tous les hommes de Galaad et fit la guerre à Éphraïm; et les hommes de Galaad frappèrent Éphraïm, parce qu’ils avaient dit: Vous, Galaad, vous êtes des fugitifs d’Éphraïm, au milieu d’Éphraïm, au milieu de Manassé. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Und Jephtha versammelte alle Männer von Gilead und stritt mit Ephraim; und die Männer von Gilead schlugen Ephraim, weil sie gesagt hatten: Flüchtlinge Ephraims seid ihr, ihr Gileaditer, inmitten Ephraims und inmitten Manasses! |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | 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. |