Judges 12:4

Easy-to-Read Version

Then Jephthah called the men of Gilead together. They fought against the men from the tribe of Ephraim because they had insulted the men of Gilead. They had said, "You men of Gilead are nothing but survivors of the men of Ephraim. Part of you belongs to Ephraim, and part of you belongs to Manasseh." The men of Gilead defeated the men of Ephraim.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Jephthah gathered all of the men of Gilead. They fought and defeated Ephraim, because Ephraim had said, “You Gileadites are Ephraimite fugitives in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.”

Hebrew Names Version
Then Yiftach gathered together all the men of Gil`ad, and fought with Efrayim; and the men of Gil`ad struck Efrayim, because they said, You are fugitives of Efrayim, you Gil`adi, in the midst of Efrayim, [and] in the midst of Menashsheh.

King James Version
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.

Lexham English Bible
Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead, and he made war with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim because they said, "You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh."

English Standard Version
Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh."

New Century Version
Then Jephthah called the men of Gilead together and fought the men of Ephraim. The men of Gilead struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, "You men of Gilead are nothing but deserters from Ephraim—living between Ephraim and Manasseh."

New English Translation
Jephthah assembled all the men of Gilead and they fought with Ephraim. The men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because the Ephraimites insulted them, saying, "You Gileadites are refugees in Ephraim, living within Ephraim's and Manasseh's territory."

Amplified Bible
Then Jephthah assembled all the men of Gilead and fought with [the tribe of] Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they had said, "You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim, in the midst of [the tribes of] Ephraim and Manasseh."

New American Standard Bible
Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, "You are survivors of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh."

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Iphtah gathered all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are runnagates of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites.

Legacy Standard Bible
Daarop versamel Jefta al die manne van Gílead om teen Efraim te veg; en die manne van Gílead het Efraim verslaan, omdat hulle gesê het: Julle, Gileadiete, is vlugtelinge van Efraim, in die midde van Efraim en Manasse.

Contemporary English Version
But the men from Ephraim said, "You people of Gilead are nothing more than refugees from Ephraim. You even live on land that belongs to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh." So Jephthah called together the army of Gilead, then they attacked and defeated the army from Ephraim.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then Yiftach gathered together all the men of Gil‘ad and fought with Efrayim, and the men of Gil‘ad defeated Efrayim; because they were saying, "You Gil‘ad men who live in Efrayim and M'nasheh have deserted Efrayim!"

Darby Translation
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.

George Lamsa Translation
Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote the men of Ephraim, because they said, The Ephraimites dominate Ephraim and Manasseh.

Good News Translation
Then Jephthah brought all the men of Gilead together, fought the men of Ephraim and defeated them. (The Ephraimites had said, "You Gileadites in Ephraim and Manasseh, you are deserters from Ephraim!")

Literal Translation
And Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, You Gileadites are fugitives from Ephraim, in the midst of Ephraim, in the midst of Manasseh.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Iephthae gathered all the men in Gilead, & foughte agaynst Ephraim. And the men in Gilead smote Ephraim, because they sayde: Ye Gileadites are as they yt fle awaye before Ephraim, (and dwell) amoge Ephraim & Manasse.

American Standard Version
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.

Bible in Basic English
Then Jephthah got together all the men of Gilead and made war on Ephraim; and the men of Gilead overcame Ephraim.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Iephthah therfore gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with the Ephraites. And the men of Gilead smote the Ephraites, because they sayd: Ye Gileadites are but runneagates of Ephraim, among the Ephraites and the Manassites.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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.'

King James Version (1611)
Then Iephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Yee Gileadites are fugitiues of Ephraim, among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
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.

English Revised Version
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.

Berean Standard Bible
Then Jephthah gathered all of 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."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor whanne alle the men of Galaad weren clepid to hym, he fauyt ayens Effraym; and the men of Galaad smytiden Effraym; for he seide, Galaad is `fugitif ether exilid fro Effraym, and dwellith in the myddis of Effraym and of Manasses.

Young's Literal Translation
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.'

Update Bible Version
Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, [and] in the midst of Manasseh.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, [and] in the midst of Manasseh.

New King James Version
Now Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, "You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites."

New Living Translation
The people of Ephraim responded, "You men of Gilead are nothing more than fugitives from Ephraim and Manasseh." So Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and attacked the men of Ephraim and defeated them.

New Life Bible
Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought Ephraim. The men of Gilead won the war against Ephraim, because Ephraim said, "You people of Gilead are not respected among Ephraim and Manasseh."

New Revised Standard
Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives from Ephraim, you Gileadites—in the heart of Ephraim and Manasseh."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim, - and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said - Fugitives of Ephraim, are, ye, O ye Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, in the midst of Manasseh.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then calling to him all the men of Galaad, he fought against Ephraim: and the men of Galaad defeated Ephraim, because he had said: Galaad is a fugitive of Ephraim, and dwelleth in the midst of Ephraim and Manasses.

Revised Standard Version
Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with E'phraim; and the men of Gilead smote E'phraim, because they said, "You are fugitives of E'phraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of E'phraim and Manas'seh."

THE MESSAGE
So Jephthah got his Gilead troops together and fought Ephraim. And the men of Gilead hit them hard because they were saying, "Gileadites are nothing but half breeds and rejects from Ephraim and Manasseh."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives of Ephraim, O Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh."

Contextual Overview

¹ The men from the tribe of Ephraim called all their soldiers together. Then they went across the river to the city of Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, "Why didn't you call us to help you fight the Ammonites? We will burn your house down with you in it." ² Jephthah answered them, "The Ammonites have been giving us many problems. So my people and I fought against them. I called you, but you didn't come to help us. ³ I saw that you would not help us, so I risked my own life. I went across the river to fight against the Ammonites. The Lord helped me defeat them. Now why have you come to fight against me today?" ⁴ Then Jephthah called the men of Gilead together. They fought against the men from the tribe of Ephraim because they had insulted the men of Gilead. They had said, "You men of Gilead are nothing but survivors of the men of Ephraim. Part of you belongs to Ephraim, and part of you belongs to Manasseh." The men of Gilead defeated the men of Ephraim. ⁵ The men of Gilead captured the places where people cross the Jordan River. Those places led to the country of Ephraim. Any time a survivor from Ephraim came to the river and said, "Let me cross," the men of Gilead would ask him, "Are you from Ephraim?" If he said, "No," ⁶ they would say, "Say the word ‘Shibboleth.'" The men of Ephraim could not say that word correctly. They pronounced the word "Sibboleth." So if the man said, "Sibboleth," then the men of Gilead knew he was from Ephraim. So they would kill him at the crossing place. They killed 42,000 men from Ephraim. ⁷ Jephthah was a judge for the Israelites for six years. Then Jephthah from Gilead died and was buried in his town in Gilead.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

and the men: Judges 11:10, Numbers 32:39, Numbers 32:40, Deuteronomy 3:12-17

fugitives: 1 Samuel 25:10, Nehemiah 4:4, Psalms 78:9, Proverbs 12:13, Proverbs 15:1

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 18:6 - wood of Ephraim James 3:6 - the tongue

Cross-References

Genesis 11:27
This is the history of Terah's family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot.

Genesis 11:31
Terah took his family and left Ur of Babylonia. They planned to travel to Canaan. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran's son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai (Abram's wife). They traveled to the city of Haran and decided to stay there.

Hebrews 11:8
God called Abraham to travel to another place that he promised to give him. Abraham did not know where that other place was. But he obeyed God and started traveling because he had faith.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim,.... The Ephraimites not being pacified with the account Jephthah gave of the war between him and the children of Ammon, but continuing in their tumultuous outrage; he, being a man of spirit and courage, got as many of the Gileadites together as he could, and gave them battle:

and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim; had the advantage of them, worsted them, killed many of them, and put the rest to flight:

because they said, ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites; what provoked them to fall upon them with the greater fury, and use them the more severely when, they had the better of them, was their reproachful language to them, insulting the Gileadites, who perhaps were chiefly, if not all, of the half tribe of Manasseh beyond Jordan, of which Jephthah was, that they were the scum of the house of Joseph, that they had run away from their brethren, and dwelt in a corner of the land by themselves; and were of no account at all among Ephraim and Manasseh, and disclaimed by them both, and not esteemed by either. The Targum is,

"the fugitives of Ephraim said, what are ye Gileadites accounted of among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites?''

on which Kimchi remarks, that those Ephraimites that came in this tumultuous manner, and insulted Jephthah, were a most abject company of men, the refuse of the tribe of Ephraim, shepherds who through necessity were obliged to come over Jordan with their flocks and herds for pasture: but the words may be rendered, "for they said, fugitives of Ephraim are ye, even the Gileadites, who were, or being between the Ephraimites and the Manassites"; that is, the Gileadites called the Ephraimites so, when they fled before them, and when they got at the fords of Jordan, which lay between Ephraim and the half tribe of Manasseh on the other side Jordan; and they are in the next verse expressly so called.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Because they said ... - This passage is extremely obscure. Render: - “The men of Gilead smote Ephraim, for they (the Gileadites) said, Ye are. the fugitives of Ephraim. (Gilead lies between Ephraim and Manasseh; and Gilead took the fords of Jordan before Ephraim, and it came to pass, when the fugitives of Ephraim said Let me pass over, and the Gileadites asked him, art thou an Ephraimite, and he answered No, Then (the Gileadites) said to him say Shibboleth, etc. So they (the Gileadites) killed them at the fords of Jordan”). All that is included in the parenthesis is explanatory of the brief statement “They smote them, for they said, Ye are the fugitives of Ephraim;” i. e. in spite of denial they ascertained that they were the fugitives of Ephraim, and so pitilessly slaughtered them when they endeavored to return to their own country through Gilead. This part of Gilead, where the fords were, was clearly not in Manasseh, but in Gad. “Slew” Judges 12:6 implies “slaughtering” in cold blood, not killing in battle (see Jeremiah 39:6). The word in the original text is the proper word for slaying animals for sacrifice.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 12:4. And fought with Ephraim — Some commentators suppose that there were two battles in which the Ephraimites were defeated: the first mentioned in the above clause; and the second occasioned by the taunting language mentioned in the conclusion of the verse, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim. Where the point of this reproach lies, or what is the reason of it, cannot be easily ascertained.