Judges 12:5

Easy-to-Read Version

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,"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim. Whenever a fugitive from Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the Gileadites asked him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he answered, “No,”

Hebrew Names Version
The Gil`adi took the fords of the Yarden against the Efrayim. It was so, that when [any of] the fugitives of Efrayim said, Let me go over, the men of Gil`ad said to him, Are you an Efratite? If he said, No;

King James Version
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;

Lexham English Bible
Then Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan from Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive of Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" When he said, "No,"

English Standard Version
And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me go over," the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" When he said, "No,"

New Century Version
The men of Gilead captured the crossings of the Jordan River that led to the country of Ephraim. A person from Ephraim trying to escape would say, "Let me cross the river." Then the men of Gilead would ask him, "Are you from Ephraim?" If he replied no,

New English Translation
The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River opposite Ephraim. Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead asked him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No,"

Amplified Bible
And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan opposite the Ephraimites; and when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No,"

New American Standard Bible
And the Gileadites took control of the crossing places of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened whenever any of the survivors of Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," that the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No,"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Also the Gileadites tooke the passages of Iorden before the Ephraimites, and when the Ephraimites that were escaped, saide, Let me passe, then the men of Gilead said vnto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay,

Legacy Standard Bible
En Gílead het die Efraimiete van die Jordaan-driwwe afgesny; en as die vlugtelinge van Efraim sê: Ek wil deurgaan--dan vra die manne van Gílead vir hom: Is jy 'n Efraimiet? As hy sê: Nee,

Contemporary English Version
The army of Gilead also posted guards at all the places where the soldiers from Ephraim could cross the Jordan River to return to their own land. Whenever one of the men from Ephraim would try to cross the river, the guards would say, "Are you from Ephraim?" "No," the man would answer, "I'm not from Ephraim."

Complete Jewish Bible
The men of Gil‘ad cut off Efrayim from the crossings over the Yarden, and whenever anyone from Efrayim tried to escape and said, "Let me go across," the men of Gil‘ad would ask him, "Are you from Efrayim?" and if he said, "No,"

Darby Translation
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.

George Lamsa Translation
And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan which belonged to Ephraim; and when any of the fugitives of Ephraim tried to cross over the passage, the men of Gilead said to him, Are you an Ephraimite? If he said, No;

Good News Translation
In order to keep the Ephraimites from escaping, the Gileadites captured the places where the Jordan could be crossed. When any Ephraimite who was trying to escape would ask permission to cross, the men of Gilead would ask, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No,"

Literal Translation
And Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan before Ephraim. And it happened when the fugitives from Ephraim said, Let me pass over, then the men of Gilead said to him, Are you an Ephraimite? And he said, No.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the Gileadites toke ye ferye of Iordane from Ephraim. Now wha one of ye fugityue Ephraites dyd saye: Let me go ouer, ye men of Gilead sayde: Art thou an Ephraite? yf he answered: No,

American Standard Version
And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And it was so, that, when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;

Bible in Basic English
And the Gileadites took the crossing-places of Jordan against the Ephraimites; and when any of the men of Ephraim who had gone in flight said, let me go over; the men of Gilead said to him, Are you an Ephraimite? And if he said, No;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Moreouer, the men of Gilead toke the passages of Iordane before the Ephraites: And when those Ephraites that were escaped, said, Let me go ouer: then the men of Gilead sayde vnto hym, Art thou an Ephraite? If he sayde, nay:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites; and it was so, that when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said: 'Let me go over,' the men of Gilead said unto him: 'Art thou an Ephraimite?' If he said: 'Nay';

King James Version (1611)
And the Gileadites tooke the passages of Iordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so that when those Ephraimites which were escaped saide, Let me go ouer, that the men of Gilead said vnto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
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.

English Revised Version
And the Gileadites took the fords of Jordan against the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;

Berean Standard Bible
The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim would say, "Let me cross over," the Gileadites would ask him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he answered, "No,"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the men of Galaad ocupieden the forthis of Jordan, bi whiche Effraym schulden turne ayen. And whanne a man fleynge of the noumbre of Effraym hadde come to tho forthis, and hadde seid, Y biseche, that thou suffre me passe; men of Galaad seiden to hym, Whether thou art a man of Effraym? And whanne he seide, Y am not,

Young's Literal Translation
And Gilead captureth the passages of the Jordan to Ephraim, and it hath been, when [any of] the fugitives of Ephraim say, `Let me pass over,' and the men of Gilead say to him, `An Ephramite thou?' and he saith, `No;'

Update Bible Version
And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And it was so, that, when [any of] the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said to him, Are you an Ephraimite? If he said, No;

Webster's Bible Translation
And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was [so], that when those Ephraimites who had escaped, said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said to him, [Art] thou an Ephraimite? If he said, No;

World English Bible
The Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. It was so, that when [any of] the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said to him, Are you an Ephraimite? If he said, No;

New King James Version
The Gileadites seized the fords of the Jordan before the Ephraimites arrived. And when any Ephraimite who escaped said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No,"

New Living Translation
Jephthah captured the shallow crossings of the Jordan River, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim tried to go back across, the men of Gilead would challenge him. "Are you a member of the tribe of Ephraim?" they would ask. If the man said, "No, I'm not,"

New Life Bible
The people of Gilead took the crossing places of the Jordan beside Ephraim. When any of the Ephraimite men ran away and said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No,"

New Revised Standard
Then the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. Whenever one of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me go over," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" When he said, "No,"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan, against the Ephraimites, - and so it was, that, when the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me pass over, the men of Gilead said to him, An Ephraimite, art thou? and, if he said - Nay!

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Galaadites secured the fords of the Jordan, by which Ephraim was to return. And when any one of the number of Ephraim came thither in the flight, and said: I beseech you let me pass: the Galaadites said to him: Art thou not an Ephraimite? If he said: I am not:

Revised Standard Version
And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the E'phraimites. And when any of the fugitives of E'phraim said, "Let me go over," the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an E'phraimite?" When he said, "No,"

THE MESSAGE
Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan at the crossing to Ephraim. If an Ephraimite fugitive said, "Let me cross," the men of Gilead would ask, "Are you an Ephraimite?" and he would say, "No." And they would say, "Say, ‘Shibboleth.'" But he would always say, "Sibboleth"—he couldn't say it right. Then they would grab him and kill him there at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two Ephraimite divisions were killed on that occasion.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No,"

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

Judges 3:28, Judges 7:24, Joshua 2:7, Joshua 22:11

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 1:1 - Ephrathite

Cross-References

Genesis 10:19
The land where the Canaanites lived went from Sidon down along the coast to Gerar and from Gaza as far east as Sodom and Gomorrah and from Admah and Zeboiim as far north as Laish.

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.

Genesis 12:5
He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the slaves, and all the other things he had gotten in Haran. Then he and his group moved to the land of Canaan.

Genesis 12:8
Then he left that place and traveled to the mountains east of Bethel. He set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west, and Ai was to the east. Abram built another altar at that place to honor the Lord , and he worshiped the Lord there.

Genesis 12:9
Then he moved on toward the Negev, stopping for a time at several places on the way.

Genesis 14:14
When Abram learned that Lot was captured, he called all of his family together. There were 318 trained soldiers. He led the men and chased the enemy all the way to the town of Dan.

Genesis 14:21
Then the king of Sodom told Abram, "Give me my people who were captured. But you can keep everything else."

Acts 7:4
"So Abraham left the country of Chaldea. He went to live in Haran. After his father died, God sent him to this place, where you live now.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites,.... Being either swifter of foot, or going a nearer and shorter way, being better acquainted with their own country:

and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, let me go over; the fugitives of Ephraim, as before called, who ran away from the battle, made their escape, and the best of their way to the passages of Jordan, to get over there to their own country:

that the men of Gilead said unto him; to everyone of them, as they came up,

art thou an Ephraimite? or an Ephrathite; for so it seems those of the tribe of Ephraim were called, as Jeroboam, 1 Kings 11:26

if he said, nay; that he was not an Ephraimite;