Old Testament

New Testament

Judges 12:2-8 Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV)

2. And he answered them: "I and my people were in a great conflict against the sons of Ammon. And I called you, so that you might offer assistance to me. And you were not willing to do so.

3. And discerning this, I put my life in my own hands, and I crossed to the sons of Ammon, and the Lord delivered them into my hands. What am I guilty of, that you would rise up in battle against me?"

4. And so, calling to himself all the men of Gilead, he fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck down Ephraim, because he had said, "Gilead is a fugitive from Ephraim, and he lives in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh."

5. And the Gileadites occupied the fords of the Jordan, along which Ephraim was to return. And when anyone from the number of Ephraim had arrived, fleeing, and had said, "I beg that you permit me to pass," the Gileadites would say to him, "Could you be an Ephraimite?" And if he said, "I am not,"

6. they would ask him, then say 'Shibboleth,' which is translated as 'ear of grain.' But he would answer 'Sibboleth,' not being able to express the word for an ear of grain in the same letters. And immediately apprehending him, they would cut his throat, at the same crossing point of the Jordan. And in that time of Ephraim, forty-two thousand fell.

7. And so Jephthah, the Gileadite, judged Israel for six years. And he died, and he was buried in his city in Gilead.

8. After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

Read complete chapter Judges 12