1 And the men of Ephraim cried out and crossed over to Zaphon {tsaphonah: to Zaphon, a place northward}, and they said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the sons of Ammon and not call us to go with you? We will burn down your house {beitkha: dwelling place} over you with fire.”
2 Jephthah {Yiftakh: leader of Gilead} said to them, “My people and I were engaged in a serious dispute {riv: legal contention} with the sons of Ammon, and I cried out to you, but you did not deliver me from their hand.”
3 And I saw that you were not delivering {moshia: bringing rescue}, so I put my life {nafshi: personal soul-risk} in my hand and crossed over to the sons of Ammon, and the LORD {YHWH, Divine Enabler} gave them into my hand. So why have you come up to me today to fight against me?
4 And Jephthah {Yiftach: deliverer} gathered all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim, and the men of Gilead struck Ephraim because they said, “You Gileadites are fugitives {pleitei: escapees} of Ephraim, within Ephraim and within Manasseh.”
5 And the men of Gilead took control of the fords {ma’abrot: crossing points} of the Jordan against Ephraim. And it happened that when the fugitives {pelitei: escaped refugees} of Ephraim said, “Let me cross,” the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” And he said, “No.”
6 Then they said to him, “Say now ‘Shibboleth.’” He replied “Sibboleth,” for he could not manage to articulate it properly {yakhin: manage to articulate}. So they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. In that time, forty-two thousand Ephraimites {Ephraimites: tribal members} fell.
7 And Jephthah {Yiftach: Deliverer} judged Israel six years {shesh shanim: measured periods}; then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
8 And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem {beit-lechem: house of bread} judged {shofet: exercised judicial authority} Israel.
9 And he had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He sent his daughters abroad {hachutsah: outside his clan}, and he brought in thirty brides {banot: daughters as brides} from abroad for his sons. He judged Israel seven years.
10 And Ibzan died {vayamat: died}, and he was buried in Bethlehem {beveit: house-name}.
11 After him, Elon {Eilon: oak} the Zebulunite judged {shaphat: exercised authority} Israel for ten years.
12 And Elon the Zebulunite died, and he was buried in Ayalon {ayalon: settlement of Zebulun} in the land {eretz: geographic region} of Zebulun.
13 After him, Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged {shaphat: led as a judge} Israel {Yisrael: covenant people}.
14 And he had forty sons and thirty grandsons {bnei banim: sons-of-sons lineage} who rode on seventy young donkeys {ayarim: young male donkeys}. And he judged Israel for eight years.
15 And Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and he was buried in Pirathon {piraton: ancestral hometown} in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country {har: elevated region} of the Amalekites.