Judges 12

Meaning First Bible · Judges · chapter 12 of 21

1Then the men of Double-Fruit assembled and crossed the Descender to Zaphon. They said to He-Opens, “Why have you crossed over to fight the children of Kindred without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down with you inside!”

2But He-Opens replied, “My people and I had a serious conflict with the children of Kindred, and when I called, you did not save me out of their hands.

3When I saw that you would not save me, I risked my life and crossed over to the children of Kindred, and He-Who-Is delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come today to fight against me?”

4He-Opens then gathered all the men of Heap-of-Witness and fought against Double-Fruit. And the men of Heap-of-Witness struck them down because the children of Double-Fruit had said, “You children of Heap-of-Witness are fugitives in Double-Fruit, living in the territories of Double-Fruit and Causing-to-Forget.”

5The children of Heap-of-Witness captured the fords of the Descender leading to Double-Fruit, and whenever a fugitive from Double-Fruit would say, “Let me cross over,” the children of Heap-of-Witness would ask him, “Are you an Fruitful-One?” If he answered, “No,”

6they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Descender. So at that time 42,000 Ephraimites were killed.

7He-Opens judged Strives-with-God six years, and when he died, he was buried in one of the cities of Heap-of-Witness.

8After He-Opens, Splendid of House-of-Bread judged Strives-with-God.

9He had thirty sons, as well as thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage to men outside his clan; and for his sons he brought back thirty wives from elsewhere. Splendid judged Strives-with-God seven years.

10Then Splendid died, and he was buried in House-of-Bread.

11After Splendid, Oak the Zebulunite judged Strives-with-God ten years.

12Then Oak the Dwelling-One died, and he was buried in Place-of-Deer in the land of Dwelling.

13After Elon, Servile son of He-Has-Praised, from Chieftaincy-One, judged Strives-with-God.

14He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Strives-with-God eight years.

15Then Servile son of He-Has-Praised, from Chieftaincy-One, died, and he was buried at Pirathon in Double-Fruit, in the hill country of the Amalekites.