Judges 12:2-1964 bbe — And Jephthah said to them, I and my people were in danger, and the children of Ammon were very cruel to us, and when I…

Judges 12:2-1964 in the Bible in Basic English reads: “And Jephthah said to them, I and my people were in danger, and the children of Ammon were very cruel to us, and when I sent for you, you gave me no help against them. So when I saw that there was no help to be had from you, I put my life in my hand and went over against the children of Ammon, and the Lord gave them into my hands: why then have you come up to me this day to make war on me? Then Jephthah got together all the men of Gilead and made war on Ephraim; and the men of Gilead overcame Ephraim. 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; Then they said to him, Now say Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth, and was not able to say it in the right way; then they took him and put him to death at the crossing-places of Jordan; and at that time forty-two thousand Ephraimites were put to death. Now Jephthah was judge of Israel for six years. And Jephthah the Gileadite came to his death, and his body was put to rest in his town, Mizpeh of Gilead. And after him, Ibzan of Beth-lehem was judge of Israel. He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters whom he sent to other places, and he got thirty wives from other places for his sons. And he was judge of Israel for seven years. And Ibzan came to his death and his body was put to rest at Beth-lehem. And after him, Elon the Zebulonite was judge of Israel; and he was judge of Israel for ten years. And Elon the Zebulonite came to his death, and his body was put to rest in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun. And after him, Abdon, the son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, was judge of Israel. He had forty sons and thirty sons' sons who went on seventy young asses; and he was judge of Israel for eight years. And Abdon, the son of Hillel, came to his death, and his body was put to rest in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill-country of the Amalekites.”

Judges 12:2-1964 is found in the Old Testament, in the book of Judges, chapter 12, verses 2–1964.

Judges is traditionally attributed to Anonymous (traditionally Samuel). It was written c. 1050–1000 BC.

Judges chronicles the cycle of apostasy, oppression, and deliverance that defined Israel between Joshua and Samuel. Through twelve raised-up deliverers — including Deborah, Gideon, and Samson — God repeatedly rescues a people who keep doing what is right in their own eyes.

Judges explores themes including Apostasy, Deliverance, Cycles of Sin, Need for a King, Mercy. These themes shape the meaning and context of Judges 12:2-1964.

Judges 12:2-1964 is available on GodsGoodBook in the King James Version (KJV), American Standard Version (ASV), World English Bible (WEB), NET Bible, Young's Literal Translation, Darby Bible, Douay-Rheims Bible, and the Bible in Basic English. Each translation reflects different translation philosophies — use the translation picker on this page to compare them, or browse our full translations directory.

Judges 12:2-1964 reads (BBE): “And Jephthah said to them, I and my people were in danger, and the children of Ammon were very cruel to us, and when I sent for you, you gave me no help against them. So when I saw that there was no help to be had from you, I put my life in my hand and went over against the children of Ammon, and the Lord gave them into my hands: why then have you come up to me this day to make war on me? Then Jephthah got together all the men of Gilead and made war on Ephraim; and the men of Gilead overcame Ephraim. 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; Then they said to him, Now say Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth, and was not able to say it in the right way; then they took him and put him to death at the crossing-places of Jordan; and at that time forty-two thousand Ephraimites were put to death. Now Jephthah was judge of Israel for six years. And Jephthah the Gileadite came to his death, and his body was put to rest in his town, Mizpeh of Gilead. And after him, Ibzan of Beth-lehem was judge of Israel. He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters whom he sent to other places, and he got thirty wives from other places for his sons. And he was judge of Israel for seven years. And Ibzan came to his death and his body was put to rest at Beth-lehem. And after him, Elon the Zebulonite was judge of Israel; and he was judge of Israel for ten years. And Elon the Zebulonite came to his death, and his body was put to rest in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun. And after him, Abdon, the son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, was judge of Israel. He had forty sons and thirty sons' sons who went on seventy young asses; and he was judge of Israel for eight years. And Abdon, the son of Hillel, came to his death, and his body was put to rest in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill-country of the Amalekites.” Read it aloud, break it into short phrases, repeat each phrase three times before adding the next, then put the phrases together. Reading it in multiple translations (above) often helps the meaning settle.