12The men of Ephraim called all their soldiers together and crossed the river to the town 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.”

²Jephthah answered them, “My people and I fought a great battle against the Ammonites. I called you, but you didn’t come to help me. ³When I saw that you would not help me, I risked my own life and went against the Ammonites. The Lord handed them over to me. So why have you come to fight against me today?”

⁴Then Jephthah called the men of Gilead together and fought the men of Ephraim. The men of Gilead struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You men of Gilead are nothing but deserters from Ephraim—living between Ephraim and Manasseh.” ⁵The 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, ⁶they would say to him, “Say the word ‘Shibboleth.’ ” The men of Ephraim could not say that word correctly. So if the person from Ephraim said, “Sibboleth,” the men of Gilead would kill him at the crossing. So forty-two thousand people from Ephraim were killed at that time.

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