Judges 12:4–7

4Then Jephthah called the men of Gilead together. They fought against Ephraim. The men of Gilead struck them down. The people of Ephraim had said, “You people of Gilead are nothing but deserters from Ephraim and Manasseh.”

5The men of Gilead captured the places where people go across the Jordan River to get to Ephraim. Some men of Ephraim weren’t killed in the battle. When they arrived at the river, they would say, “Let us go across.”

Then the men of Gilead would ask each one, “Are you from Ephraim?” Suppose he replied, “No.” 6Then they would say, “All right. Say ‘Shibboleth.’ ” If he said “Sibboleth,” the way he said the word would give him away. He couldn’t say it correctly. So they would grab hold of him. Then they would kill him at one of the places where people go across the Jordan. At that time, 42,000 men of Ephraim were killed.

7Jephthah led Israel for six years. Then he died. His body was buried in a town in Gilead. Jephthah was from the land of Gilead.