Judges 11:25
New International Version
Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them?

New Living Translation
Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he try to make a case against Israel for disputed land? Did he go to war against them?

English Standard Version
Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them?

Berean Standard Bible
Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

King James Bible
And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,

New King James Version
And now, are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel? Did he ever fight against them?

New American Standard Bible
Now then, are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

NASB 1995
‘Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive with Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

NASB 1977
‘And now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive with Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

Legacy Standard Bible
So now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive with Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

Amplified Bible
Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever go to war against them?

Christian Standard Bible
Now are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Now are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

American Standard Version
And now art thou anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Now, are you much better than Balaq son of Tsephor King of Moab? Did he contend with Israel or fight with them?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And now art thou any better than Balac son of Sepphor, king of Moab? did he indeed fight with Israel, or indeed make war with him,

Contemporary English Version
Are you better than Balak the son of Zippor? He was the king of Moab, but he didn't quarrel with Israel or start a war with us.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Unless perhaps thou art better than Balac the son of Sephor king of Moab: or canst shew that he strove against Israel and fought against him,

English Revised Version
And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You're not any better than Balak, son of King Zippor of Moab, are you? Did he ever have a case against Israel? Or did he ever fight against Israel?

Good News Translation
Do you think you are any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? He never challenged Israel, did he? Did he ever go to war against us?

International Standard Version
Also ask yourselves: do you have a better case than Zippor's son Balak, king of Moab? Did he ever have a quarrel with Israel or ever win a fight against them?

JPS Tanakh 1917
And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

Literal Standard Version
And now, [are] you at all better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he strive with Israel at all? Did he fight against them at all?

Majority Standard Bible
Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

New American Bible
Now, then, are you any better than Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or make war against them?

NET Bible
Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them?

New Revised Standard Version
Now are you any better than King Balak son of Zippor of Moab? Did he ever enter into conflict with Israel, or did he ever go to war with them?

New Heart English Bible
And now are you anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

Webster's Bible Translation
And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,

World English Bible
Now are you anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

Young's Literal Translation
And now, art thou at all better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he at all strive with Israel? did he at all fight against them?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jephthah Delivers Israel
24Do you not possess whatever your god Chemosh grants you? So also, we possess whatever the LORD our God has granted us. 25Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them? 26For three hundred years Israel has lived in Heshbon, Aroer, and their villages, as well as all the cities along the banks of the Arnon. Why did you not take them back during that time?…

Cross References
Numbers 22:2
Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites,

Joshua 24:9
Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,

Micah 6:5
My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.'"


Treasury of Scripture

And now are you any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,

Balak

Numbers 22:2
And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

Deuteronomy 23:3,4
An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: …

Joshua 24:9,10
Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you: …

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Balak Better Cause Israel Moab Quarrel Strive War Zippor
Judges 11
1. The covenant between Jephthah and the Gileadites, that he should lead
12. The treaty of peace between him and the Ammonites is in vain
29. Jephthah's vow
32. His conquest of the Ammonites
34. He performs his vow on his daughter.














(25) Art thou anything better than Balak?--Literally, Are you the good, good in comparison with? It is one of the Hebrew ways of expressing the superlative. Jephthah here argues from prescriptive right, which even the contemporary king Balak had not ventured to challenge, showing, therefore, that he admitted the claim of Israel, deadly as was his hatred against them.

Did he ever fight against them?--This may seem at first sight to contradict Joshua 24:9. There "Balak the son of Zippor arose and warred against Israel"; and we might infer that it was in some Moabite battle that Baalam had been slain (Numbers 31:8; Joshua 13:22). But this would not affect Jephthah's argument. Balak had fought against Israel out of pure hatred, not from any pretensions to claim their conquests from them.

Verse 25. - Art thou anything better, etc. Jephthah now advances another argument to prove the justice of his cause and the unreasonableness of the Ammonite claim. If the territory in question was Moabite property, bow came it that Balak laid no claim to it? He was an enemy of the Israelites, and yet when Israel took possession of the land, and dwelt in Heshbon, its capital, and the daughter cities or villages thereof, and in Aroer and her daughter cities or villages, and in all the cities on the banks of the Amen, Balak never strove about them with Israel, or went to war to recover them - a plain proof that he did not look upon them as his property. If they were his, that was the time to claim and recover them, but he had not done so.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Are you
אַתָּ֔ה (’at·tāh)
Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

now
וְעַתָּ֗ה (wə·‘at·tāh)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 6258: At this time

so much
הֲט֥וֹב (hă·ṭō·wḇ)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

better
טוֹב֙ (ṭō·wḇ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

than Balak
מִבָּלָ֥ק (mib·bā·lāq)
Preposition-m | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1111: Balak -- 'devastator', a Moabite king

son
בֶּן־ (ben-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of Zippor,
צִפּ֖וֹר (ṣip·pō·wr)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 6834: Zippor -- 'bird', father of Balak

king
מֶ֣לֶךְ (me·leḵ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Moab?
מוֹאָ֑ב (mō·w·’āḇ)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4124: Moab -- a son of Lot,also his descendants and the territory where they settled

Did he ever contend
הֲר֥וֹב (hă·rō·wḇ)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 7378: To toss, grapple, to wrangle, controversy, to defend

with
עִם־ (‘im-)
Preposition
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

or
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

fight
נִלְחֹ֥ם (nil·ḥōm)
Verb - Nifal - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 3898: To feed on, to consume, to battle

against them?
בָּֽם׃ (bām)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew


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OT History: Judges 11:25 Now are you anything better than Balak (Jd Judg. Jdg)
Judges 11:24
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