1And the men of Ephraim mobilized, and crossed the Jordan River to Zaphon; and said to Jephthah, “Why did you go over to fight against the Ammonites, and did not call on us to go with you? We are going to burn your house over you!” 2And Jephthah replied, “I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites; and when I called you, you did not rescue us from them. 3And when I saw that you would not help us, I put my life at risk, and crossed over to fight against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave us victory over them. So why, then, have you come up to fight against me now?” 4Then Jephthah mobilized all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, “You Gileadites are just renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh.” 5And the men of Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, And when the Ephraimites who had escaped said, “Let me pass over”; the men of Gilead asked them, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No.” 6Then they would say to them, “Say now, ‘Shibboleth’”: and if they said “Sibboleth” - because Ephraimites could not pronounce it right - then they killed them at the fords of the Jordan; and forty-two thousand Ephraimites died at that time.

7And Jephthah led and judged Israel for six years. Then Jephthah, the Gileadite, died and was buried in a town of Gilead. 8And after him, Ibzan, of Bethlehem, led and judged Israel. 9And Ibzan had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel for seven years. 10Then he died, and was buried at Bethlehem.

11And after him Elon, of Zebulun, judged Israel for ten years. 12And then Elon died, and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

13And after him, Abdon, son of Hillel, from Pirathon, led and judged Israel. 14And he had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkey colts; and he led and judged Israel for eight years. 15And then Abdon died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.