And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “Yahweh will be witness between us. Surely we will do what you say.”
- KJV And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
- NKJV And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will be a witness between us, if we do not do according to your words.”
- NASB And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord is witness between us; be assured we will do as you have said.”
- NLT “The Lord is our witness,” the elders replied. “We promise to do whatever you say.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The elders swear by the LORD as witness that they will keep their word. The agreement is sealed with a solemn oath.
Overview
Calling the LORD to witness, the elders bind themselves to honor their promise to Jephthah. Invoking God's name gives the covenant binding weight before heaven. The oath formalizes Jephthah's restoration and reminds readers that the LORD oversees the promises people make.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Jer 42:5Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act upon every word that the LORD your God sends you to tell us.
- Gen 31:50If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”
- Jer 29:23For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He who knows, and I am a witness, declares the LORD.”
- Gen 16:5Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
- 1 Sam 12:5Samuel said to them, “The LORD is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is a witness,” they replied.
- 1 Sam 24:12May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD take vengeance on you, but my hand will never be against you.
- Gen 31:53May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.
- Gen 21:23Now, therefore, swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or descendants. Show to me and to the country in which you reside the same kindness that I have shown to you.”
- 2 Cor 11:31The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is forever worthy of praise, knows that I am not lying.
- Exod 20:7You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- Mal 3:5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Zech 5:4I will send it out, declares the LORD of Hosts, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My name. It will remain inside his house and destroy it, down to its timbers and stones.”
- Deut 1:16At that time I charged your judges: “Hear the disputes between your brothers, and judge fairly between a man and his brother or a foreign resident.
- Rom 1:9God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 11:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.