And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
Parallel translations
- WEB The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “Yahweh will be witness between us. Surely we will do what you say.”
- BSB And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say.”
- 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, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.
- Gen 31:50If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.
- Jer 29:23Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
- Gen 16:5And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
- 1 Sam 12:5And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.
- 1 Sam 24:12The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.
- Gen 31:53The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.
- Gen 21:23Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
- 2 Cor 11:31The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.
- Exod 20:7Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
- Mal 3:5And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
- Zech 5:4I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
- Deut 1:16And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.
- Rom 1:9For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.