When the sons of Ammon fought against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob;
Parallel translations
- WEB When the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah out of the land of Tob.
- KJV And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:
- BSB and made war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.
- NKJV And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.
- NLT When the Ammonites attacked, the elders of Gilead sent for Jephthah in the land of Tob.
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
When war comes, the elders of Gilead go to fetch Jephthah from Tob. The ones who tolerated his exile now need him.
Overview
Facing the Ammonites, Gilead's elders travel to Tob to bring back the very man their community had cast off. Their reversal shows how crisis exposes the worth of the rejected. God orchestrates events so that his chosen deliverer is sought out by those who had no use for him before.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Cor 1:27–29but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;
- 1 Sam 11:12The people said to Samuel, “Who is he who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring those men, that we may put them to death!”
- Ps 118:22–23The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
- Acts 7:35–39“This Moses, whom they refused, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ — God has sent him as both a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.
- Judg 10:17–18Then the children of Ammon were gathered together and encamped in Gilead. The children of Israel assembled themselves together and encamped in Mizpah.
- 1 Sam 10:27But certain worthless fellows said, “How could this man save us?” They despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
- Judg 10:9The children of Ammon passed over the Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was very distressed.
- 1 Sam 11:6–7God’s Spirit came mightily on Saul when he heard those words, and his anger burned hot.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 11:5 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.