they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. So at that time 42,000 Ephraimites were killed.
Parallel translations
- WEB then they said to him, “Now say ‘Shibboleth;’” and he said “Sibboleth”; for he couldn’t manage to pronounce it right: then they seized him, and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time, forty-two thousand of Ephraim fell.
- KJV Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.
- NKJV then they would say to him, “Then say, ‘Shibboleth’!” And he would say, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it right. Then they would take him and kill him at the fords of the Jordan. There fell at that time forty-two thousand Ephraimites.
- NASB then they would say to him, “Just say, ‘Shibboleth.’ ” But he said, “Sibboleth,” for he was not prepared to pronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the crossing places of the Jordan. So at that time forty-two thousand from Ephraim fell.
- NLT they would tell him to say “Shibboleth.” If he was from Ephraim, he would say “Sibboleth,” because people from Ephraim cannot pronounce the word correctly. Then they would take him and kill him at the shallow crossings of the Jordan. In all, 42,000 Ephraimites were killed at that time.
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
Ephraimites are identified by mispronouncing 'Shibboleth' as 'Sibboleth,' and 42,000 are killed. A dialect betrays them to death.
Overview
The 'shibboleth' test, exploiting a regional speech difference, exposes the fugitives and leads to staggering loss of life. The enormous death toll among fellow Israelites reveals the depth of the tragedy of disunity. This account stands as a sobering warning about how pride and division can prove far more destructive than foreign enemies.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Matt 12:25Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
- Eccl 10:12The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.
- Gal 5:15But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.
- Ps 69:2I have sunk into the miry depths, where there is no footing; I have drifted into deep waters, where the flood engulfs me.
- Prov 17:14To start a quarrel is to release a flood; so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.
- Mark 14:70But he denied it again. After a little while, those standing nearby said once more to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you too are a Galilean.”
- Ps 69:15Do not let the floods engulf me or the depths swallow me up; let not the Pit close its mouth over me.
- Matt 26:73After a little while, those standing nearby came up to Peter. “Surely you are one of them,” they said, “for your accent gives you away.”
- Prov 18:19An offended brother is harder to win than a fortified city, and disputes are like the bars of a castle.
- Isa 27:12In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, O Israelites, will be gathered one by one.
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 12:6 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
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