The Ephraim Tribe Fights Jephthah's Army
1 The men of the Ephraim tribe got together an army and went across the Jordan River to Zaphon to meet with Jephthah. They said, “Why did you go to war with the Ammonites without asking us to help? Just for that, we're going to burn down your house with you inside!”
2 “But I did ask for your help,” Jephthah answered. “That was back when the people of Gilead and I were having trouble with the Ammonites, and you wouldn't do a thing to help us. 3 So when we realized you weren't coming, we risked our lives and attacked the Ammonites. And the Lord let us defeat them. There's no reason for you to come here today to attack me.”
4 But the men from Ephraim said, “You people of Gilead are nothing more than refugees from Ephraim. You even live on land that belongs to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.”
So Jephthah called together the army of Gilead, then they attacked and defeated the army from Ephraim. 5 The army of Gilead also posted guards at all the places where the soldiers from Ephraim could cross the Jordan River to return to their own land.
Whenever one of the men from Ephraim would try to cross the river, the guards would say, “Are you from Ephraim?”
“No,” the man would answer, “I'm not from Ephraim.”
6 The guards would then tell them to say “Shibboleth,” because they knew that people of Ephraim could say “Sibboleth,” but not “Shibboleth.”
If the man said “Sibboleth,” the guards would grab him and kill him right there. Altogether, 42,000 men from Ephraim were killed in the battle and at the Jordan.
7 Jephthah was a leader of Israel for six years, before he died and was buried in his hometown Mizpah in Gilead.
Ibzan
8 Ibzan, the next leader of Israel, came from Bethlehem. 9 He had 30 daughters and 30 sons, and he let them all marry outside his clan.
Ibzan was a leader for seven years, 10 before he died and was buried in Bethlehem.
Elon
11 Elon from the Zebulun tribe was the next leader of Israel. He was a leader for ten years, 12 before he died and was buried in Aijalon that belonged to the Zebulun tribe.
Abdon
13-15 Abdon the son of Hillel was the next leader of Israel. He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons, and each one of them had his own donkey. Abdon was a leader for eight years, before he died and was buried in his hometown of Pirathon, which is located in the part of the hill country of Ephraim where Amalekites used to live.
Jefta nAaefraim
1 Aantu yaEfraim oyi ilongekidhile olugodhi. Oya tokola omulonga Jordan yu uka kuZafon noya ti kuJefta: “Omolwashike wa kondo oongamba wa ka kondja nAayammoni, nando ino tu lombwela, tu yeni nangoye? Otatu fike po egumbo lyoye.”
2 Ihe Jefta okwa ti kuyo: “Tse noshigwana shandje otwa li tu na oontamanana dha kwata miiti nAayammoni. Onde mu ithana, ihe ne inamu ya, mu hupithe ndje miikaha yawo. 3 Sho nda mono kutya inamu shi ninga, onda hupula omwenyo gwandje nonda tokola oongamba, ndi ke ya kondjithe, Omuwa nokwa pe ndje ompolo yoku ya sinda. Omolwashike mwa hala okukondjitha ndje ngashingeyi?” 4 Nena Jefta okwa gongele aalumentu ayehe yaGilead, a matukile Aaefraim, e te ya dhenge. (Aaefraim oya tile: “Ne Aagilead mu li muEfraim naManasse, one oontauki mwa za kuEfraim.”) 5 Aagilead oya kala poonkondo dhaJordan apehe mpoka hapu tokolwa, opo ya keelele Aaefraim, yaa taaguluke omulonga, yaa ye ondapo. Omuefraim kehe ngoka a hala okutaaguluka omulonga ta yi ondapo, sho a pula eziminino, nena Aagilead oya pula: “Ngoye Omuefraim?” Ngele ota ti: “Aawe”, 6 nena otaye mu lombwele e taa ti: “Tya ‘Shibbolet.’ ” Ngele ota ti: “Sibbolet”, oshoka ita vulu oku shi tumbula nawa, nena otaye mu kwata e taye mu dhipaga ponkondo ndjoka yaJordan. Pethimbo ndyoka Aaefraim omayuvi omilongo ne nagaali oya dhipagwa.
7 Jefta okwa wilike Israel omimvo hamano. Nena okwa mana oondjenda nokwa fumvikwa moshilando shaandjawo muGilead.
Ibzan, Elon naAbdon
8 Jefta sho a si, Ibzan Omubetlehem okwa wilike Israel. 9 Okwa li e na oyanamati omilongo ndatu naakadhona omilongo ndatu. Okwa hokanitha oyana aakadhona kaayeni nokwa tenyitha oyana aamati kaayeni. Ibzan okwa wilike Israel omimvo heyali. 10 Okwa si nduno nokwa fumvikwa puBetlehem.
11 Konima yaIbzan Elon Omusebulon okwa wilike Israel omimvo omulongo. 12 Oye a si nduno nokwa fumvikwa puAjalon moshilongo shaSebulon.
13 Elon okwa landulwa kuAbdon yaHillel gwokuPiraton. 14 Okwa li e na oyanamati omilongo ne naatekulumati omilongo ndatu, mboka ya li haa londo kuundoongi omilongo heyali. Abdon okwa wilike Israel omimvo hetatu. 15 Okwa si nokwa fumvikwa puPiraton moshitopolwa shaEfraim omevi lyoondundu lyAayamaleki.
