Gideon Subdues the Midianites

8 Now ^(A)the men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight with the Midianites?” And they reprimanded him sharply.

⁴¹ Just then all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, “Why have our brethren, the men of Judah, stolen you away and ^(A)brought the king, his household, and all David’s men with him across the Jordan?”

Jephthah’s Conflict with Ephraim

12 Then ^(A)the men of Ephraim ^[a]gathered together, crossed over toward Zaphon, and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the people of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down on you with fire!”

² And Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were in a great struggle with the people of Ammon; and when I called you, you did not deliver me out of their hands. ³ So when I saw that you would not deliver me, I ^(B)took my life in my hands and crossed over against the people of Ammon; and the Lord delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?” ⁴ Now Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, “You Gileadites ^(C)are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites.” ⁵ The Gileadites seized the ^(D)fords of the Jordan before the Ephraimites arrived. And when any Ephraimite who escaped said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” ⁶ then they would say to him, “Then say, ^(E)‘Shibboleth’!”^[b] And he would say, “Sibboleth,” for he could not ^[c]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.

⁵ Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, ^(A)“The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

⁶ But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

The Vanity of Selfish Toil

⁴ Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.