Judges 10
English Standard Version
Tola and Jair
10 After Abimelech there arose to (A)save Israel Tola the son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he lived at Shamir in (B)the hill country of Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried at Shamir.
3 After him arose Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 And he had thirty sons who (C)rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities, called Havvoth-jair to this day, (D)which are in the land of Gilead. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.
Further Disobedience and Oppression
6 (E)The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord (F)and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, (G)the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they (H)forsook the Lord and did not serve him. 7 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and (I)he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, 8 and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 And the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed.
10 And the people of Israel (J)cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you, because (K)we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.” 11 And the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you (L)from the Egyptians and (M)from the Amorites, (N)from the Ammonites and (O)from the Philistines? 12 The Sidonians also, and (P)the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I (Q)saved you out of their hand. 13 Yet you have (R)forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry out (S)to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 15 And the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” 16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and (T)he became impatient over the misery of Israel.
17 Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead. And the people of Israel came together, and they encamped at (U)Mizpah. 18 And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? (V)He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
Judges 10
International Standard Version
Tola, Israel’s Sixth Judge
10 A man from the tribe of Issachar, Puah’s son Tola, grandson of Dodo, arose to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the mountainous region[a] of Ephraim. 2 He governed Israel for 23 years and then died. He was buried in Shamir.
Jair, Israel’s Seventh Judge
3 After him, Jair the Gileadite arose and governed Israel for 22 years. 4 His 30 sons rode on 30 donkeys, controlling 30 cities in the territory of Gilead named Havvoth-jair[b] to this day. 5 Jair died and was buried in Kamon.
Israel Descends into Apostasy
6 Later on, the Israelis again practiced what the Lord considered to be evil by serving the Baals, the stars, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the descendants of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines. In doing so, they ignored[c] the Lord and wouldn’t serve him. 7 In his burning anger against Israel, he sold them into domination by the Philistines and the Ammonites, 8 who trampled and troubled the Israelis during that year—eighteen years for the Israelis who lived east of the Jordan River in Gilead, the land occupied by[d] the Amorites. 9 The Ammonites crossed the Jordan River to fight against the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim. As a result, Israel was deeply distressed. 10 Then the Israelis cried out to the Lord and told him,[e] “We have sinned against you because we have abandoned our God to serve the Baals.”
11 The Lord replied to the Israelis, “Aren’t you away from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, and the Philistines? 12 And when the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites harassed you, you cried out to me, and I delivered you from under their domination. 13 But you have abandoned me and served other gods. Therefore I will no longer be delivering you. 14 Go and cry out to the gods that you have chosen for yourselves. Let them deliver you in your time of trouble.”
15 The Israelis replied to the Lord, “We have sinned, so do to us anything that’s right to do in your opinion, just please deliver us right now.” 16 When they put away their foreign gods and served the Lord, he brought Israel’s misery to an end. 17 The Ammonites were summoned and they encamped in Gilead. The Israelis assembled together and encamped in Mizpah. 18 The people and Gilead’s officials inquired among themselves, “Who will begin our attack against the Ammonites? He’ll become head over everyone who lives in Gilead.”
Footnotes
- Judges 10:1 Or the hill country
- Judges 10:4 The Heb. name Havvoth-jair means Jair’s Villages
- Judges 10:6 Or forgot
- Judges 10:8 Lit. land of
- Judges 10:10 The Heb. lacks him
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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