God’s Word Translation
Judges 11:8
8Gilead’s leaders answered Jephthah, “The reason we’ve turned to you now is that we want you to go with us and wage war against Ammon. You will be the ruler of everyone who lives in Gilead.”
Judges 11:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
- New International Version (NIV)The elders of Gilead said to him, “Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be head over all of us who live in Gilead.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the Ammonites and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
Context of Judges 11:8
6They said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander so that we can wage war against Ammon.” 7But Jephthah replied to Gilead’s leaders, “Don’t you hate me? Didn’t you throw me out of my father’s house? So why are you coming to me now when you’re in trouble?” Gilead’s leaders answered Jephthah, “The reason we’ve turned to you now is that we want you to go with us and wage war against Ammon. You will be the ruler of everyone who lives in Gilead.” 9Jephthah told them, “If you take me back to fight against Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, I will be your leader.” 10Gilead’s leaders said to Jephthah, “The Lord is a witness between us. We will certainly do what you say.”
Read all of Judges 11Judges 11:8 word by word
וַיֹּאמְרוּ֩ זִקְנֵ֨י גִלְעָ֜ד אֶל־יִפְתָּ֗ח לָכֵן֙ עַתָּה֙ שַׁ֣בְנוּ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְהָלַכְתָּ֣ עִמָּ֔נוּ וְנִלְחַמְתָּ֖ בִּבְנֵ֣י עַמּ֑וֹן וְהָיִ֤יתָ לָּ֙נוּ֙ לְרֹ֔אשׁ לְכֹ֖ל יֹשְׁבֵ֥י גִלְעָֽד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the eldersזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205
- of Gileadגִּלְעָדgil‛âd · GileadH1568
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto Jephthahיִפְתָּחyiphtâch · JephthahH3316
- Therefore we turn againשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- to thee now, that thou mayest goהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
- with us, and fightלָחַםlâcham · to fightH3898
- against the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Ammonעַמּוֹן‛ammôn · AmmonH5983
- and be our headרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: leaderH7218
- over all the inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
Cross-references for Judges 11:8
- Exodus 8:8Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray that the Lord will take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
- Exodus 9:28Pray to the Lord. We’ve had enough of God’s thunder and hail. I’ll let you go; you don’t have to stay here any longer.”
- Exodus 10:17Please forgive my sin one more time. Pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.”
- 1 Kings 13:6Then the king asked the man of God, “Please make an appeal to the Lord your God, and pray for me so that I can use my arm again.” So the man of God made an appeal to the Lord, and the king was able to use his arm again, as he had earlier.
- Luke 17:3So watch yourselves! “If a believer sins, correct him. If he changes the way he thinks and acts, forgive him.
- Judges 10:18The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever starts the fight against Ammon will rule everyone who lives in Gilead.”
Commentaries on Judges 11:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Therefore we turn again to thee now - We are convinced that we have dealt unjustly by thee, and we wish now to repair our fault, and give thee this sincere proof of our regret for having acted unjustly, and of our confidence in thee.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8When Jephthah questioned the offer, the elders insisted on using the stronger term, ruler.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-97-9. Jephthah said, Did not ye hate me?--He gave them at first a haughty and cold reception. It is probable that he saw some of his brothers among the deputies. Jephthah was now in circumstances to make his own terms. With his former experience, he would have shown little wisdom or prudence without binding them to a clear and specific engagement to invest him with unlimited authority, the more especially as he was about to imperil his life in their cause…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 11:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Judges 11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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