Judges 10:18

Judges 10:18 in other versions

• New International Version (NIV)The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever will take the lead in attacking the Ammonites will be head over all who live in Gilead.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, "Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, “Who is the man who will begin the fight against the people of Ammon? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)The leaders of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever attacks the Ammonites first will become ruler over all the people of Gilead.”

Context of Judges 10:18

16And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. 17Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh. And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

Judges 10:18 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ הָעָ֜ם שָׂרֵ֤י גִלְעָד֙ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵ֔הוּ מִ֣י הָאִ֔ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָחֵ֔ל לְהִלָּחֵ֖ם בִּבְנֵ֣י עַמּ֑וֹן יִֽהְיֶ֣ה לְרֹ֔אשׁ לְכֹ֖ל יֹשְׁבֵ֥י גִלְעָֽד׃ פRead the interlinear

• And the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• princesשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
• of Gileadגִּלְעָדgil‛âd · GileadH1568
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• to anotherרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
• What manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• that will beginחָלַלchâlal · to profane/begin: beginH2490
• to fightלָחַםlâcham · to fightH3898
• against the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Ammonעַמּוֹן‛ammôn · AmmonH5983
• he shall be headרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: leaderH7218
• over all the inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427

Cross-references for Judges 10:18

• Judges 1:1Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
• Judges 11:5And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:
• Isaiah 3:1For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,
• Isaiah 34:12They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing.
• Judges 11:11Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh.
• Judges 12:7And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
• 1 Samuel 17:25And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.

Commentaries on Judges 10:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18What man is he that will begin to fight - It appears that, although the spirit of patriotism had excited the people at large to come forward against their enemies, yet they had no general, none to lead them forth to battle. God, however, who had accepted their sincere repentance, raised them up an able captain in the person of Jephthah; and in him the suffrages of the people were concentrated, as we shall see in the following chapter. In those ancient…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18And the people and princes … - The inhabitants of Gilead appear as a separate and independent community, electing their own chief, without any reference to the West-Jordanic tribes.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-18Verses 10-18 God is able to multiply men's punishments according to the numbers of their sins and idols. But there is hope when sinners cry to the Lord for help, and lament their ungodliness as well as their more open transgressions. It is necessary, in true repentance, that there be a full conviction that those things cannot help us which we have set in competition with God. They acknowledged what they deserved, yet prayed to God not to deal with them…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18The leaders of Gilead, desperate for guidance, did not ask the Lord (compare Judges 1:1; 20:18). They decided that whoever volunteered to lead would become the ruler of Gilead.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-1817-18. the children of Ammon were gathered together--From carrying on guerrilla warfare, the Ammonites proceeded to a continued campaign. Their settled aim was to wrest the whole of the trans-jordanic territory from its actual occupiers. In this great crisis, a general meeting of the Israelitish tribes was held at Mizpeh. This Mizpeh was in eastern Manasseh (Jos 11:3).Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 10:18

• Ammonites
• Israel
• Prayer

In the dictionaries

• Ammon
• Gilead
• Defend
• Governor
• Abdon (1)
• Israel, History of
• Jephthah
• Judges, Book of
• Mizpah

Commentaries on Judges 10

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings