Judges 11:27
in Judges 11I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by waging war against me. May the LORD, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I therefore have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: Jehovah, the Judge, be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
KJV
Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the Lord the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
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This verse in Judges 11
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The bravest officers have always been averse to war; so Jephthah, whose courage was indisputable, resolved not only to make it clearly appear that hostilities were forced upon him, but to try measures for avoiding, if possible, an appeal to arms: and in pursuing such a course he was acting as became a leader in Israel (De 20:10-18).
This site's exposition
May the LORD, the Judge, decide today
on Judges 11:27-28
The speech ends by handing the case to "the LORD, the Judge," and the title he gives God is the book's own word for its heroes. Genesis 18:25 asks the same of the same office, whether "the Judge of all the earth" will "do what is right". The king "paid no heed," so the longest argument in Judges meets silence and the war goes forward.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
With this solemn reference of the matter to the Judge of heaven and earth he designs either to deter the Ammonites from proceeding and oblige them to retire, when they saw the right of the cause was against them, or to justify himself in subduing them if they should go on. Note, War is an appeal to heaven, to God the Judge of all, to whom the issues of it belong.
Wherefore I have not sinned against thee,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The Lord the Judge be judge - between the children of Israel - If you be right, and we be wrong, then Jehovah, who is the sovereign and incorruptible Judge, shall determine in your favor; and to Him I submit the righteousness of my cause.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָֽנֹכִי֙ | veanokhi | and I | H595 → | 359 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| חָטָ֣אתִי | chatati | I have sinned | H2398 → | 238 times |
| לָ֔ךְ | lakh | to <the> you | ||
| וְאַתָּ֞ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| עֹשֶׂ֥ה | ʾoseh | [are] doing | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אִתִּ֛י | ʾiti | with me | H854 → | 929 times |
| רָעָ֖ה | raah | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| לְהִלָּ֣חֶם | lehilachem | by waging war | H3898 → | 177 times |
| בִּ֑י | bi | against <the> me | ||
| יִשְׁפֹּ֨ט | yishpot | may he judge | H8199 → | 202 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הַשֹּׁפֵט֙ | hashofet | the judge | H8199 → | 202 times |
| הַיּ֔וֹם | haiyom | this day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| בֵּ֚ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וּבֵ֖ין | uvein | and between | H996 → | 407 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמּֽוֹן׃ | amon | Ammon | H5983 → | 106 times |
וְאָֽנֹכִי֙and I
veanokhiH595 →359 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
חָטָ֣אתִיI have sinned
chatatiH2398 →238 times
לָ֔ךְto <the> you
lakh
וְאַתָּ֞הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
עֹשֶׂ֥ה[are] doing
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
אִתִּ֛יwith me
ʾitiH854 →929 times
רָעָ֖הevil
raahH7451 →662 times
לְהִלָּ֣חֶםby waging war
lehilachemH3898 →177 times
בִּ֑יagainst <the> me
bi
יִשְׁפֹּ֨טmay he judge
yishpotH8199 →202 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הַשֹּׁפֵט֙the judge
hashofetH8199 →202 times
הַיּ֔וֹםthis day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
בֵּ֚יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וּבֵ֖יןand between
uveinH996 →407 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
עַמּֽוֹן׃Ammon
amonH5983 →106 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 24:12May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD take vengeance on you, but my hand will never be against you.
it leads to
- Psalms 43:1
Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 35:1
Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 16:5
Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 43:1
Through
Genesis 18:25Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the…
it leads to
- Job 8:20
Behold, God does not reject the blameless, nor will He strengthen the hand of evildoers.
- Job 8:3
Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
- Isaiah 3:10–11
Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
- Psalms 58:11
Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!”
- Job 8:20
Through
Genesis 31:53May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.
it leads to
- Genesis 31:42
If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen…
- Genesis 31:42
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.