Judges 11:25

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Now are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

Hebrew Names Version
Now are you anything better than Balak the son of Tzippor, king of Mo'av? did he ever strive against Yisra'el, or did he ever fight against them?

King James Version
And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,

Lexham English Bible
So then, are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel, or did he ever make war against them?

English Standard Version
Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them?

New Century Version
"Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel or fight with the people of Israel?

New English Translation
Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them?

Amplified Bible
'Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever go to war against them?

New American Standard Bible
'Now then, are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

Geneva Bible (1587)
And art thou nowe farre better then Balak the sonne of Zippor King of Moab? did he not striue with Israel and fight against them,

Legacy Standard Bible
to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, might, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Contemporary English Version
Are you better than Balak the son of Zippor? He was the king of Moab, but he didn't quarrel with Israel or start a war with us.

Complete Jewish Bible
Really, are you better than Balak the son of Tzippor, king of Mo'av? Did he ever pick a quarrel with Isra'el or fight with us?

Darby Translation
And now art thou indeed better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive with Israel? did he ever fight against them?

Easy-to-Read Version
Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor? He was the king of the land of Moab. Did he argue with the Israelites? Did he actually fight with the Israelites?

George Lamsa Translation
And now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab. Did he ever strive against Israel? Or did he ever fight against them?

Good News Translation
Do you think you are any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? He never challenged Israel, did he? Did he ever go to war against us?

Literal Translation
And now, are you at all any better than Balak the son of Zippor, the king of Moab? And striving, did he strive with Israel? Did he ever fight against them?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Hast thou better right (thinkest thou) the Balac the sonne of Ziphor, the kynge of ye Moabites? Dyd he euer go to lawe or fighte agaynst Israel?

American Standard Version
And now art thou anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

Bible in Basic English
What! are you any better than Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever take up a cause against Israel or make war against them?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And art thou better then Balac the sonne of Zephor king of Moab? Did he not stryue with Israel and fight against them,

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

King James Version (1611)
And now, art thou any thing better then Balak the sonne of Zippor king of Moab? Did hee euer striue against Israel, or did hee euer fight against them,

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And now art thou any better than Balac son of Sepphor, king of Moab? did he indeed fight with Israel, or indeed make war with him,

English Revised Version
And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

Berean Standard Bible
Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
no but in hap thou art betere than Balach, the sone of Sephor, kyng of Moab, ether thou maist preue, that he stryuede ayens Israel, and fauyt ayens hym,

Young's Literal Translation
`And now, [art] thou at all better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he at all strive with Israel? did he at all fight against them?

Update Bible Version
And now are you anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

Webster's Bible Translation
And now [art] thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,

World English Bible
Now are you anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

New King James Version
And now, are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel? Did he ever fight against them?

New Living Translation
Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he try to make a case against Israel for disputed land? Did he go to war against them?

New Life Bible
Are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever fight with Israel? Did he ever go to war against them?

New Revised Standard
Now are you any better than King Balak son of Zippor of Moab? Did he ever enter into conflict with Israel, or did he ever go to war with them?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, therefore, art thou, really better, than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Hath there been any, striving at all, with Israel, or any, fighting at all, with them,

Douay-Rheims Bible
Unless, perhaps, thou art better than Balac, the son of Sephor, king of Moab: or canst shew that he strove against Israel, and fought against him,

Revised Standard Version
Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
'Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive with Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

Contextual Overview

¹² Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with a message: "What's going on here that you have come into my country picking a fight?" ¹³ The king of the Ammonites told Jephthah's messengers: "Because Israel took my land when they came up out of Egypt—from the Arnon all the way to the Jabbok and to the Jordan. Give it back peaceably and I'll go." ¹⁴Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with the message: "Jephthah's word: Israel took no Moabite land and no Ammonite land. When they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the desert as far as the Red Sea, arriving at Kadesh. There Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom saying, ‘Let us pass through your land, please.' But the king of Edom wouldn't let them. Israel also requested permission from the king of Moab, but he wouldn't let them cross either. They were stopped in their tracks at Kadesh. So they traveled across the desert and circled around the lands of Edom and Moab. They came out east of the land of Moab and set camp on the other side of the Arnon—they didn't set foot in Moabite territory, for Arnon was the Moabite border. Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites at Heshbon the capital. Israel asked, ‘Let us pass, please, through your land on the way to our country.' But Sihon didn't trust Israel to cut across his land; he got his entire army together, set up camp at Jahaz, and fought Israel. But God , the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his troops to Israel. Israel defeated them. Israel took all the Amorite land, all Amorite land from Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan. It was God , the God of Israel, who pushed out the Amorites in favor of Israel; so who do you think you are to try to take it over? Why don't you just be satisfied with what your god Chemosh gives you and we'll settle for what God , our God, gives us? Do you think you're going to come off better than Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab? Did he get anywhere in opposing Israel? Did he risk war? All this time—it's been three hundred years now!—that Israel has lived in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns along the Arnon, why didn't you try to snatch them away then? No, I haven't wronged you. But this is an evil thing that you are doing to me by starting a fight. Today God the Judge will decide between the People of Israel and the people of Ammon." ²⁸ But the king of the Ammonites refused to listen to a word that Jephthah had sent him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Balak: Numbers 22:2-21, Deuteronomy 23:3, Deuteronomy 23:4, Joshua 24:9, Joshua 24:10, Micah 6:5

Reciprocal: Numbers 22:4 - And Balak

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And now art thou anything better than Balak the son of Zippor king of Moab?.... This argument seems to strengthen the conjecture, that this king was king of Moab at this time, and so Balak was one of his predecessors. Now he is asked, whether he thought he was a wiser and more knowing prince than he, as to what was his right and due; or whether he had a better claim, or any additional one to the land in dispute the other had not; or whether he judged he was more able to regain what belonged to him:

did he ever strive against Israel? for the land they took away from Sihon formerly in the possession of the Moabites? did he ever lay any claim to it, or enter into any dispute, or litigate with Israel about it? not at all:

or did he ever fight against Israel? that is, on that account; no, he sent for Balaam to curse Israel, and sought to defend and secure his own country he was in possession of, which he thought was in danger by the Israelites being so near him; but he never made war with them under any such pretence, that they had done him any injury by inheriting the land they had taken from Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Consult the marginal references. If the ark with the copy of the Law Deuteronomy 31:26 was at Mizpeh, it would account for Jephthah’s accurate knowledge of it; and this exact agreement of his message with Numbers and Deuteronomy would give additional force to the expression, “he uttered all his words before the Lord” Judges 11:11.

Judges 11:17

No mention is made of this embassy to Moab in the Pentateuch.

Judges 11:19

Into my place - This expression implies that the trans-Jordanic possessions of Israel were not included in the land of Canaan properly speaking.

Judges 11:21

The title “God of Israel” has a special emphasis here, and in Judges 11:23. in a narrative of transactions relating to the pagan and their gods.

Judges 11:24

Chemosh was the national god of the Moabites (see the marginal references); and as the territory in question was Moabitish territory before the Amorites took it from “the people of Chemosh,” this may account for the mention of Chemosh here rather than of Moloch, or Milcom, the god of the Ammonites. Possibly the king of the children of Ammon at this time may have been a Moabite.

Judges 11:25, Judges 11:26

Jephthah advances another historical argument. Balak, the king of Moab, never disputed the possession of Sihon’s kingdom with Israel.