Judges 11
1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a great man of war; he was the son of a loose woman, and Gilead was his father.
2 And Gilead’s wife bore him sons who grew up, drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.”
And Gilead's wife gave birth to sons, and when her sons became men, they sent Jephthah away, saying, You have no part in the heritage of our father's house, for you are the son of another woman.
3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him.
So Jephthah went in flight from his brothers and was living in the land of Tob, where a number of good-for-nothing men, joining Jephthah, went out with him on his undertakings.
4 Some time later, when the Ammonites fought against Israel
Now after a time the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
5 and made war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.
And when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the responsible men of Gilead went to get Jephthah back from the land of Tob;
6 “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so that we can fight against the Ammonites.”
And they said to Jephthah, Come and be our chief so that we may make war against the children of Ammon.
7 Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and expel me from my father’s house? Why then have you come to me now, when you are in distress?”
But Jephthah said to the responsible men of Gilead, Did you not, in your hate for me, send me away from my father's house? Why do you come to me now when you are in trouble?
8 They answered Jephthah, “This is why we now turn to you, that you may go with us, fight the Ammonites, and become leader over all of us who live in Gilead.”
And the responsible men of Gilead said to Jephthah, That is the reason we have come back to you; so go with us and make war against the children of Ammon, and we will make you our head over all the people of Gilead.
9 But Jephthah asked them, “If you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, will I really be your leader?”
Then Jephthah said to the responsible men of Gilead, If you take me back to make war against the children of Ammon, and if with the help of the Lord I overcome them, will you make me your head?
10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say.”
And the responsible men of Gilead said to Jephthah, May the Lord be our witness: we will certainly do as you say.
11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.
So Jephthah went with the responsible men of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them; and Jephthah said all these things before the Lord in Mizpah.
12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against my land?”
Then Jephthah sent men to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What have you against me that you have come to make war against my land?
13 The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they seized my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and all the way to the Jordan. Now, therefore, restore it peaceably.”
And the king of the children of Ammon said to the men sent by Jephthah, Because Israel, when he came up out of Egypt, took away my land, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok and as far as Jordan: so now, give me back those lands quietly.
14 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites
And Jephthah sent again to the king of the children of Ammon,
15 to tell him, “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or of the Ammonites.
And said to him, This is the word of Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the children of Ammon;
16 But when Israel came up out of Egypt, they traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.
But when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the waste land to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh;
17 Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.
Then Israel sent men to the king of Edom saying, Let me now go through your land; but the king of Edom did not give ear to them. And in the same way he sent to the king of Moab, but he would not; so Israel went on living in Kadesh.
18 Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, since the Arnon was its border.
Then he went on through the waste land and round the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and put up their tents on the other side of the Arnon; they did not come inside the limit of Moab, for the Arnon was the limit of Moab.
19 And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land into our own place.’
And Israel sent men to Sihon, king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, Let me now go through your land to my place.
20 But Sihon would not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So he gathered all his people, encamped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.
But Sihon would not give way and let Israel go through his land; and Sihon got together all his people, and put his army in position in Jahaz, and made war on Israel.
21 Then the LORD, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, who defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites who inhabited that country,
And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hands of Israel, and they overcame them; so all the land of the Amorites, the people of that land, became Israel's.
22 seizing all the land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.
All the limit of the Amorites was theirs, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok and from the waste land even to Jordan.
23 Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from before His people Israel, should you now possess it?
So now the Lord, the God of Israel, has taken away their land from the Amorites and given it to his people Israel; are you then to have it?
24 Do you not possess whatever your god Chemosh grants you? So also, we possess whatever the LORD our God has granted us.
Do you not keep the lands of those whom Chemosh your god sends out from before you? So we will keep all the lands of those whom the Lord our God sends out from before us.
25 Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?
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?
26 For three hundred years Israel has lived in Heshbon, Aroer, and their villages, as well as all the cities along the banks of the Arnon. Why did you not take them back during that time?
While Israel was living in Heshbon and its daughter-towns and in Aroer and its daughter-towns and in all the towns which are by the side of the Arnon, for three hundred years, why did you not get them back at that time?
27 I 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.”
So I have done no wrong against you, but you are doing wrong to me in fighting against me: may the Lord, who is Judge this day, be judge between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
28 But the king of the Ammonites paid no heed to the message Jephthah sent him.
The king of the children of Ammon, however, did not give ear to the words which Jephthah sent to him.
29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites.
Then the spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, and he went through Gilead and Manasseh, and came to Mizpeh of Gilead; and from Mizpeh of Gilead he went over to the children of Ammon.
30 Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand,
And Jephthah took an oath to the Lord, and said, If you will give the children of Ammon into my hands,
31 then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
Then whoever comes out from the door of my house, meeting me when I come back in peace from the children of Ammon, will be the Lord's and I will give him as a burned offering.
32 So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hand.
So Jephthah went over to the children of Ammon to make war on them; and the Lord gave them into his hands.
33 With a great blow he devastated twenty cities from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites.
And he made an attack on them from Aroer all the way to Minnith, overrunning twenty towns, as far as Abel-cheramim, and put great numbers to the sword. So the children of Ammon were crushed before the children of Israel.
34 And when Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her.
Then Jephthah came back to his house in Mizpah, and his daughter came out, meeting him on his way with music and with dances; she was his only child; he had no other sons or daughters.
35 As soon as Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You have brought great misery upon me, for I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.”
And when he saw her he was overcome with grief, and said, Ah! my daughter! I am crushed with sorrow, and it is you who are the chief cause of my trouble; for I have made an oath to the Lord and I may not take it back.
36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me as you have said, for the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.”
And she said to him, My father, you have made an oath to the Lord; do then to me whatever you have said; for the Lord has sent a full reward on your haters, on the children of Ammon.
37 She also said to her father, “Let me do this one thing: Let me wander for two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity.”
Then she said to her father, Only do this for me: let me have two months to go away into the mountains with my friends, weeping for my sad fate.
38 “Go,” he said. And he sent her away for two months. So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity upon the mountains.
And he said, Go then. So he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends to the mountains, weeping for her sad fate.
39 After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man. So it has become a custom in Israel
And at the end of two months she went back to her father, who did with her as he had said in his oath: and she had never been touched by a man. So it became a rule in Israel,
40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
For the women to go year by year sorrowing for the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in every year.
