Judges 11
1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a great man of war; he was the son of a loose woman, and Gilead was his father.
基列人耶弗他是個大能的勇士，是妓女的兒子。耶弗他是基列所生的。
2 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.
基列的妻也生了幾個兒子：他妻所生的兒子長大了，就趕逐耶弗他，說：「你不可在我們父家承受產業，因為你是妓女的兒子。」
3 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.
耶弗他就逃避他的弟兄，去住在陀伯地，有些匪徒到他那裏聚集，與他一同出入。
4 Now after a time the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
過了些日子，亞捫人攻打以色列。
5 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;
亞捫人攻打以色列的時候，基列的長老到陀伯地去，要叫耶弗他回來；
6 And they said to Jephthah, Come and be our chief so that we may make war against the children of Ammon.
對耶弗他說：「請你來作我們的元帥，我們好與亞捫人爭戰。」
7 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?
耶弗他回答基列的長老說：「從前你們不是恨我、趕逐我出離父家嗎？現在你們遭遇急難為何到我這裏來呢？」
8 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.
基列的長老回答耶弗他說：「現在我們到你這裏來，是要你同我們去，與亞捫人爭戰；你可以作基列一切居民的領袖。」
9 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?
耶弗他對基列的長老說：「你們叫我回去，與亞捫人爭戰，耶和華把他交給我，我可以作你們的領袖嗎？」
10 And the responsible men of Gilead said to Jephthah, May the Lord be our witness: we will certainly do as you say.
基列的長老回答耶弗他說：「有耶和華在你我中間作見證，我們必定照你的話行。」
11 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.
於是耶弗他同基列的長老回去，百姓就立耶弗他作領袖、作元帥。耶弗他在米斯巴將自己的一切話陳明在耶和華面前。
12 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?
耶弗他打發使者去見亞捫人的王，說：「你與我有甚麼相干，竟來到我國中攻打我呢？」
13 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.
亞捫人的王回答耶弗他的使者說：「因為以色列人從埃及上來的時候佔據我的地，從亞嫩河到雅博河，直到約旦河。現在你要好好地將這地歸還吧！」
14 And Jephthah sent again to the king of the children of Ammon,
耶弗他又打發使者去見亞捫人的王，
15 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;
對他說：「耶弗他如此說，以色列人並沒有佔據摩押地和亞捫人的地。
16 But when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the waste land to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh;
以色列人從埃及上來乃是經過曠野到紅海，來到加低斯，
17 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.
就打發使者去見以東王，說：『求你容我從你的地經過。』以東王卻不應允。又照樣打發使者去見摩押王，他也不允准。以色列人就住在加低斯。
18 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.
他們又經過曠野，繞着以東和摩押地，從摩押地的東邊過來，在亞嫩河邊安營，並沒有入摩押的境內，因為亞嫩河是摩押的邊界。
19 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.
以色列人打發使者去見亞摩利王西宏，就是希實本的王，對他說：『求你容我們從你的地經過，往我們自己的地方去。』
20 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.
西宏卻不信服以色列人，不容他們經過他的境界，乃招聚他的眾民在雅雜安營，與以色列人爭戰。
21 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.
耶和華－以色列的上帝將西宏和他的眾民都交在以色列人手中，以色列人就擊殺他們，得了亞摩利人的全地：
22 All the limit of the Amorites was theirs, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok and from the waste land even to Jordan.
從亞嫩河到雅博河，從曠野直到約旦河。
23 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?
耶和華－以色列的上帝在他百姓以色列面前趕出亞摩利人，你竟要得他們的地嗎？
24 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.
你的神基抹所賜你的地你不是得為業嗎？耶和華－我們的上帝在我們面前所趕出的人，我們就得他的地。
25 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?
難道你比摩押王西撥的兒子巴勒還強嗎？他曾與以色列人爭競，或是與他們爭戰嗎？
26 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?
以色列人住希實本和屬希實本的鄉村，亞羅珥和屬亞羅珥的鄉村，並沿亞嫩河的一切城邑，已經有三百年了；在這三百年之內，你們為甚麼沒有取回這些地方呢？
27 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.
原來我沒有得罪你，你卻攻打我，惡待我。願審判人的耶和華今日在以色列人和亞捫人中間判斷是非。」
28 The king of the children of Ammon, however, did not give ear to the words which Jephthah sent to him.
但亞捫人的王不肯聽耶弗他打發人說的話。
29 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.
耶和華的靈降在耶弗他身上，他就經過基列和瑪拿西，來到基列的米斯巴，又從米斯巴來到亞捫人那裏。
30 And Jephthah took an oath to the Lord, and said, If you will give the children of Ammon into my hands,
耶弗他就向耶和華許願，說：「你若將亞捫人交在我手中，
31 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.
我從亞捫人那裏平平安安回來的時候，無論甚麼人，先從我家門出來迎接我，就必歸你，我也必將他獻上為燔祭。」
32 So Jephthah went over to the children of Ammon to make war on them; and the Lord gave them into his hands.
於是耶弗他往亞捫人那裏去，與他們爭戰；耶和華將他們交在他手中，
33 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.
他就大大殺敗他們，從亞羅珥到米匿，直到亞備勒‧基拉明，攻取了二十座城。這樣亞捫人就被以色列人制伏了。
34 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.
耶弗他回米斯巴到了自己的家，不料，他女兒拿着鼓跳舞出來迎接他，是他獨生的，此外無兒無女。
35 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.
耶弗他看見她，就撕裂衣服，說：「哀哉！我的女兒啊，你使我甚是愁苦，叫我作難了；因為我已經向耶和華開口許願，不能挽回。」
36 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.
他女兒回答說：「父啊，你既向耶和華開口，就當照你口中所說的向我行，因耶和華已經在仇敵亞捫人身上為你報仇」；
37 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.
又對父親說：「有一件事求你允准：容我去兩個月，與同伴在山上，好哀哭我終為處女。」
38 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.
耶弗他說：「你去吧！」就容她去兩個月。她便和同伴去了，在山上為她終為處女哀哭。
39 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,
兩月已滿，她回到父親那裏，父親就照所許的願向她行了。女兒終身沒有親近男子。
40 For the women to go year by year sorrowing for the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in every year.
此後以色列中有個規矩，每年以色列的女子去為基列人耶弗他的女兒哀哭四天。
