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.
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a harlot, and Gilead begot Jephthah.
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.
And Gilead's wife bore sons to him. And when his wife's sons grew up, they drove out Jephthah, and said to him, Thou shall not inherit in our father's house, for thou are the son of another woman.
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.
Then Jephthah fled from his brothers, and dwelt in the land of Tob. And vain fellows were gathered to Jephthah, and they went out with him.
4 Now after a time the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
And it came to pass after a while, that the sons of Ammon made war against Israel.
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;
And it was so, that, when the sons of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob.
6 And they said to Jephthah, Come and be our chief so that we may make war against the children of Ammon.
And they said to Jephthah, Come and be our chief, that we may fight with the sons of Ammon.
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?
And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Did ye not hate me, and drive me out of my father's house? And why have ye come to me now when ye are in distress?
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.
And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, For that reason we turned again to thee now, that thou may go with us, and fight with the sons of Ammon. And thou shall be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
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?
And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight with the sons of Ammon, and Jehovah delivers them before me, shall I be your head?
10 And the responsible men of Gilead said to Jephthah, May the Lord be our witness: we will certainly do as you say.
And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Jehovah shall be witness between us. Surely according to thy word so will we do.
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.
Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before Jehovah in Mizpah.
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?
And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, What have thou to do with me, that thou have come to me to fight against my land?
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.
And the king of the sons of Ammon answered to the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land when he came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even to the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.
14 And Jephthah sent again to the king of the children of Ammon,
And Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the sons of Ammon.
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;
And he said to him, Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the sons of Ammon,
16 But when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the waste land to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh;
but when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh,
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.
then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land, but the king of Edom did not hearken. And in like manner he sent to the king of Moab, but he would not. And Israel abode in Kadesh.
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.
Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab. And they encamped on the other side of the Arnon, but they did not come within the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.
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.
And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon. And Israel said to him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land to my place.
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.
But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his border, but Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
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.
And Jehovah, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them. So Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.
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.
And they possessed all the border of the Amorites, from the Arnon even to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to the Jordan.
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?
So now Jehovah, the God of Israel, has dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and should thou possess them?
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.
Will thou not possess that which Chemosh thy god gives thee to possess? So whomever Jehovah our God has dispossessed from before us, them will we possess.
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?
And now are 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?
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?
While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of the Arnon, three hundred years, why did ye not recover them within that time?
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.
I therefore have not sinned against thee, but thou do me wrong to war against me. Jehovah, the Judge, be judge this day between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.
28 The king of the children of Ammon, however, did not give ear to the words which Jephthah sent to him.
However the king of the sons of Ammon did not hearken to the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
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.
Then the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the sons of Ammon.
30 And Jephthah took an oath to the Lord, and said, If you will give the children of Ammon into my hands,
And Jephthah vowed a vow to Jehovah, and said, If thou will indeed deliver the sons of Ammon into my hand,
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.
then it shall be, that whatever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be Jehovah's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
32 So Jephthah went over to the children of Ammon to make war on them; and the Lord gave them into his hands.
So Jephthah passed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them, and Jehovah delivered them into his hand.
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.
And he smote them from Aroer until thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and to Abelcheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel.
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.
And Jephthah came to Mizpah to his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances. And she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter.
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.
And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! Thou have brought me very low, and thou are one of those who trouble me, for I have opened my mouth to Jehovah, and I cannot go back.
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.
And she said to him, My father, thou have opened thy mouth to Jehovah. Do to me according to that which has proceeded out of thy mouth, inasmuch as Jehovah has taken vengeance for thee on thine enemies, even on the sons of Ammon.
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.
And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: Let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
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.
And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months. And she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
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,
And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed, and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,
40 For the women to go year by year sorrowing for the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in every year.
that the daughters of Israel went yearly to celebrate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
