Judges 11
1 At that time, there was a Gileadite, Jephthah, a very strong man and a fighter, the son of a kept woman, and he was born of Gilead.
καὶ Ιεφθαε ὁ Γαλααδίτης ἐπηρμένος δυνάμει καὶ αὐτὸς υἱὸς γυναικὸς πόρνης ἣ ἐγέννησεν τῷ Γαλααδ τὸν Ιεφθαε
2 Now Gilead had a wife, from whom he received sons. And they, after growing up, cast out Jephthah, saying, “You cannot inherit in the house of our father, because you were born of another mother.”
καὶ ἔτεκεν ἡ γυνὴ Γαλααδ αὐτῷ υἱούς καὶ ἡδρύνθησαν οἱ υἱοὶ τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ ἐξέβαλον τὸν Ιεφθαε καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ οὐ κληρονομήσεις ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν ὅτι υἱὸς γυναικὸς ἑταίρας σύ
3 And so, fleeing and avoiding them, he lived in the land of Tob. And men who were indigent and robbers joined with him, and they followed him as their leader.
καὶ ἔφυγεν Ιεφθαε ἀπὸ προσώπου ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ᾤκησεν ἐν γῇ Τωβ καὶ συνεστράφησαν πρὸς Ιεφθαε ἄνδρες κενοὶ καὶ ἐξῆλθον μετ’ αὐτοῦ
4 In those days, the sons of Ammon fought against Israel.
5 And being steadfastly attacked, the elders of Gilead traveled so that they might obtain for their assistance Jephthah, from the land of Tob.
καὶ ἐγένετο ἡνίκα παρετάξαντο οἱ υἱοὶ Αμμων μετὰ Ισραηλ καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν οἱ πρεσβύτεροι Γαλααδ λαβεῖν τὸν Ιεφθαε ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς Τωβ
6 And they said to him, “Come and be our leader, and fight against the sons of Ammon.”
καὶ εἶπαν τῷ Ιεφθαε δεῦρο καὶ ἔσῃ ἡμῖν εἰς ἀρχηγόν καὶ παραταξώμεθα πρὸς υἱοὺς Αμμων
7 But he answered them: “Are you not the ones who hated me, and who cast me out of my father’s house? And yet now you come to me, compelled by necessity?”
καὶ εἶπεν Ιεφθαε τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις Γαλααδ οὐχὶ ὑμεῖς ἐμισήσατέ με καὶ ἐξεβάλετέ με ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός μου καὶ ἐξαπεστείλατέ με ἀφ’ ὑμῶν καὶ διὰ τί ἤλθατε πρός με νῦν ἡνίκα χρῄζετε
8 And the leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “But it is due to this necessity that we have approached you now, so that you may set out with us, and fight against the sons of Ammon, and be commander over all who live in Gilead.”
καὶ εἶπαν οἱ πρεσβύτεροι Γαλααδ πρὸς Ιεφθαε διὰ τοῦτο νῦν ἐπεστρέψαμεν πρὸς σέ καὶ πορεύσῃ μεθ’ ἡμῶν καὶ παρατάξῃ πρὸς υἱοὺς Αμμων καὶ ἔσῃ ἡμῖν εἰς ἄρχοντα πᾶσιν τοῖς οἰκοῦσιν Γαλααδ
9 Jephthah also said to them: “If you have come to me so that I may fight for you against the sons of Ammon, and if the Lord will deliver them into my hands, will I truly be your leader?”
καὶ εἶπεν Ιεφθαε πρὸς τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους Γαλααδ εἰ ἐπιστρέφετέ με ὑμεῖς παρατάξασθαι ἐν υἱοῖς Αμμων καὶ παραδῷ κύριος αὐτοὺς ἐνώπιον ἐμοῦ καὶ ἐγὼ ἔσομαι ὑμῖν εἰς ἄρχοντα
10 They answered him, “The Lord who hears these things is himself the Mediator and the Witness that we shall do what we have promised.”
καὶ εἶπαν οἱ πρεσβύτεροι Γαλααδ πρὸς Ιεφθαε κύριος ἔστω ἀκούων ἀνὰ μέσον ἡμῶν εἰ μὴ κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου οὕτως ποιήσομεν
11 And so Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead, and all the people made him their leader. And Jephthah spoke all his words, in the sight of the Lord, at Mizpah.
καὶ ἐπορεύθη Ιεφθαε μετὰ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων Γαλααδ καὶ ἔθηκαν αὐτὸν ὁ λαὸς ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς εἰς κεφαλὴν καὶ εἰς ἀρχηγόν καὶ ἐλάλησεν Ιεφθαε τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ πάντας ἐνώπιον κυρίου ἐν Μασσηφα
12 And he sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, who said on his behalf, “What is there between you and me, that you would approach against me, so that you might lay waste to my land?”
καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ιεφθαε ἀγγέλους πρὸς βασιλέα υἱῶν Αμμων λέγων τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί ὅτι ἦλθες πρός με τοῦ παρατάξασθαι ἐν τῇ γῇ μου
13 And he responded to them, “It is because Israel took my land, when he ascended from Egypt, from the parts of Arnon, as far as the Jabbok and the Jordan. Now therefore, restore these to me with peace.”
καὶ εἶπεν βασιλεὺς υἱῶν Αμμων πρὸς τοὺς ἀγγέλους Ιεφθαε ὅτι ἔλαβεν Ισραηλ τὴν γῆν μου ἐν τῷ ἀναβαίνειν αὐτὸν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἀπὸ Αρνων καὶ ἕως Ιαβοκ καὶ ἕως τοῦ Ιορδάνου καὶ νῦν ἐπίστρεψον αὐτὰς ἐν εἰρήνῃ καὶ πορεύσομαι
14 And Jephthah again commissioned them, and he ordered them to say to the king of Ammon:
καὶ προσέθηκεν ἔτι Ιεφθαε καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἀγγέλους πρὸς βασιλέα υἱῶν Αμμων
15 “Jephthah says this: Israel did not take the land of Moab, nor the land of the sons of Ammon.
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ οὕτω λέγει Ιεφθαε οὐκ ἔλαβεν Ισραηλ τὴν γῆν Μωαβ καὶ τὴν γῆν υἱῶν Αμμων
16 But when they ascended together from Egypt, he walked through the desert as far as the Red Sea, and he went into Kadesh.
ὅτι ἐν τῷ ἀναβαίνειν αὐτοὺς ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐπορεύθη Ισραηλ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἕως θαλάσσης Σιφ καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς Καδης
17 And he sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Permit me to pass through your land.’ But he was not willing to agree to his petition. Likewise, he sent to the king of Moab, who also refused to offer him passage. And so he delayed in Kadesh,
καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ισραηλ ἀγγέλους πρὸς βασιλέα Εδωμ λέγων παρελεύσομαι δὴ ἐν τῇ γῇ σου καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσεν βασιλεὺς Εδωμ καὶ πρὸς βασιλέα Μωαβ ἀπέστειλεν καὶ οὐκ εὐδόκησεν καὶ ἐκάθισεν Ισραηλ ἐν Καδης
18 and he circled around the side of the land of Edom and the land of Moab. And he arrived opposite the eastern region of the land of Moab. And he made camp across the Arnon. But he was not willing to enter the borders of Moab. (Of course, Arnon is the border of the land of Moab.)
καὶ ἐπορεύθη ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καὶ ἐκύκλωσεν τὴν γῆν Εδωμ καὶ τὴν γῆν Μωαβ καὶ ἦλθεν ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν ἡλίου τῇ γῇ Μωαβ καὶ παρενέβαλον ἐν πέραν Αρνων καὶ οὐκ εἰσῆλθεν ἐν ὁρίοις Μωαβ ὅτι Αρνων ὅριον Μωαβ
19 And so Israel sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who was living at Heshbon. And they said to him, “Permit me to cross through your land as far as the river.”
καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ισραηλ ἀγγέλους πρὸς Σηων βασιλέα τοῦ Αμορραίου βασιλέα Εσεβων καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ισραηλ παρέλθωμεν δὴ ἐν τῇ γῇ σου ἕως τοῦ τόπου ἡμῶν
20 But he, too, despising the words of Israel, would not permit him to cross through his borders. Instead, gathering an innumerable multitude, he went out against him at Jahaz, and he resisted strongly.
καὶ οὐκ ἐνεπίστευσεν Σηων τῷ Ισραηλ παρελθεῖν ἐν ὁρίῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ συνῆξεν Σηων τὸν πάντα λαὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ παρενέβαλον εἰς Ιασα καὶ παρετάξατο πρὸς Ισραηλ
21 But the Lord delivered him, with his entire army, into the hands of Israel. And he struck him down, and he possessed all the land of the Amorite, the inhabitant of that region,
καὶ παρέδωκεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ τὸν Σηων καὶ πάντα τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἐν χειρὶ Ισραηλ καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτόν καὶ ἐκληρονόμησεν Ισραηλ τὴν πᾶσαν γῆν τοῦ Αμορραίου τοῦ κατοικοῦντος τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην
22 with all its parts, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to the Jordan.
ἀπὸ Αρνων καὶ ἕως τοῦ Ιαβοκ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐρήμου ἕως τοῦ Ιορδάνου
23 Therefore, it was the Lord, the God of Israel, who overthrew the Amorites, by means of his people Israel fighting against them. And now you wish to possess his land?
καὶ νῦν κύριος ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ ἐξῆρεν τὸν Αμορραῖον ἀπὸ προσώπου λαοῦ αὐτοῦ Ισραηλ καὶ σὺ κληρονομήσεις αὐτόν
24 Are not the things that your god Chemosh possesses owed to you by right? And so, what the Lord our God has obtained by victory falls to us as a possession.
οὐχὶ ἃ ἐὰν κληρονομήσει σε Χαμως ὁ θεός σου αὐτὰ κληρονομήσεις καὶ τοὺς πάντας οὓς ἐξῆρεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ἀπὸ προσώπου ἡμῶν αὐτοὺς κληρονομήσομεν
25 Or are you, perhaps, better than Balak, the son of Zippor, the king of Moab? Or are you able to explain what his argument was against Israel, and why he fought against him?
καὶ νῦν μὴ ἐν ἀγαθῷ ἀγαθώτερος σὺ ὑπὲρ Βαλακ υἱὸν Σεπφωρ βασιλέα Μωαβ μὴ μαχόμενος ἐμαχέσατο μετὰ Ισραηλ ἢ πολεμῶν ἐπολέμησεν αὐτόν
26 And though he has lived in Heshbon, and its villages, and in Aroer, and its villages, and in all the cities near the Jordan for three hundred years, why have you, for such long a time, put forward nothing about this claim?
ἐν τῷ οἰκῆσαι ἐν Εσεβων καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς καὶ ἐν γῇ Αροηρ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς καὶ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς πόλεσιν ταῖς παρὰ τὸν Ιορδάνην τριακόσια ἔτη καὶ διὰ τί οὐκ ἐρρύσω αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ
27 Therefore, I am not sinning against you, but you are doing evil against me, by declaring an unjust war against me. May the Lord be the Judge and the Arbiter this day, between Israel and the sons of Ammon.”
καὶ νῦν ἐγώ εἰμι οὐχ ἥμαρτόν σοι καὶ σὺ ποιεῖς μετ’ ἐμοῦ πονηρίαν τοῦ παρατάξασθαι ἐν ἐμοί κρίναι κύριος κρίνων σήμερον ἀνὰ μέσον υἱῶν Ισραηλ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον υἱῶν Αμμων
28 But the king of the sons of Ammon was not willing to agree to the words of Jephthah that he commissioned by the messengers.
καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσεν βασιλεὺς υἱῶν Αμμων τῶν λόγων Ιεφθαε ὧν ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς αὐτόν
29 Therefore, the Spirit of the Lord rested upon Jephthah, and circling around Gilead, and Manasseh, and also Mizpah of Gilead, and crossing from there to the sons of Ammon,
καὶ ἐγένετο ἐπὶ Ιεφθαε πνεῦμα κυρίου καὶ παρῆλθεν τὸν Γαλααδ καὶ τὸν Μανασση καὶ παρῆλθεν τὴν σκοπιὰν Γαλααδ εἰς τὸ πέραν υἱῶν Αμμων
30 he made a vow to the Lord, saying, “If you will deliver the sons of Ammon into my hands,
καὶ ηὔξατο Ιεφθαε εὐχὴν τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ εἶπεν ἐὰν διδοὺς δῷς τοὺς υἱοὺς Αμμων ἐν τῇ χειρί μου
31 whoever will be the first to depart from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, the same will I offer as a holocaust to the Lord.”
καὶ ἔσται ὁ ἐκπορευόμενος ὃς ἐὰν ἐξέλθῃ ἀπὸ τῆς θύρας τοῦ οἴκου μου εἰς συνάντησίν μου ἐν τῷ ἐπιστρέφειν με ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἀπὸ υἱῶν Αμμων καὶ ἔσται τῷ κυρίῳ ἀνοίσω αὐτὸν ὁλοκαύτωμα
32 And Jephthah crossed to the sons of Ammon, so that he might fight against them. And the Lord delivered them into his hands.
καὶ παρῆλθεν Ιεφθαε πρὸς υἱοὺς Αμμων παρατάξασθαι πρὸς αὐτούς καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς κύριος ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ
33 And he struck them down from Aroer, as far as the entrance to Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel, which is covered with vineyards, in an exceedingly great slaughter. And the sons of Ammon were humbled by the sons of Israel.
καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ Αροηρ ἕως ἐλθεῖν ἄχρις Αρνων ἐν ἀριθμῷ εἴκοσι πόλεις καὶ ἕως Εβελχαρμιν πληγὴν μεγάλην σφόδρα καὶ συνεστάλησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Αμμων ἀπὸ προσώπου υἱῶν Ισραηλ
34 But when Jephthah returned to Mizpah, to his own house, his only daughter met him with timbrels and dances. For he had no other children.
καὶ ἦλθεν Ιεφθαε εἰς Μασσηφα εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἰδοὺ ἡ θυγάτηρ αὐτοῦ ἐξεπορεύετο εἰς ὑπάντησιν ἐν τυμπάνοις καὶ χοροῖς καὶ ἦν αὕτη μονογενής οὐκ ἦν αὐτῷ ἕτερος υἱὸς ἢ θυγάτηρ
35 And upon seeing her, he tore his garments, and he said: “Alas, my daughter! You have cheated me, and you yourself have been cheated. For I opened my mouth to the Lord, and I can do nothing else.”
καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς εἶδεν αὐτὴν αὐτός διέρρηξεν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν ἆ ἆ θυγάτηρ μου ταραχῇ ἐτάραξάς με καὶ σὺ ἦς ἐν τῷ ταράχῳ μου καὶ ἐγώ εἰμι ἤνοιξα κατὰ σοῦ τὸ στόμα μου πρὸς κύριον καὶ οὐ δυνήσομαι ἐπιστρέψαι
36 And she answered him, “My father, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me whatever you have promised, since victory has been granted to you, as well as vengeance against your enemies.”
ἡ δὲ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν πάτερ ἤνοιξας τὸ στόμα σου πρὸς κύριον ποίησόν μοι ὃν τρόπον ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ στόματός σου ἐν τῷ ποιῆσαί σοι κύριον ἐκδίκησιν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου ἀπὸ υἱῶν Αμμων
37 And she said to her father: “Grant to me this one thing, which I request. Permit me, that I may wander the hillsides for two months, and that I may mourn my virginity with my companions.”
καὶ ἥδε εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτῆς ποιησάτω δὴ ὁ πατήρ μου τὸν λόγον τοῦτον ἔασόν με δύο μῆνας καὶ πορεύσομαι καὶ καταβήσομαι ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη καὶ κλαύσομαι ἐπὶ τὰ παρθένιά μου ἐγώ εἰμι καὶ αἱ συνεταιρίδες μου
38 And he answered her, “Go.” And he released her for two months. And when she had departed with her friends and companions, she wept over her virginity in the hillsides.
καὶ εἶπεν πορεύου καὶ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὴν δύο μῆνας καὶ ἐπορεύθη αὐτὴ καὶ αἱ συνεταιρίδες αὐτῆς καὶ ἔκλαυσεν ἐπὶ τὰ παρθένια αὐτῆς ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη
39 And when the two months expired, she returned to her father, and he did to her just as he had vowed, though she knew no man. From this, the custom grew up in Israel, and the practice has been preserved,
καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τέλει τῶν δύο μηνῶν καὶ ἐπέστρεψεν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτῆς καὶ ἐποίησεν ἐν αὐτῇ τὴν εὐχὴν αὐτοῦ ἣν ηὔξατο καὶ αὐτὴ οὐκ ἔγνω ἄνδρα καὶ ἐγένετο εἰς πρόσταγμα ἐν Ισραηλ
40 such that, after each year passes, the daughters of Israel convene as one, and they lament the daughter of Jephthah, the Gileadite, for four days.
ἀπὸ ἡμερῶν εἰς ἡμέρας ἐπορεύοντο θυγατέρες Ισραηλ θρηνεῖν τὴν θυγατέρα Ιεφθαε Γαλααδ ἐπὶ τέσσαρας ἡμέρας ἐν τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ
