Judges 11
1 There was at that time Jephte the Galaadite, a most valiant man and a warrior, the son of a woman that was a harlot, and his father was Galaad.
And Jephthah the Gileadite has been a mighty man of valor, and he [is the] son of a harlot woman; and Gilead begets Jephthah,
2 Now Galaad had a wife of whom he had sons: who after they were grown up, thrust out Jephte, saying: Thou canst not inherit in the house of our father, because thou art born of another mother.
and the wife of Gilead bears sons to him, and the wife’s sons grow up and cast Jephthah out, and say to him, “You do not inherit in the house of our father; for you [are the] son of another woman.”
3 Then he fled and avoided them and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered to him needy men, and robbers, and they followed him as their prince.
And Jephthah flees from the face of his brothers, and dwells in the land of Tob; and vain men gather themselves together to Jephthah, and they go out with him.
4 In those days the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
And it comes to pass, after a time, that the sons of Ammon fight with Israel,
5 And as they pressed hard upon them, the ancients of Galaad went to fetch Jephte out of the land of Tob to help them:
and it comes to pass, when the sons of Ammon have fought with Israel, that [the] elderly of Gilead go to take Jephthah from the land of Tob;
6 And they said to him: Come thou and be our prince, and fight against the children of Ammon.
and they say to Jephthah, “Come, and you have been for a captain to us, and we fight against the sons of Ammon.”
7 And he answered them: Are not you the men that hated me, and cast me out of my father’s house, and now you are come to me constrained by necessity?
And Jephthah says to [the] elderly of Gilead, “Have you not hated me? And you cast me out from the house of my father, and why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”
8 And the princes of Galaad said to Jephte: For this cause we are now come to thee, that thou mayst go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be head over all the inhabitants of Galaad.
And [the] elderly of Gilead say to Jephthah, “Therefore, now, we have turned back to you; and you have gone with us, and have fought against the sons of Ammon, and you have been for head to us—to all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
9 Jephte also said to them: If you be come to me sincerely, that I should fight for you against the children of Ammon, and the Lord shall deliver them into my band, shall I be your prince?
And Jephthah says to [the] elderly of Gilead, “If you are taking me back to fight against the sons of Ammon, and YHWH has given them before me—am I for a head to you?”
10 They answered him: The Lord who heareth these things, he himself is mediator and witness that we will do as we have promised.
And [the] elderly of Gilead say to Jephthah, “YHWH is listening between us—if we do not do so according to your word.”
11 Jephte therefore went with the princes of Galaad, and all the people made him their prince. And Jephte spoke all his words before the Lord in Maspha.
And Jephthah goes with [the] elderly of Gilead, and the people set him over them for head and for captain, and Jephthah speaks all his words before YHWH in Mizpeh.
12 And he sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, to say in his name, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me, to waste my land?
And Jephthah sends messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, “What [is this] to me and to you, that you have come to me, to fight in my land?”
13 And he answered them: I Because Israel took away my land when he came up out of Egypt, from the confines of the Arnon unto the Jaboc and the Jordan: now therefore restore the same peaceably to me.
And the king of the sons of Ammon says to the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel took my land in his coming up out of Egypt, from Arnon, and to the Jabbok, and to the Jordan; and now, restore them in peace.”
14 And Jephte again sent word by them, and commanded them to say to the king of Ammon:
And Jephthah adds yet and sends messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon,
15 Thus saith Jephte: Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
and says to him, “Thus said Jephthah: Israel did not take the land of Moab, and the land of the sons of Ammon,
16 But when they came up out of Egypt, he walked through the desert to the Red Sea and came into Cades.
for in their coming up out of Egypt, Israel goes in the wilderness to the Red Sea, and comes to Kadesh,
17 And he sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying: Suffer me to pass through thy land. But he would not condescend to his request. He sent also to the king of Moab, who likewise refused to give him passage. He abode therefore in Cades,
and Israel sends messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Please let me pass over through your land, and the king of Edom did not listen; and [Israel] has also sent to the king of Moab, and he has not been willing; and Israel abides in Kadesh,
18 And went round the land of Edom at the side, and the land of Moab: and came over against the east coast of the land of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon: and he would not enter the bounds of Moab.
and he goes through the wilderness, and goes around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and comes in at the rising of the sun of the land of Moab, and they encamp beyond Arnon, and have not come into the border of Moab, for Arnon [is] the border of Moab.
19 So Israel sent messengers to Sehon king of the Amorrhites, who dwelt in Hesebon, and they said to him: Suffer me to pass through thy land to the river.
And Israel sends messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and Israel says to him, Please let us pass over through your land, to my place,
20 But he also despising the words of Israel, suffered him not to pass through his borders: but gathering an infinite multitude, went out against him to Jasa, and made strong opposition.
and Sihon has not trusted Israel to pass over through his border, and Sihon gathers all his people, and they encamp in Jahaz, and fight with Israel;
21 And the Lord delivered him with all his army into the hands of Israel, and he slew him, and possessed all the land of the Amorrhite the inhabitant of that country,
and YHWH, God of Israel, gives Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they strike them, and Israel possesses all the land of the Amorite, the inhabitant of that land,
22 And all the coasts thereof from the Arnon to the Jaboc, and from the wilderness to the Jordan.
and they possess all the border of the Amorite from Arnon, and to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness, and to the Jordan.
23 So the Lord the God of Israel destroyed the Amorrhite, his people of Israel fighting against him, and wilt thou now possess this land?
And now, YHWH, God of Israel, has dispossessed the Amorite from the presence of His people Israel, and you would possess it!
24 Are not those things which thy god Chamos possesseth, due to thee by right? But what the Lord our God hath obtained by conquest, shall be our possession:
That which your god Chemosh causes you to possess—do you not possess it? And all that which our God YHWH has dispossessed from our presence—we possess it.
25 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,
And now, [are] you at all better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he strive with Israel at all? Did he fight against them at all?
26 Whereas he hath dwelt in Hesebon, and the villages thereof, and in Aroer, and its villages, and in all the cities near the Jordan, for three hundred years. Why have you for so long a time attempted nothing about this claim?
In Israel’s dwelling in Heshbon and in its towns, and in Aroer and in its towns, and in all the cities which [are] by the sides of Arnon [for] three hundred years—and why have you not delivered them in that time?
27 Therefore I do not trespass against thee, but thou wrongest me by declaring an unjust war against me. The Lord be judge and decide this day between Israel and the children of Ammon.
And I have not sinned against you, and you are doing evil with me—to fight against me. YHWH, the Judge, judges between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon today.”
28 And the king of the children of Ammon would not hearken to the words of Jephte, which he sent him by the messengers.
And the king of the sons of Ammon has not listened to the words of Jephthah which he sent to him,
29 Therefore the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephte, and going round Galaad, and Manasses, and Maspha of Galaad, and passing over from thence to the children of Ammon,
and the Spirit of YHWH is on Jephthah, and he passes over Gilead and Manasseh, and passes over Mizpeh of Gilead, and he has passed over from Mizpeh of Gilead to the sons of Ammon.
30 He made a vow to the Lord, saying: If thou wilt deliver the children of Ammon into my hands,
And Jephthah vows a vow to YHWH and says, “If You give the sons of Ammon into my hand at all—
31 Whosoever shall first come forth out of the doors of my house, and shall meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, the same will I offer a holocaust to the Lord.
then it has been, that which comes out from the doors of my house at all to meet me in my turning back in peace from the sons of Ammon—it has been for YHWH, or I have offered up a burnt-offering for it.”
32 And Jephte passed over to the children of Ammon, to fight against them: and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
And Jephthah passes over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them, and YHWH gives them into his hand,
33 And he smote them from Aroer till you come to Mennith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel, which is set with vineyards, with a very great slaughter: and the children of Ammon were humbled by the children of Israel.
and he strikes them from Aroer, and to [where] you are going in to Minnith—twenty cities—and to the meadow of the vineyards, [with] a very great striking; and the sons of Ammon are humbled at the presence of the sons of Israel.
34 And when Jephte returned into Maspha to his house, his only daughter met him with timbrels and with dances: for he had no other children.
And Jephthah comes into Mizpeh, to his house, and behold, his daughter is coming out to meet him with timbrels, and with choruses, and except her alone, he has no son or daughter.
35 And when he saw her, he rent his garments, and said: Alas! my daughter, thou hast deceived me, and thou thyself art deceived: for I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I can do no other thing.
And it comes to pass, when he sees her, that he tears his garments and says, “Aah! My daughter, you have caused me to bend greatly, and you have been among those troubling me; and I have opened my mouth to YHWH, and I am not able to turn back.”
36 And she answered him: My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to the Lord, do unto me whatsoever thou hast promised, since the victory hath been granted to thee, and revenge of thy enemies.
And she says to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to YHWH, do to me as it has gone out from your mouth, after that YHWH has done vengeance for you on your enemies, on the sons of Ammon.”
37 And she said to her father: Grant me only this which I desire: Let me go, that I may go about the mountains for two months, and may bewail my virginity with my companions.
And she says to her father, “Let this thing be done to me; desist from me [for] two months, and I go on, and have gone down on the hills, and I weep for my virginity—I and my friends.”
38 And he answered her: Go. And he sent her away for two months. And when she was gone with her comrades and companions, she mourned her virginity in the mountains.
And he says, “Go”; and he sends her away [for] two months, and she goes, she and her friends, and she weeps for her virginity on the hills;
39 And the two months being expired, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed, and she knew no man. From thence came a fashion in Israel, and a custom has been kept:
and it comes to pass at the end of two months that she turns back to her father, and he does to her his vow which he has vowed, and she did not know a man; and it is a statute in Israel:
40 That from year to year the daughters of Israel assemble together, and lament the daughter of Jephte the Galaadite for four days.
from time to time the daughters of Israel go to talk to the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a year.
