Judges 11
1 Jephthah of Gilead was a strong fighter. He was the son of a prostitute, and his father was Gilead.
Now Yiphthach the Gil'adite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gil'ad had begotten Yiphthach.
2 Gilead's wife gave him sons, who when they grew up, drove Jephthah away, telling him, “You won't inherit anything from our father because you are another woman's son.”
And the wife of Gil'ad also bore him sons; and when the sons of the wife were grown up, they drove away Yiphthach, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in the house of our father: for the son of another woman art thou.
3 Jephthah ran away from his brothers and went to live in the land of Tob. A gang of trouble-makers joined him and he led them out on raids.
And Yiphthach fled away from his brothers, and dwelt in the land of Tob; and there gathered themselves to Yiphthach idle men, and they went out with him.
4 Later on, the Ammonites were at war with Israel.
And it came to pass after some time, that the children of 'Ammon made war against Israel.
5 As the Ammonites were attacking Israel, the elders of Gilead came to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.
And it was so, when the children of 'Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gil'ad went to fetch Yiphthach out of the land of Tob.
6 “Come and be our army commander,” they asked Jepthah, “so we can fight the Ammonites.”
And they said unto Yiphthach, Come, and become a leader unto us, that we may fight with the children of 'Ammon.
7 “Weren't you the ones who hated me and drove me from my father's house?” Jephthah asked them, “Why are you coming to me now you're in trouble?”
And Yiphthach said unto the elders of Gil'ad, Did ye not hate me, and drive me away out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now, when ye are in distress?
8 “Yes, that's why we've turned to you now,” the elders of Gilead replied. “Come with us and fight the Ammonites, and you will be the leader of all the people of Gilead.”
And the elders of Gil'ad said unto Yiphthach, Therefore are we now come back to thee, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of 'Ammon; and thou shalt become unto us a head, unto all the inhabitants of Gil'ad.
9 “So if I go back with you and fight the Ammonites, and the Lord makes me victorious, then I'll be your leader?” Jephthah asked the elders of Gilead.
And Yiphthach said unto the elders of Gil'ad, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of 'Ammon, and the Lord give them up before me, shall I remain your head?
10 “The Lord will be a witness between us,” they replied. “We'll do whatever you say.”
And the elders of Gil'ad said unto Yiphthach, The Lord shall be a hearer between us, if we do not so according to thy word.
11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and army commander. And Jephthah repeated all his conditions before the Lord at Mizpah.
Then went Yiphthach with the elders of Gil'ad, and the people appointed him over them as head and as leader; and Yiphthach spoke all his words before the Lord in Mitzpah.
12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites to ask him, “What have you got against me that you want to attack my land?”
And Yiphthach sent messengers unto the king of the children of 'Ammon, saying, What have I to do with thee, that thou art come unto me to fight against my land?
13 The king of the Ammonites replied to Jephthah's messengers, “Israel seized my land when they came from Egypt. It extended from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and across to the Jordan River. So give it back and there'll be no fighting.”
And the king of the children of 'Ammon said unto the messengers of Yiphthach, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even unto the Yabbok, and unto the Jordan: and now restore these [lands] again in peace.
14 Jephthah sent messengers back to the king of the Ammonites
And Yiphthach again sent messengers unto the king of the children of 'Ammon;
15 to tell him, “This is Jephthah's reply: The Israelites did not take any land from Moab or from the Ammonites.
And he said unto him, Thus hath said Yiphthach, Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of 'Ammon;
16 When they left Egypt, the Israelites went through the desert to the Red Sea and arrived at Kadesh.
For when they came up out of Egypt, Israel walked through the wilderness unto the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh;
17 They sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your country,’ but the king of Edom refused to listen. They also sent the same request to the king of Moab, and he refused too. So they remained at Kadesh.
And Israel then sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me pass, I pray thee, through thy land; but the king of Edom would not hearken; and also to the king of Moab they sent; but he would not consent: and Israel remained in Kadesh.
18 Eventually the Israelites traveled through the desert, avoiding the lands of Edom and Moab. They arrived on the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River. But they did not enter Moab territory, for the Arnon River was its border.
Then they wandered through the wilderness, and traveled round the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came from the rising of the sun to the land of Moab, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon: but they came not within the border of Moab; for the Arnon is the boundary of Moab.
19 Then the Israelites sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, and asked him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our own country.’
And Israel sent messengers unto Sichon the king of the Emorites, the king of Cheshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land unto my place.
20 But Sihon didn't trust the Israelites to pass through his territory. So he assembled his army, set up camp at Jahaz, and attacked the Israelites.
But Sichon trusted not Israel to [let them] pass through his territory; and Sichon assembled all his people, and encamped in Yahaz, and fought against Israel.
21 However, the Lord, the God of Israel, handed over Sihon and all his people to the Israelites, who defeated them. So the Israelites took over all the land inhabited by the Amorites.
and the Lord the God of Israel delivered Sichon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them; and Israel took possession of all the land of the Emorites, the inhabitants of that country.
22 They occupied all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and from the desert to the Jordan River.
And they took possession of all the territory of the Emorites, from the Arnon even unto the Yabbok, and from the wilderness even unto the Jordan.
23 It was the Lord, the God of Israel, who drove out the Amorites before his people Israel, so why should you take it over?
So now the Lord the God of Israel hath dispossessed the Emorites from before his people Israel, and shouldst thou possess it?
24 Why don't you keep whatever your god Chemosh gave you, and we'll keep whatever the Lord our God has given us?
Truly! that which Kemosh thy god may give thee to possess, even that canst thou possess; but whatsoever the Lord our God hath driven out from before us, even that will we possess.
25 Do you think you're so much better than Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or attack them?
And now art thou then any better than Balak the son of Zippor, the king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?
26 Israelites have been living in Heshbon, Aroer, their villages, and in all the towns along the banks of the Arnon River for three hundred years. Why didn't you take them back during that time?
[And] while Israel hath dwelt in Cheshbon and in its towns, and in 'Ar'or and in its towns, and in all the cities that are along the margins of the Arnon, three hundred years: why did ye not recover them within that time?
27 I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by going to war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”
Whereas I myself have not sinned against thee, and thou doest me wrong to war against me: may the Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the children of Israel and the children of 'Ammon.
28 But the king of Ammon didn't pay any attention to what Jephthah had to say.
Nevertheless the king of the children of 'Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Yiphthach which he had sent to him.
29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then on through Mizpah of Gilead. From there he advanced to attack the Ammonites.
Then came upon Yiphthach the spirit of the Lord, and he passed through Gil'ad and Menasseh, and passed through Mitzpeh of Gil'ad, and from Mitzpeh of Gil'ad he passed over unto the children of Ammon.
30 Jephthah made a solemn promise to the Lord, saying, “If you make me victorious over the Ammonites,
And Yiphthach made a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver the children of 'Ammon into my hand,
31 I will dedicate to the Lord whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me on my safe return from the battle. I will present it as a burnt offering.”
Then shall it be, that whatsoever cometh forth out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of 'Ammon, shall belong to the Lord, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering.
32 Jephthah advanced to attack the Ammonites, and the Lord gave him the victory over them.
So Yiphthach passed over unto the children of 'Ammon to fight against them: and the Lord delivered them into his hand.
33 He soundly defeated them, capturing twenty cities from Aroer to the area around Minnith, up as far as Abel-keramim. This is how the Ammonites were conquered by the Israelites.
And he smote them from 'Aro'er, even till thou comest to Minnith, twenty cities, and unto Abel-keramin, with a very great defeat; and the children of 'Ammon were humbled before the children of Israel.
34 When Jephthah arrived home in Mizpah, there came his daughter out to meet him, with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child—he had no son or daughter apart from her.
And Yiphthach came to Mizpah unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his sole child; he had beside her neither son nor daughter.
35 The moment he saw her, he ripped his clothes in agony and cried out, “Oh no, my daughter! You have crushed me completely! You have destroyed me, for I made a solemn promise to the Lord and I can't go back on it.”
And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his garments, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast bent me down very low, and thou art one of those that trouble me; for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.
36 She replied, “Father, you have made a solemn promise to the Lord. Do to me what you promised, for the Lord brought vengeance your enemies, the Ammonites.”
And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me in accordance with what hath proceeded out of thy mouth; since the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee on thy enemies, on the children of 'Ammon.
37 Then she went on to say to him, “Just let me do this: let me walk through the hills for two months with my friends and grieve the fact that I'll never marry.”
And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: Let me alone two months, that I may descend to the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I with my companions.
38 “You can go,” he told her. He sent her away for two months, and she and her friends went into the hills and cried because she would never marry.
And he aid, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains.
39 When the two months were over, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had promised, and she was a virgin. This is the origin of the custom in Israel
And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, and he fulfilled on her his vow which he had vowed; and she knew no man; and it became a custom in Israel,
40 that every year the young women of Israel leave for four days to weep in commemoration of the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
That the daughters of Israel went from year to year to lament for the daughter of Yiphthach the Gil'adite four days in the year.
