Judges 11
1 And Jephthah the Gileadite has been a mighty man of valor, and he [is the] son of a harlot woman; and Gilead begets Jephthah,
And Jephthae the Galaadite [was] a mighty man; and he [was] the son of a harlot, who bore Jephthae to Galaad.
2 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.”
And the wife of Galaad bore him sons; and the sons of his wife grew up, and they cast out Jephthae, and said to him, You shall not inherit in the house of our father, for you are the son of a concubine.
3 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.
And Jephthae fled from the face of his brethren, and lived in the land of Tob; and vain men gathered to Jephthae, and went out with him.
4 And it comes to pass, after a time, that the sons of Ammon fight with Israel,
And it came to pass when the children of Ammon prepared to fight with Israel,
5 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;
that the elders of Galaad went to fetch Jephthae from the land of Tob.
6 and they say to Jephthah, “Come, and you have been for a captain to us, and we fight against the sons of Ammon.”
And they said to Jephthae, Come, and be our head, and we will fight with the sons of Ammon.
7 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?”
And Jephthae said to the elders of Galaad, Did you not hate me, and cast me out of my father's house, and banish me from you? and therefore are you come to me now when you lack me?
8 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.”
And the elders of Galaad said to Jephthae, Therefore have we now turned to you, that you should go with us, and fight against the sons of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Galaad.
9 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?”
And Jephthae said to the elders of Galaad, If you turn me back to fight with the children of Ammon, and the Lord should deliver them before me, then will I be your head.
10 And [the] elderly of Gilead say to Jephthah, “YHWH is listening between us—if we do not do so according to your word.”
And the elders of Galaad said to Jephthae, The Lord be witness between us, if we shall not do according to your word.
11 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.
And Jephthae went with the elders of Galaad, and the people made him head and ruler over them: and Jephthae spoke all his words before the Lord in Massepha.
12 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?”
And Jephthae sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What have I to do with you, that you have come against me to fight in my land?
13 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.”
And the king of the children of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthae, Because Israel took my land when he went up out of Egypt, from Arnon to Jaboc, and to Jordan: now then return them peaceably and I will depart.
14 And Jephthah adds yet and sends messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon,
And Jephthae again sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon,
15 and says to him, “Thus said Jephthah: Israel did not take the land of Moab, and the land of the sons of Ammon,
and said to him, Thus says Jephthae, Israel took not the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon;
16 for in their coming up out of Egypt, Israel goes in the wilderness to the Red Sea, and comes to Kadesh,
for in their going up out of Egypt Israel went in the wilderness as far as the sea of Siph, and came to Cades.
17 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,
And Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, I will pass, if it please you, by your land: and the king of Edom complied not: and [Israel] also sent to the king of Moab, and he did not consent; and Israel sojourned in Cades.
18 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.
And [they] journeyed in the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab: and they came by the east of the land of Moab, an encamped in the country beyond Arnon, and came not within the borders of Moab, for Arnon [is] the border of Moab.
19 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,
And Israel sent messengers to Seon king of the Amorite, king of Esbon, and Israel said to him, Let us pass, we pray you, by your land to our place.
20 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;
And Seon did not trust Israel to pass by his coast; and Seon gathered all his people, and they encamped at Jasa; and he set the battle in array against Israel.
21 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,
And the Lord God of Israel delivered Seon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they struck him; and Israel inherited all the land of the Amorite who lived in that land,
22 and they possess all the border of the Amorite from Arnon, and to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness, and to the Jordan.
from Arnon and to Jaboc, and from the wilderness to Jordan.
23 And now, YHWH, God of Israel, has dispossessed the Amorite from the presence of His people Israel, and you would possess it!
And now the Lord God of Israel has removed the Amorite from before his people Israel, and shall you inherit his [land]?
24 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.
Will you not inherit those possessions which Chamos your god shall cause you to inherit; and shall not we inherit the [land of] all those whom the Lord our God has removed from before you?
25 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?
And now are you any better than Balac son of Sepphor, king of Moab? did he indeed fight with Israel, or indeed make war with him,
26 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?
when [Israel] lived in Esebon and in its coasts, and in the land of Aroer and in its coasts, and in all the cities by Jordan, three hundred years? and therefore did you not recover them in that time?
27 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.”
And now I have not sinned against you, but you wrong me in preparing war against me: may the Lord the Judge judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
28 And the king of the sons of Ammon has not listened to the words of Jephthah which he sent to him,
But the king of the children of Ammon listened not to the words of Jephthae, which he sent to him.
29 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.
And the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthae, and he passed over Galaad, and Manasse, and passed by the watch-tower of Galaad to the other side of the children of Ammon.
30 And Jephthah vows a vow to YHWH and says, “If You give the sons of Ammon into my hand at all—
And Jephthae vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If you will indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand,
31 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.”
then it shall come to pass that whoever shall first come out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, he shall be the Lord's: I will offer him up for a whole burnt offering.
32 And Jephthah passes over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them, and YHWH gives them into his hand,
And Jephthae advanced to meet the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hand.
33 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.
And he struck them from Aroer till [one] comes to Arnon, in number twenty cities, and as far as Ebelcharmim, with a very great destruction: and the children of Ammon were straitened before the children of Israel.
34 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.
And Jephthae came to Massepha to his house; and behold, his daughter came forth to meet him with timbrels and dances; and she was his only child, he had not another son or daughter.
35 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.”
And it came to pass when he saw her, that he tore his garments, and said, Ah, ah, my daughter, you have indeed troubled me, and you were the cause of my trouble; and I have opened my mouth against you to the Lord, and I shall not be able to return from it.
36 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.”
And she said to him, Father, have you opened your mouth to the Lord? Do to me accordingly as [the word] went out of your mouth, in that the Lord has wrought vengeance for you on your enemies of the children of Ammon.
37 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.”
And she said to her father, Let my father now do this thing: let me alone for two months, and I will go up and down on the mountains, and I will bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
38 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;
And he said, Go: and he sent her away for two months; and she went, and her companions, and she bewailed her virginity on the mountains.
39 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:
And it came to pass at the end of the two months that she returned to her father; and he performed upon her his vow which he vowed; and she knew no man:
40 from time to time the daughters of Israel go to talk to the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a year.
and it was an ordinance in Israel, [That] the daughters of Israel went from year to year to bewail the daughter of Jephthae the Galaadite for four days in a year.
