Judges 11
1 [There was a man] from [the] Gilead [region] named Jephthah. He was a great warrior. His father was also named Gilead. But his mother was a prostitute.
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he [was] the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.
2 Gilead’s wife gave birth to several sons. When they grew up, they forced Jephthah to leave home, saying to him, “You are the son of a prostitute, [not the son of our mother]. So [when] our father [dies], you will not receive any of his property.”
And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou [art] the son of a strange woman.
3 So Jephthah ran away from his brothers, and he went to the Tob region. While he was there, some worthless men started to spend a lot of time with him.
Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.
4 Some time later, the Ammon people-group started to fight against the Israelis.
And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
5 When that happened [DOU], the leaders of [the] Gilead [region] went to Jephthah to bring him back from the Tob region [to their area].
And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:
6 They said to him, “Come [with us] and lead our army, and [help us to] fight against the men from the Ammon people-group!”
And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.
7 But Jephthah replied, “You hated me [RHQ] previously! You forced me to leave my father’s house! So why are you coming to me now, [asking me to help you] when you are experiencing trouble?”
And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?
8 The leaders from Gilead replied, “[Yes, we are having trouble, and] that is the reason that we have come to you now. If you come with us and [help us to] fight against the Ammon people-group, [after we defeat them, we will appoint] you to be the leader of all us people in [the] Gilead [region].”
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
9 Jephthah replied, “If I go back to Gilead with you to fight against the Ammon people-group, and if Yahweh helps us to defeat them, will you truly appoint me to be your leader?”
And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
10 They replied, “Yahweh is listening to everything that we say. [So he will punish us] if we do not do everything that you tell us to do.”
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
11 So Jephthah went with them back to [the] Gilead [region], and the people appointed him to be their leader and the commander of their army. And Jephthah solemnly promised to Yahweh there at Mizpah [to serve him well].
Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.
12 Jephthah sent some messengers to the king of the Ammon people-group. They asked the king, “What have we [done to make you angry, with the result] that your army is coming to fight [against the people] in our land?”
And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land?
13 The king replied, “[We have come to fight against you Israelis because] you took our land when you came here from Egypt. You took all our land east of the Jordan [River], from the Arnon [River in the south] to the Jabbok [River in the north]. So if you now give it back to us, there (will be peace between us/we will not fight against you).”
And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those [lands] again peaceably.
14 [The messengers returned to Jephthah and told him what the king had said]. So Jephthah sent the messengers to the king again.
And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon:
15 They said to him, “This is what Jephthah says: ‘It is not [true] that we Israelis took the land from the Moab people-group and the Ammon people-group.
And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
16 When the Israeli people came out of Egypt, they walked through the desert to the Red Sea, and then [walked across it and traveled to Kadesh town at the border of the Edom region].
But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;
17 They sent messengers to the king of the Edom people-group, to say to him, “Please allow us Israelis to walk across your land.” But the king of the Edom people-group refused. Later we sent the same message to the king of the Moab people-group, but he also refused to allow the Israelis to go through his land. So the Israelis stayed at Kadesh [for a long time].
Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken [thereto]. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not [consent: ] and Israel abode in Kadesh.
18 Then the Israelis went into the desert and walked outside the borders of the Edom and Moab regions. They walked east of the Moab region, east of the Arnon [River, which is the eastern border of the Moab region]. They did not cross that river to enter [the] Moab [region].
Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon [was] the border of Moab.
19 ‘Then the Israelis sent a message to Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who lived in Heshbon [city]. They asked him, “Will you please allow us Israeli people to cross through your land to arrive at the land to which we [are going].”
And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.
20 But Sihon did not trust the Israelis; [he thought that they would steal some of the things in his land]. So he gathered all his troops and they set up their tents at Jahaz [village] and then they attacked the Israelis.
But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
21 But Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], enabled the Israeli army to defeat [IDM] Sihon and his army. Then they (took possession of/started to live in) all the land where the Amor people-group had lived.
And the LORD 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 The Israelis took all the land that belonged to the Amor people-group, from the Arnon [River in the south] to the Jabbok [River in the north], and from the desert [in the east] to the Jordan [River in the west].
And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.
23 ‘It was Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], who forced the Amor people-group to leave as the Israelis advanced. So do you now think that you can force the Israelis to leave [RHQ]?
So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?
24 You take the land that your god Chemosh has given to you. And we will live in the land that Yahweh our God has given to us!
Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.
25 (You are no/Are you) better than Zippor’s son Balak, who was the king of the Moab people-group? He never [RHQ] quarreled with the Israeli people, and he never started to fight against us [RHQ]!
And now [art] thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,
26 For 300 years the Israeli people have lived in Heshbon and Aroer [cities in your region], and in the surrounding towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon [River]. Why have you people of the Ammon people-group not taken back those cities during all those years [RHQ]?
While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that [be] along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover [them] within that time?
27 We have not sinned against you, but you are sinning against me by attacking me [and my army]. I trust that Yahweh, the great judge, will decide whether we Israelis are right, or whether you people of the Ammon people-group are right.’”
Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
28 But the king of the Ammon people-group did not pay attention to that message from Jephthah.
Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
29 Then the Spirit of Yahweh took control of Jephthah. Jephthah went through [the] Gilead [region] and through the area where the tribe of Manasseh lived, [to enlist/gather men for his army]. [He finally gathered them together] in Mizpah [city] in [the] Gilead [region] to fight against the Ammon people-group.
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over [unto] the children of Ammon.
30 There Jephthah made a solemn promise to Yahweh. He said, “If you will enable my army to defeat [IDM] the Ammon people-group,
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
31 when I return from the battle, I will sacrifice to you the first person who comes out of my house [to greet me]. It will be a sacrifice that will be completely burned [on the altar].”
Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
32 Then Jephthah [and his men] went from Mizpah to attack the Ammon people-group, and Yahweh enabled his army to defeat them.
So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
33 Jephthah and his men killed them, from Aroer [city] all the way to the area around the city of Minnith. They destroyed 20 cities, as far as [the city of] Abel Keramim. So the Israelis [completely] defeated the Ammon people-group.
And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, [even] twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, his daughter was the first one to come out of the house to meet him. She was [joyfully] playing a tambourine and dancing. She was his only child; he had no sons and no other daughters.
And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she [was his] only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.
35 When Jephthah saw his daughter, he tore his clothes [to show that he was very sad about what he was going to do]. He said to her, “My daughter, you have caused me to become very sad [DOU] because I made a solemn promise to Yahweh [to sacrifice the first one who came out of my house], and I must do what I promised.”
And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
36 His daughter said, “My father, you made a solemn promise to Yahweh. So you must do to me what you promised, because [you said that you would do that if] Yahweh helped you to defeat our enemies, the Ammon people-group.”
And she said unto him, My father, [if] thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, [even] of the children of Ammon.
37 Then she also said, “But allow me to do one thing. (First/before you do what you promised), allow me to go up into the hilly area and wander around for two months. Since I will never be married [and have children], allow me and my friends to go and cry together.”
And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
38 Jephthah replied, “All right, you may go.” So she left for two months. She and her friends stayed in the hills and they cried for her because she would never be married.
And he said, Go. And he sent her away [for] two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
39 After two months, she returned to her father Jephthah, and he did to her what he had vowed. So his daughter never was married. Because of that, the Israelis now have a custom.
And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto 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 Every year the young Israeli women go [into the hills] for four days to remember [and cry about what happened to] the daughter of Jephthah.
[That] the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
