Judges 11
1 And Jephthah the Gileadite hath been a mighty man of valour, and he [is] son of a woman, a harlot; and Gilead begetteth Jephthah,
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.
2 and the wife of Gilead beareth to him sons, and the wife's sons grow up and cast out Jephthah, and say to him, 'Thou dost not inherit in the house of our father; for son of another woman [art] thou.'
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.”
3 And Jephthah fleeth from the face of his brethren, and dwelleth in the land of Tob; and vain men gather themselves together unto Jephthah, and they go out with him.
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.
4 And it cometh to pass, after a time, that the Bene-Ammon fight with Israel,
In those days, the sons of Ammon fought against Israel.
5 and it cometh to pass, when the Bene-Ammon have fought with Israel, that the elders of Gilead go to take Jephthah from the land of Tob;
And being steadfastly attacked, the elders of Gilead traveled so that they might obtain for their assistance Jephthah, from the land of Tob.
6 and they say unto Jephthah, 'Come, and thou hast been to us for captain, and we fight against the Bene-Ammon.'
And they said to him, “Come and be our leader, and fight against the sons of Ammon.”
7 And Jephthah saith to the elders of Gilead, 'Have not ye hated me? and ye cast me out from the house of my father, and wherefore have ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?'
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?”
8 and the elders of Gilead say unto Jephthah, 'Therefore, now, we have turned back unto thee; and thou hast gone with us, and fought against the Bene-Ammon, and thou hast been to us for head — to all the inhabitants of Gilead.'
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.”
9 And Jephthah saith unto the elders of Gilead, 'If ye are taking me back to fight against the Bene-Ammon, and Jehovah hath given them before me — I, am I to you for a head?'
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?”
10 And the elders of Gilead say unto Jephthah, 'Jehovah is hearkening between us — if according to thy word we do not so.'
They answered him, “The Lord who hears these things is himself the Mediator and the Witness that we shall do what we have promised.”
11 And Jephthah goeth with the elders of Gilead, and the people set him over them for head and for captain, and Jephthah speaketh all his words before Jehovah in Mizpeh.
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.
12 And Jephthah sendeth messengers unto the king of the Bene-Ammon, saying, 'What — to me and to thee, that thou hast come in unto me, to fight in my land.'
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?”
13 And the king of the Bene-Ammon saith unto the messengers of Jephthah, 'Because Israel took my land in his coming up out of Egypt, from Arnon, and unto the Jabbok, and unto the Jordan; and now, restore them in peace.'
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.”
14 And Jephthah addeth yet and sendeth messengers unto the king of the Bene-Ammon,
And Jephthah again commissioned them, and he ordered them to say to the king of Ammon:
15 and saith to him, 'Thus said Jephthah, Israel took not the land of Moab, and the land of the Bene-Ammon,
“Jephthah says this: Israel did not take the land of Moab, nor the land of the sons of Ammon.
16 for in their coming up out of Egypt, Israel goeth in the wilderness unto the Red Sea, and cometh in to Kadesh,
But when they ascended together from Egypt, he walked through the desert as far as the Red Sea, and he went into Kadesh.
17 and Israel sendeth messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me pass over, I pray thee, through thy land, and the king of Edom hearkened not; and also unto the king of Moab hath [Israel] sent, and he hath not been willing; and Israel abideth in Kadesh,
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,
18 and he goeth through the wilderness, and compasseth the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and cometh 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 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.)
19 'And Israel sendeth messengers unto Sihon, king of the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and Israel saith to him, Let us pass over, we pray thee, through thy land, unto my place,
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.”
20 and Sihon hath not trusted Israel to pass over through his border, and Sihon gathereth all his people, and they encamp in Jahaz, and fight with Israel;
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.
21 and Jehovah, God of Israel, giveth Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smite them, and Israel possesseth all the land of the Amorite, the inhabitant of that land,
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,
22 and they possess all the border of the Amorite from Arnon, and unto the Jabbok, and from the wilderness, and unto the Jordan.
with all its parts, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to the Jordan.
23 'And now, Jehovah, God of Israel, hath dispossessed the Amorite from the presence of His people Israel, and thou wouldest possess it!
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?
24 That which Chemosh thy god causeth thee to possess — dost thou not possess it? and all that which Jehovah our God hath dispossessed from our presence, — it we do possess.
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.
25 'And now, [art] thou at all better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he at all strive with Israel? did he at all fight against them?
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?
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 three hundred years — and wherefore have ye not delivered them in that time?
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?
27 And I — I have not sinned against thee, and thou art doing with me evil — to fight against me. Jehovah, the Judge, doth judge to-day between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.'
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.”
28 And the king of the Bene-Ammon hath not hearkened unto the words of Jephthah which he sent unto him,
But the king of the sons of Ammon was not willing to agree to the words of Jephthah that he commissioned by the messengers.
29 and the Spirit of Jehovah is on Jephthah, and he passeth over Gilead and Manasseh, and passeth over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he hath passed over to the Bene-Ammon.
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,
30 And Jephthah voweth a vow to Jehovah, and saith, 'If Thou dost at all give the Bene-Ammon into my hand —
he made a vow to the Lord, saying, “If you will deliver the sons of Ammon into my hands,
31 then it hath been, that which at all cometh out from the doors of my house to meet me in my turning back in peace from the Bene-Ammon — it hath been to Jehovah, or I have offered up for it — a burnt-offering.'
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.”
32 And Jephthah passeth over unto the Bene-Ammon to fight against them, and Jehovah giveth them into his hand,
And Jephthah crossed to the sons of Ammon, so that he might fight against them. And the Lord delivered them into his hands.
33 and he smiteth them from Aroer, and unto thy going in to Minnith, twenty cities, and unto the meadow of the vineyards — a very great smiting; and the Bene-Ammon are humbled at the presence of the sons of Israel.
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.
34 And Jephthah cometh into Mizpeh, unto his house, and lo, his daughter is coming out to meet him with timbrels, and with choruses, and save her alone, he hath none, son or daughter.
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.
35 And it cometh to pass, when he seeth her, that he rendeth his garments, and saith, 'Alas, my daughter, thou hast caused me greatly to bend, and thou hast been among those troubling me; and I — I have opened my mouth unto Jehovah, and I am not able to turn back.'
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.”
36 And she saith unto him, 'My father — thou hast opened thy mouth unto Jehovah, do to me as it hath gone out from thy mouth, after that Jehovah hath done for thee vengeance on thine enemies, on the Bene-Ammon.'
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.”
37 And she saith unto her father, 'Let this thing be done to me; desist from me 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: “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.”
38 And he saith, 'Go;' and he sendeth her away two months, and she goeth, she and her friends, and she weepeth for her virginity on the hills;
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.
39 and it cometh to pass at the end of two months that she turneth back unto her father, and he doth to her his vow which he hath vowed, and she knew not a man; and it is a statute in Israel:
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,
40 from time to time the daughters of Israel go to talk to the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a year.
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.
