Κριταί 11
1 καὶ Ιεφθαε ὁ Γαλααδίτης ἐπηρμένος δυνάμει καὶ αὐτὸς υἱὸς γυναικὸς πόρνης ἣ ἐγέννησεν τῷ Γαλααδ τὸν Ιεφθαε
[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.
2 καὶ ἔτεκεν ἡ γυνὴ Γαλααδ αὐτῷ υἱούς καὶ ἡδρύνθησαν οἱ υἱοὶ τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ ἐξέβαλον τὸν Ιεφθαε καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ οὐ κληρονομήσεις ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν ὅτι υἱὸς γυναικὸς ἑταίρας σύ
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.”
3 καὶ ἔφυγεν Ιεφθαε ἀπὸ προσώπου ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ᾤκησεν ἐν γῇ Τωβ καὶ συνεστράφησαν πρὸς Ιεφθαε ἄνδρες κενοὶ καὶ ἐξῆλθον μετ’ αὐτοῦ
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.
Some time later, the Ammon people-group started to fight against the Israelis.
5 καὶ ἐγένετο ἡνίκα παρετάξαντο οἱ υἱοὶ Αμμων μετὰ Ισραηλ καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν οἱ πρεσβύτεροι Γαλααδ λαβεῖν τὸν Ιεφθαε ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς Τωβ
When that happened [DOU], the leaders of [the] Gilead [region] went to Jephthah to bring him back from the Tob region [to their area].
6 καὶ εἶπαν τῷ Ιεφθαε δεῦρο καὶ ἔσῃ ἡμῖν εἰς ἀρχηγόν καὶ παραταξώμεθα πρὸς υἱοὺς Αμμων
They said to him, “Come [with us] and lead our army, and [help us to] fight against the men from the Ammon people-group!”
7 καὶ εἶπεν Ιεφθαε τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις Γαλααδ οὐχὶ ὑμεῖς ἐμισήσατέ με καὶ ἐξεβάλετέ με ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός μου καὶ ἐξαπεστείλατέ με ἀφ’ ὑμῶν καὶ διὰ τί ἤλθατε πρός με νῦν ἡνίκα χρῄζετε
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?”
8 καὶ εἶπαν οἱ πρεσβύτεροι Γαλααδ πρὸς Ιεφθαε διὰ τοῦτο νῦν ἐπεστρέψαμεν πρὸς σέ καὶ πορεύσῃ μεθ’ ἡμῶν καὶ παρατάξῃ πρὸς υἱοὺς Αμμων καὶ ἔσῃ ἡμῖν εἰς ἄρχοντα πᾶσιν τοῖς οἰκοῦσιν Γαλααδ
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].”
9 καὶ εἶπεν Ιεφθαε πρὸς τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους Γαλααδ εἰ ἐπιστρέφετέ με ὑμεῖς παρατάξασθαι ἐν υἱοῖς Αμμων καὶ παραδῷ κύριος αὐτοὺς ἐνώπιον ἐμοῦ καὶ ἐγὼ ἔσομαι ὑμῖν εἰς ἄρχοντα
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?”
10 καὶ εἶπαν οἱ πρεσβύτεροι Γαλααδ πρὸς Ιεφθαε κύριος ἔστω ἀκούων ἀνὰ μέσον ἡμῶν εἰ μὴ κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου οὕτως ποιήσομεν
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.”
11 καὶ ἐπορεύθη Ιεφθαε μετὰ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων Γαλααδ καὶ ἔθηκαν αὐτὸν ὁ λαὸς ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς εἰς κεφαλὴν καὶ εἰς ἀρχηγόν καὶ ἐλάλησεν Ιεφθαε τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ πάντας ἐνώπιον κυρίου ἐν Μασσηφα
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].
12 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ιεφθαε ἀγγέλους πρὸς βασιλέα υἱῶν Αμμων λέγων τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί ὅτι ἦλθες πρός με τοῦ παρατάξασθαι ἐν τῇ γῇ μου
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?”
13 καὶ εἶπεν βασιλεὺς υἱῶν Αμμων πρὸς τοὺς ἀγγέλους Ιεφθαε ὅτι ἔλαβεν Ισραηλ τὴν γῆν μου ἐν τῷ ἀναβαίνειν αὐτὸν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἀπὸ Αρνων καὶ ἕως Ιαβοκ καὶ ἕως τοῦ Ιορδάνου καὶ νῦν ἐπίστρεψον αὐτὰς ἐν εἰρήνῃ καὶ πορεύσομαι
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).”
14 καὶ προσέθηκεν ἔτι Ιεφθαε καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἀγγέλους πρὸς βασιλέα υἱῶν Αμμων
[The messengers returned to Jephthah and told him what the king had said]. So Jephthah sent the messengers to the king again.
15 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ οὕτω λέγει Ιεφθαε οὐκ ἔλαβεν Ισραηλ τὴν γῆν Μωαβ καὶ τὴν γῆν υἱῶν Αμμων
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.
16 ὅτι ἐν τῷ ἀναβαίνειν αὐτοὺς ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐπορεύθη Ισραηλ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἕως θαλάσσης Σιφ καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς Καδης
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].
17 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ισραηλ ἀγγέλους πρὸς βασιλέα Εδωμ λέγων παρελεύσομαι δὴ ἐν τῇ γῇ σου καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσεν βασιλεὺς Εδωμ καὶ πρὸς βασιλέα Μωαβ ἀπέστειλεν καὶ οὐκ εὐδόκησεν καὶ ἐκάθισεν Ισραηλ ἐν Καδης
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].
18 καὶ ἐπορεύθη ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καὶ ἐκύκλωσεν τὴν γῆν Εδωμ καὶ τὴν γῆν Μωαβ καὶ ἦλθεν ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν ἡλίου τῇ γῇ Μωαβ καὶ παρενέβαλον ἐν πέραν Αρνων καὶ οὐκ εἰσῆλθεν ἐν ὁρίοις Μωαβ ὅτι Αρνων ὅριον Μωαβ
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].
19 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ισραηλ ἀγγέλους πρὸς Σηων βασιλέα τοῦ Αμορραίου βασιλέα Εσεβων καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ισραηλ παρέλθωμεν δὴ ἐν τῇ γῇ σου ἕως τοῦ τόπου ἡμῶν
‘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].”
20 καὶ οὐκ ἐνεπίστευσεν Σηων τῷ Ισραηλ παρελθεῖν ἐν ὁρίῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ συνῆξεν Σηων τὸν πάντα λαὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ παρενέβαλον εἰς Ιασα καὶ παρετάξατο πρὸς Ισραηλ
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.
21 καὶ παρέδωκεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ τὸν Σηων καὶ πάντα τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἐν χειρὶ Ισραηλ καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτόν καὶ ἐκληρονόμησεν Ισραηλ τὴν πᾶσαν γῆν τοῦ Αμορραίου τοῦ κατοικοῦντος τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην
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.
22 ἀπὸ Αρνων καὶ ἕως τοῦ Ιαβοκ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐρήμου ἕως τοῦ Ιορδάνου
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].
23 καὶ νῦν κύριος ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ ἐξῆρεν τὸν Αμορραῖον ἀπὸ προσώπου λαοῦ αὐτοῦ Ισραηλ καὶ σὺ κληρονομήσεις αὐτόν
‘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]?
24 οὐχὶ ἃ ἐὰν κληρονομήσει σε Χαμως ὁ θεός σου αὐτὰ κληρονομήσεις καὶ τοὺς πάντας οὓς ἐξῆρεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ἀπὸ προσώπου ἡμῶν αὐτοὺς κληρονομήσομεν
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!
25 καὶ νῦν μὴ ἐν ἀγαθῷ ἀγαθώτερος σὺ ὑπὲρ Βαλακ υἱὸν Σεπφωρ βασιλέα Μωαβ μὴ μαχόμενος ἐμαχέσατο μετὰ Ισραηλ ἢ πολεμῶν ἐπολέμησεν αὐτόν
(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]!
26 ἐν τῷ οἰκῆσαι ἐν Εσεβων καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς καὶ ἐν γῇ Αροηρ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς καὶ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς πόλεσιν ταῖς παρὰ τὸν Ιορδάνην τριακόσια ἔτη καὶ διὰ τί οὐκ ἐρρύσω αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ
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]?
27 καὶ νῦν ἐγώ εἰμι οὐχ ἥμαρτόν σοι καὶ σὺ ποιεῖς μετ’ ἐμοῦ πονηρίαν τοῦ παρατάξασθαι ἐν ἐμοί κρίναι κύριος κρίνων σήμερον ἀνὰ μέσον υἱῶν Ισραηλ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον υἱῶν Αμμων
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.’”
28 καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσεν βασιλεὺς υἱῶν Αμμων τῶν λόγων Ιεφθαε ὧν ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς αὐτόν
But the king of the Ammon people-group did not pay attention to that message from Jephthah.
29 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐπὶ Ιεφθαε πνεῦμα κυρίου καὶ παρῆλθεν τὸν Γαλααδ καὶ τὸν Μανασση καὶ παρῆλθεν τὴν σκοπιὰν Γαλααδ εἰς τὸ πέραν υἱῶν Αμμων
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.
30 καὶ ηὔξατο Ιεφθαε εὐχὴν τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ εἶπεν ἐὰν διδοὺς δῷς τοὺς υἱοὺς Αμμων ἐν τῇ χειρί μου
There Jephthah made a solemn promise to Yahweh. He said, “If you will enable my army to defeat [IDM] the Ammon people-group,
31 καὶ ἔσται ὁ ἐκπορευόμενος ὃς ἐὰν ἐξέλθῃ ἀπὸ τῆς θύρας τοῦ οἴκου μου εἰς συνάντησίν μου ἐν τῷ ἐπιστρέφειν με ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἀπὸ υἱῶν Αμμων καὶ ἔσται τῷ κυρίῳ ἀνοίσω αὐτὸν ὁλοκαύτωμα
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].”
32 καὶ παρῆλθεν Ιεφθαε πρὸς υἱοὺς Αμμων παρατάξασθαι πρὸς αὐτούς καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς κύριος ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ
Then Jephthah [and his men] went from Mizpah to attack the Ammon people-group, and Yahweh enabled his army to defeat them.
33 καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ Αροηρ ἕως ἐλθεῖν ἄχρις Αρνων ἐν ἀριθμῷ εἴκοσι πόλεις καὶ ἕως Εβελχαρμιν πληγὴν μεγάλην σφόδρα καὶ συνεστάλησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Αμμων ἀπὸ προσώπου υἱῶν Ισραηλ
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.
34 καὶ ἦλθεν Ιεφθαε εἰς Μασσηφα εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἰδοὺ ἡ θυγάτηρ αὐτοῦ ἐξεπορεύετο εἰς ὑπάντησιν ἐν τυμπάνοις καὶ χοροῖς καὶ ἦν αὕτη μονογενής οὐκ ἦν αὐτῷ ἕτερος υἱὸς ἢ θυγάτηρ
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.
35 καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς εἶδεν αὐτὴν αὐτός διέρρηξεν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν ἆ ἆ θυγάτηρ μου ταραχῇ ἐτάραξάς με καὶ σὺ ἦς ἐν τῷ ταράχῳ μου καὶ ἐγώ εἰμι ἤνοιξα κατὰ σοῦ τὸ στόμα μου πρὸς κύριον καὶ οὐ δυνήσομαι ἐπιστρέψαι
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.”
36 ἡ δὲ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν πάτερ ἤνοιξας τὸ στόμα σου πρὸς κύριον ποίησόν μοι ὃν τρόπον ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ στόματός σου ἐν τῷ ποιῆσαί σοι κύριον ἐκδίκησιν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου ἀπὸ υἱῶν Αμμων
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.”
37 καὶ ἥδε εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτῆς ποιησάτω δὴ ὁ πατήρ μου τὸν λόγον τοῦτον ἔασόν με δύο μῆνας καὶ πορεύσομαι καὶ καταβήσομαι ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη καὶ κλαύσομαι ἐπὶ τὰ παρθένιά μου ἐγώ εἰμι καὶ αἱ συνεταιρίδες μου
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.”
38 καὶ εἶπεν πορεύου καὶ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὴν δύο μῆνας καὶ ἐπορεύθη αὐτὴ καὶ αἱ συνεταιρίδες αὐτῆς καὶ ἔκλαυσεν ἐπὶ τὰ παρθένια αὐτῆς ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη
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.
39 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τέλει τῶν δύο μηνῶν καὶ ἐπέστρεψεν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτῆς καὶ ἐποίησεν ἐν αὐτῇ τὴν εὐχὴν αὐτοῦ ἣν ηὔξατο καὶ αὐτὴ οὐκ ἔγνω ἄνδρα καὶ ἐγένετο εἰς πρόσταγμα ἐν Ισραηλ
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.
40 ἀπὸ ἡμερῶν εἰς ἡμέρας ἐπορεύοντο θυγατέρες Ισραηλ θρηνεῖν τὴν θυγατέρα Ιεφθαε Γαλααδ ἐπὶ τέσσαρας ἡμέρας ἐν τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ
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.
