Judges 11

1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.2 And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of another woman.3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain fellows to Jephthah, and they went out with him.

4 And it came to pass after a while, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.5 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 and they said unto Jephthah, Come and be our chief, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.7 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and drive me out of my father’s house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?8 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore are we turned again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight with the children of Ammon; and thou shalt be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight with the children of Ammon, and Jehovah deliver them before me, shall I be your head?10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Jehovah shall be witness between us; surely according to thy word so will we do.11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them: and Jephthah spake all his words before Jehovah in Mizpah.

12 And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come unto me to fight against my land?13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when he came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even unto the Jabbok, and unto the Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.14 And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon;15 and he said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah: Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon,16 but when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness unto the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh;17 then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land; but the king of Edom hearkened not. And in like manner he sent unto the king of Moab; but he would not: and Israel abode in Kadesh.18 Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they encamped on the other side of the Arnon; but they came not within the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.19 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 unto my place.20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.21 And Jehovah, the 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 And they possessed all the border of the Amorites, from the Arnon even unto the Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto the Jordan.23 So now Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess them?24 Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever Jehovah our God hath dispossessed from before us, them will we possess.25 And now art thou anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?26 While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of the Arnon, three hundred years; wherefore did ye not recover them within that time?27 I therefore have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: Jehovah, the Judge, be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.28 Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.

29 Then the Spirit of Jehovah 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 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto Jehovah, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand,31 then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be Jehovah’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering.32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and Jehovah delivered them into his hand.33 And he smote them from Aroer until thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto Abelcheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

34 And Jephthah came to Mizpah unto his house; and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter.35 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 Jehovah, and I cannot go back.36 And she said unto him, My father, thou hast opened thy mouth unto Jehovah; do unto me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth, forasmuch as Jehovah hath taken vengeance for thee on thine enemies, even on the children of Ammon.37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.39 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 not man. And it was a custom in Israel,40 that the daughters of Israel went yearly to celebrate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

Judges 11

1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father.t2 Gilead’s wife also gavet him sons. When his wife’s sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him, “You are not going to inherit any of our father’s wealth,t because you are another woman’s son.”

3 So Jephthah leftt his half-brotherst and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah’s gang and traveled with him.t
4 It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel.5 When the Ammonites attacked,t the leaderst of Gilead asked Jephthah to come backt from the land of Tob.6 They said,t “Come, be our commander, so we can fight with the Ammonites.”7 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “But you hated me and made me leavet my father’s house. Why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?”8 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That may be true,t but now we pledge to you our loyalty.t Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leaders of all who live in Gilead.”t9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right!t If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me,t I will be your leader.”t10 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will judge any grievance you have against us,t if we do not do as you say.”s

11 So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreementt before the Lord in Mizpah.

Jephthah Gives a History Lesson

12 Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, “Why havet you come against me to attack my land?”

13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stolet my land when theyt came up from Egypt – from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan.t Now return its peaceably!”
14 Jephthah sent messengers back to the Ammonite king15 and said to him, “This is what Jephthah says, ‘Israel did not stealt the land of Moab and the land of the Ammonites.16 When they leftt Egypt, Israel traveledt through the desert as far as the Red Sea and then came to Kadesh.17 Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please allow ust to pass through your land.” But the king of Edom rejected the request.t Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate.t So Israel stayed at Kadesh.18 Then Israelt went through the desert and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They traveled east of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River;t they did not go through Moabite territory (the Arnon was Moab’s border).19 Israel sent messengers to King Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, “Please allow us to pass through your land to our land.”t20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. Het assembled his whole army,t camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.21 The Lord God of Israel handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel and they defeated them. Israel tookt all the land of the Amorites who lived in that land.22 They took all the Amorite territory from the Arnon River on the south to the Jabbok River on the north, from the desert in the east to the Jordan in the west.t23 Sincet the Lord God of Israel has driven outt the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can just take it from them?t24 You have the right to take what Chemosh your god gives you, but we will take the land of all whom the Lord our God has driven out before us.t25 Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them?ts26 Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time?27 I have not done you wrong,t but you are doing wrongt by attacking me. May the Lord, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!’”

28 But the Ammonite king disregardedt the message sent by Jephthah.t

A Foolish Vow Spells Death for a Daughter

29 The Lord’s spirit empoweredt Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and wentt to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites.t30 Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, saying, “If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me,31 then whoever is the first to come throught the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites – het will belong to the Lord andt I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice.”32 Jephthah approachedt the Ammonites to fight with them, and the Lord handed them over to him.

33 He defeated them from Aroer all the way to Minnith – twenty cities in all, even as far as Abel Keramim! He wiped them out!t The Israelites humiliated the Ammonites.t
34 When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying outt to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines.t She was his only child; except for her he had no son or daughter.35 When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said, “Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me!t You have brought me disaster!t I made an oath to the Lord, and I cannot break it.”t36 She said to him, “My father, sincet you made an oath to the Lord, do to me as you promised.t After all, the Lord vindicated you beforet your enemies, the Ammonites.”37 She then said to her father, “Please grant me this one wish.t For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity.”t38 He said, “You may go.” He permitted her to leavet for two months. She went with her friends and mourned her virginity as she walked through the hills.t39 After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin.t Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel.t

40 Every yeart Israelite women commemoratet the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days.t