11 Jephthah of Gilead was a brave soldier. His father's name was Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute. 2 Gilead's wife also gave birth to sons for him. When they were older, they sent Jephthah away from the family home. They said to him, ‘You will not receive any of our father's things when he dies. You are the son of a prostitute, not our mother.’
3 So Jephthah ran away from his brothers. He went to live in the land of Tob. Other men joined the group that Jephthah led. They did not obey any laws.
4 Some time later, the Ammonite soldiers came to fight against Israel. 5 When the Ammonites attacked, the leaders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 They said to him, ‘Come and lead our army to fight against the Ammonites.’
7 Jephthah said to them, ‘Before this, you hated me. You made me leave my father's house. So why do you come to me for help, now that you are in trouble?’
8 The leaders of Gilead replied, ‘But we really need you to help us. Please join us to fight against the Ammonites. Then we will make you the leader of everyone who lives in Gilead.’
9 Jephthah said to them, ‘So, you are saying that I should come back home to fight with you against the Ammonites. You are saying that if the Lord gives them to me, I will be your leader. Is that really true?’
10 The leaders of Gilead said, ‘We promise to do that. The Lord will judge between us if we do not do what you have said.’ 11 So Jephthah went back with them to Gilead. The people made him their ruler and leader of their army. In Mizpah, Jephthah repeated his promise to the Lord .
12 Jephthah sent men with a message to the Ammonite king. He asked, ‘Why have you come to fight against our people? What have we done to make you angry?’
13 The Ammonite king answered Jephthah's men, ‘You Israelites came here from Egypt and you took our land on the east side of the Jordan River. You have taken for yourselves all our land from the Arnon river in the south to the Jabbok river in the north. You have taken it all, as far as the Jordan River in the west. Now give it back to us, so that we do not need to fight for it.’
14 Jephthah sent the men back to the Ammonite king. 15 They said to him, ‘This is what Jephthah says: “Israel did not take for themselves the land of Moab, or the land of the Ammonites. 16 When the Israelites left Egypt, they went through the desert as far as the Red Sea. Then they travelled to Kadesh. 17 Then they sent a message to the king of Edom. They asked him, ‘Please let us travel through your land.’ But the king of Edom refused to let them do that. The Israelites sent the same message to the king of Moab. He also refused to agree. So the Israelites stayed at Kadesh.
18 Next, the Israelites went through the desert, around the edge of Edom and Moab. They arrived on the east side of Moab's land. They put up their tents on the other side of the Arnon river, which was the border of Moab's land. They did not go into Moab.
19 Sihon was the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon. The Israelites sent a message to him. They asked him, ‘Please let us travel through your land to our own place.’ 20 But King Sihon did not trust the Israelites. He would not let them travel through his land. He brought his whole army to meet together at Jahaz. Then he fought against the Israelites.
21 The Lord , Israel's God, put Sihon and his whole army under the power of the Israelites. The Israelites won the fight against the Amorites. They took the Amorites' land for themselves. 22 The land went from the Arnon river in the south to the Jabbok river in the north. It went from the desert in the east to the Jordan River in the west.
23 You should realize that the Lord , Israel's God, chased out the Amorites. He has done that so that his own people, the Israelites, can live there. So why do you think that you can take it from them? 24 You may take the land that your god Chemosh gives to you. We will live in the land that the Lord our God has given to us. 25 Do you think that you are better than Zippor's son Balak, king of Moab? He was not brave enough to argue with the Israelites or to fight against them. 26 Israelites have been living here for 300 years! They have lived in Heshbon and Aroer and the villages around those towns. They have lived in all the towns along the Arnon river too. In all that time, you have not tried to take back those places for yourselves.
27 I have not done anything to hurt you. You are the one who is doing something wrong if you attack us. The Lord himself is the judge! He will decide whether the Israelites or the Ammonites are doing what is right.” ’
28 The Ammonite king refused to listen to the message that Jephthah had sent to him.
29 Then the Lord 's Spirit took hold of Jephthah. Jephthah travelled through the land of Gilead and of Manasseh. He arrived at Mizpah in Gilead and he prepared to fight against the Ammonites. 30 Jephthah promised the Lord , ‘Please let us win the battle against the Ammonites. 31 Then, when I return home safely, I will give you a burnt offering. Whatever is first to come out through the door of my house as I arrive, I will offer it to you as a sacrifice.’
32 Then Jephthah went to attack the Ammonites. The Lord put them under his power. 33 Jephthah destroyed them all the way from Aroer to Minnith. He took 20 Ammonite cities, as far as Abel Karamim. He completely destroyed them! So the Israelites had complete power over the Ammonites.
34 After that, Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah. As he arrived, his daughter came out to meet him. She was dancing and making music with a tambourine. She was Jephthah's only child. He had no other son or daughter. 35 When Jephthah saw her, he was so upset that he tore his clothes. He said, ‘Oh no! My daughter! You have made me very sad. I made a serious promise to the Lord and I must do what I promised.’
36 She said to her father, ‘You have made a promise to the Lord . You must do to me what you told him you would do. The Lord gave you the power to punish your enemies, the Ammonites. So you must do what you promised him. 37 But please allow me to do this one thing. Let me walk in the hills with my friends for two months. I need time to be sad because I will die before I can marry a man.’
38 Jephthah said, ‘You may go.’ He sent her away from home for two months. She and her friends walked in the hills. They wept together because she would never marry. 39 After two months she returned to her father, Jephthah. He did what he had promised to the Lord . His daughter never married. 40 Because of that, the young women of Israel now go into the hills for four days every year. They do that to remember the daughter of Jephthah, the man from Gilead.
11 Jephthah was from the tribe of Gilead. He was a strong soldier. But Jephthah was the son of a prostitute. His father was a man named Gilead. 2 Gilead’s wife had several sons. When they grew up, they did not like Jephthah. They forced Jephthah to leave his hometown. They said to him, “You will not get any of our father’s property, because you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah went away because of his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. In the land of Tob, some rough men began to follow Jephthah.
4 After a time the Ammonites fought with the Israelites. 5 The Ammonites were fighting against Israel, so the elders in Gilead went to Jephthah. They wanted Jephthah to leave the land of Tob and come back to Gilead.
6 The elders said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader so that we can fight the Ammonites.”
7 But Jephthah said to the elders of the land of Gilead, “You forced me to leave my father’s house. You hate me. So why are you coming to me now that you are having trouble?”
8 The elders from Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is the reason we have come to you now. Please come with us and fight against the Ammonites. You will be the commander over all the people living in Gilead.”
9 Then Jephthah said to the elders from Gilead, “If you want me to come back to Gilead and fight the Ammonites, I will do it. But if the Lord helps me win, I will be your new leader.”
10 The elders from Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord is listening to everything we are saying. And we promise to do everything you tell us to do.”
11 So Jephthah went with the elders from Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated all of his words in front of the Lord at the city of Mizpah.
12 Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with this message: “What is the problem between the Ammonites and the Israelites? Why have you come to fight in our land?”
13 The king of the Ammonites said to the messengers of Jephthah, “We are fighting Israel because the Israelites took our land when they came up from Egypt. They took our land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River to the Jordan River. Now, tell the Israelites to give our land back to us without fighting for it.”
14 So the messengers of Jephthah took this message back to Jephthah. [ a ] Then Jephthah sent the messengers to the king of the Ammonites again. 15 They took this message:
“This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of the Moabites or the land of the Ammonites. 16 When the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, they went into the desert. They went to the Red Sea. Then they went to Kadesh. 17 The Israelites sent messengers to the king of Edom. The messengers asked for a favor. They said, ‘Let the Israelites cross through your land.’ But the king of Edom didn’t let us go through his land. We also sent the same message to the king of Moab. But the king of Moab would not let us go through his land either. So the Israelites stayed at Kadesh.
18 “Then the Israelites went through the desert and around the edges of the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They traveled east of the land of Moab. They made their camp on the other side of the Arnon River. They did not cross the border of the land of Moab. (The Arnon River was the border of the land of Moab.)
19 “Then the Israelites sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites. Sihon was the king of the city of Heshbon. The messengers asked Sihon, ‘Let the Israelites pass through your land. We want to go to our land.’ 20 But King Sihon of the Amorites would not let the Israelites cross his borders. So Sihon gathered all of his people and made a camp at Jahaz. Then the Amorites fought with the Israelites. 21 But the Lord , the God of Israel, helped the Israelites defeat Sihon and his army. So the land of the Amorites became the property of the Israelites. 22 The Israelites got all the land of the Amorites from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. The land also went from the desert to the Jordan River.
23 “It was the Lord , the God of Israel, who forced the Amorites to leave their land. And he gave the land to the Israelites. Do you think you can make the Israelites leave this land? 24 Surely you can live in the land that your god Chemosh has given to you. So we will live in the land that the Lord our God has given to us. 25 Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor [ b ] ? He was the king of the land of Moab. Did he argue with the Israelites? Did he actually fight with the Israelites? 26 The Israelites have lived in the city of Heshbon and the towns around it for 300 years. They have lived in the city of Aroer and the towns around it for 300 years. They have lived in all the cities along the side of the Arnon River for 300 years. Why have you not tried to take these cities in all that time? 27 The Israelites have not sinned against you. But you are doing a very bad thing against them. May the Lord , the true Judge, decide whether the Israelites or the Ammonites are right.”
28 The king of the Ammonites refused to listen to this message from Jephthah.
29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, and he passed through the area of Gilead and Manasseh. He went through the city of Mizpah in Gilead on his way to the land of the Ammonites.
30 Jephthah made a promise to the Lord . He said, “If you will let me defeat the Ammonites, 31 I will give you the first thing that comes out of my house when I come back from the victory. I will give it to the Lord as a burnt offering.”
32 Then Jephthah went to the land of the Ammonites. He fought the Ammonites, and the Lord helped him defeat them. 33 He defeated them from the city of Aroer to the city of Minnith. Jephthah captured 20 cities. Then he fought the Ammonites to the city of Abel Keramim. The Israelites defeated them. It was a very great defeat for the Ammonites.
34 Jephthah went back to Mizpah. He went to his house, and his daughter came out to meet him. She was playing a tambourine and dancing. She was his only daughter, and Jephthah loved her very much. He did not have any other sons or daughters. 35 When Jephthah saw that his daughter was the first thing to come out of his house, he tore his clothes to show his sadness. Then he said, “Oh, my daughter! You have ruined me! You have made me very sad! I made a promise to the Lord , and I cannot change it!”
36 Then his daughter said to Jephthah, “Father, you have made a promise to the Lord , so keep your promise. Do what you said you would do. After all, the Lord did help you defeat your enemies, the Ammonites.”
37 Then Jephthah’s daughter said to her father, “But do this one thing for me first. Let me be alone for two months. Let me go to the mountains. I will not marry and have children, so let me and my friends go and cry together.”
38 Jephthah said, “Go.” He sent her away for two months. Jephthah’s daughter and her friends stayed in the mountains. They cried for her because she would not marry and have children.
39 At the end of two months, Jephthah’s daughter returned to her father, and Jephthah did what he had promised. His daughter never had sexual relations with anyone. So this became a custom in Israel. 40 Every year the young women of Israel would go out for four days to remember the daughter of Jephthah from Gilead and to cry for her.
11 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.
2 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 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 And it came to pass in process of time, 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 captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.
7 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 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 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 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The Lord be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
11 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 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 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 And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon:
15 And 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 Israel came up from Egypt, and walked 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 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 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 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 trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
21 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 And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.
23 So now the Lord God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?
24 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 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 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 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 Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
29 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 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord , and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
31 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 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
33 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
11 Now ( A ) Jephthah the Gileadite was a [ a ] valiant warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. And Gilead had fathered Jephthah. 2 Gilead’s wife bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of ( B ) Tob; and worthless men gathered [ b ] around Jephthah, and they went [ c ] wherever he did.
4 Now it came about, after a while, that ( C ) the sons of Ammon fought against Israel. 5 When the sons of Ammon fought against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob; 6 and they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the sons of Ammon.” 7 But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “ ( D ) Did you not hate me and drive me from my father’s house? So why have you come to me now when you are in trouble?” 8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “For this reason we have now returned to you, that you may go with us and fight the sons of Ammon, and ( E ) become our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 9 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the Lord gives them up [ d ] to me, will I become your head?” 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “ ( F ) The Lord is [ e ] witness between us; be assured we will do [ f ] as you have said.” 11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at ( G ) Mizpah.
12 So Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, “What conflict do you and I have, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” 13 And the king of the sons of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthah, “ It is because Israel ( H ) took my land when they came up from Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the ( I ) Jabbok and the Jordan; so return them peaceably now.” 14 But Jephthah sent messengers once again to the king of the sons of Ammon, 15 and they said to him, “This is what Jephthah says: ‘Israel did not take the land of Moab nor the land of the sons of Ammon. 16 For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel ( J ) went through the wilderness to the [ g ] Red Sea, and ( K ) came to Kadesh, 17 then Israel ( L ) sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let us pass through your land”; but the king of Edom would not listen. ( M ) And they also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. 18 Then they went through the wilderness and ( N ) around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came to the east side of the land of Moab, and they camped beyond the Arnon; but they ( O ) did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. 19 And Israel sent ( P ) messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, “Please let us pass through your land to our place.” 20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people and camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. 21 And the Lord , the God of Israel, handed Sihon and all his people over to Israel, and they [ h ] ( Q ) defeated them; so Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. 22 ( R ) So they possessed all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and from the wilderness as far as the Jordan. 23 And now the Lord , the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from His people Israel; so should you possess it? 24 Do you not possess what ( S ) Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess it. 25 Now then, are you any better than ( T ) Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel, or did he ever fight against them? 26 ( U ) While Israel was living in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time? 27 So I have not sinned against you, but you are doing me wrong by making war against me. ( V ) May the Lord , the Judge, judge today between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.’” 28 But the king of the sons of Ammon [ i ] disregarded the message which Jephthah sent him.
29 Now ( W ) the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If You will indeed hand over to me the sons of Ammon, 31 then whatever comes out the doors of my house to meet me when I return [ j ] safely from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the Lord ’ s , and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” 32 So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord handed them over to him. 33 He [ k ] inflicted a very great defeat on them from Aroer [ l ] to the entrance of ( X ) Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel.
34 But Jephthah came to his house at ( Y ) Mizpah, and behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him ( Z ) with tambourines and with dancing. And she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. 35 So when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Oh, my daughter! You have brought me disaster, and you are among those who trouble me; for I have [ m ] given my word to the Lord , and ( AA ) I cannot take it back.” 36 So she said to him, “My father, you have [ n ] given your word to the Lord ; ( AB ) do to me just as [ o ] you have said, since the Lord has brought you vengeance on your enemies, the sons of Ammon.” 37 And she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; allow me two months, so that I may [ p ] go to the mountains and weep because of ( AC ) my virginity, I and my friends.” 38 Then he said, “Go.” So he let her go for two months; and she left with her friends, and wept on the mountains because of her virginity. 39 And at the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her [ q ] what he had vowed; and she [ r ] had no relations with a man. And it became a custom in Israel, 40 that the [ s ] daughters of Israel went annually to [ t ] commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days in the year.
11 Jephthah ( A ) the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. ( B ) His father was Gilead; ( C ) his mother was a prostitute. ( D ) 2 Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, ( E ) where a gang of scoundrels ( F ) gathered around him and followed him.
4 Some time later, when the Ammonites ( G ) were fighting against Israel, 5 the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites.”
7 Jephthah said to them, “Didn’t you hate me and drive me from my father’s house? ( H ) Why do you come to me now, when you’re in trouble?”
8 The elders of Gilead said to him, “Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be head ( I ) over all of us who live in Gilead.”
9 Jephthah answered, “Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me—will I really be your head?”
10 The elders of Gilead replied, “The Lord is our witness; ( J ) we will certainly do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders ( K ) of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated ( L ) all his words before the Lord in Mizpah. ( M )
12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: “What do you have against me that you have attacked my country?”
13 The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon ( N ) to the Jabbok, ( O ) all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably.”
14 Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, 15 saying:
“This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab ( P ) or the land of the Ammonites. ( Q ) 16 But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea [ a ] ( R ) and on to Kadesh. ( S ) 17 Then Israel sent messengers ( T ) to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Give us permission to go through your country,’ ( U ) but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab, ( V ) and he refused. ( W ) So Israel stayed at Kadesh.
18 “Next they traveled through the wilderness, skirted the lands of Edom ( X ) and Moab, passed along the eastern side ( Y ) of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. ( Z ) They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was its border.
19 “Then Israel sent messengers ( AA ) to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, ( AB ) and said to him, ‘Let us pass through your country to our own place.’ ( AC ) 20 Sihon, however, did not trust Israel [ b ] to pass through his territory. He mustered all his troops and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. ( AD )
21 “Then the Lord , the God of Israel, gave Sihon and his whole army into Israel’s hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country, 22 capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan. ( AE )
23 “Now since the Lord , the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over? 24 Will you not take what your god Chemosh ( AF ) gives you? Likewise, whatever the Lord our God has given us, ( AG ) we will possess. 25 Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, ( AH ) king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them? ( AI ) 26 For three hundred years Israel occupied ( AJ ) Heshbon, Aroer, ( AK ) the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn’t you retake them during that time? 27 I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the Lord , the Judge, ( AL ) decide ( AM ) the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites. ( AN ) ”
28 The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.
29 Then the Spirit ( AO ) of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah ( AP ) of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. ( AQ ) 30 And Jephthah made a vow ( AR ) to the Lord : “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph ( AS ) from the Ammonites will be the Lord ’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering. ( AT ) ”
32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, ( AU ) as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.
34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing ( AV ) to the sound of timbrels! ( AW ) She was an only child. ( AX ) Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes ( AY ) and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break. ( AZ ) ”
36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord . Do to me just as you promised, ( BA ) now that the Lord has avenged you ( BB ) of your enemies, ( BC ) the Ammonites. 37 But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”
38 “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. 39 After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.
From this comes the Israelite tradition 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
