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Jephthah Becomes Israel’s Judge
Now Jephthah of Gilead was a great warrior. He was the son of Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute.
Now Jephthah of Gilead was a great warrior. He was the son of Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute.
Jephthah Delivers Israel
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead had begotten Jephthah.
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead had begotten Jephthah.
Gilead’s wife also had several sons, and when these half brothers grew up, they chased Jephthah off the land. “You will not get any of our father’s inheritance,” they said, “for you are the son of a prostitute.”
And Gilead's wife bore him sons; and when his wife's sons were grown, they expelled Jephthah, and said to him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of another woman.
So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Soon he had a band of worthless rebels following him.
Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob. And vain men were gathered to Jephthah, and they made expeditions with him.
At about this time, the Ammonites began their war against Israel.
And it came to pass after some time, that the children of Ammon fought with Israel.
When the Ammonites attacked, the elders of Gilead sent for Jephthah in the land of Tob.
And when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob.
The elders said, “Come and be our commander! Help us fight the Ammonites!”
And they said to Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight against the children of Ammon.
But Jephthah said to them, “Aren’t you the ones who hated me and drove me from my father’s house? Why do you come to me now when you’re in trouble?”
And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come to me now when ye are in trouble?
“Because we need you,” the elders replied. “If you lead us in battle against the Ammonites, we will make you ruler over all the people of Gilead.”
And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Therefore we have returned to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be head over all of us the inhabitants of Gilead.
Jephthah said to the elders, “Let me get this straight. If I come with you and if the LORD gives me victory over the Ammonites, will you really make me ruler over all the people?”
And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If ye take me back to fight against the children of Ammon, and Jehovah give them up before me, shall I be your head?
“The LORD is our witness,” the elders replied. “We promise to do whatever you say.”
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Jehovah be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words!
So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their ruler and commander of the army. At Mizpah, in the presence of the LORD, Jephthah repeated what he had said to the elders.
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 Jehovah in Mizpah.
Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon, asking, “Why have you come out to fight against my land?”
And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight against my land?
The king of Ammon answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When the Israelites came out of Egypt, they stole my land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River and all the way to the Jordan. Now then, give back the land peaceably.”
And the king of the children of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even unto the Jabbok and unto the Jordan; and now restore it peaceably.
Jephthah sent this message back to the Ammonite king:
And Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the children of Ammon,
“This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not steal any land from Moab or Ammon.
and said to him, Thus saith Jephthah: Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon.
But when they came up from Egypt, then Israel walked through the wilderness as far as the Red sea, and came to Kadesh.
they sent messengers to the king of Edom asking for permission to pass through his land. But their request was denied. Then they asked the king of Moab for similar permission, but he wouldn’t let them pass through either. So the people of Israel stayed in Kadesh.
And Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land; but the king of Edom would not hearken. And they also sent to the king of Moab; and he would not. And Israel abode in Kadesh.
“Finally, they went around Edom and Moab through the wilderness. They traveled along Moab’s eastern border and camped on the other side of the Arnon River. But they never once crossed the Arnon River into Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.
And they walked through the wilderness, and went round the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came by the east of the land of Moab, and encamped beyond the Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab, for the Arnon is the border of Moab.
“Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, asking for permission to cross through his land to get to their destination.
And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land unto my place.
But King Sihon didn’t trust Israel to pass through his land. Instead, he mobilized his army at Jahaz and attacked them.
But Sihon trusted not Israel, to let him pass through his border, and Sihon gathered all his people, and they encamped in Jahzah; and he fought with Israel.
But the LORD, the God of Israel, gave his people victory over King Sihon. So Israel took control of all the land of the Amorites, who lived in that region,
And Jehovah the God of Israel gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them; and Israel took possession of the whole land of the Amorites, who dwelt in that country.
from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and from the eastern wilderness to the Jordan.
And they possessed all the borders of the Amorites, from the Arnon unto the Jabbok, and from the wilderness unto the Jordan.
“So you see, it was the LORD, the God of Israel, who took away the land from the Amorites and gave it to Israel. Why, then, should we give it back to you?
And now Jehovah the God of Israel has dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou take possession of it?
You keep whatever your god Chemosh gives you, and we will keep whatever the LORD our God gives us.
Dost not thou possess what Chemosh thy god puts thee in possession of? and whatever Jehovah our God has dispossessed before us, that will we possess.
Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he try to make a case against Israel for disputed land? Did he go to war against them?
And now art thou indeed better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive with Israel? did he ever fight against them?
“Israel has been living here for 300 years, inhabiting Heshbon and its surrounding settlements, all the way to Aroer and its settlements, and in all the towns along the Arnon River. Why have you made no effort to recover it before now?
While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its dependent villages, and in Aroer and its dependent villages, and in all the cities that are along the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years -- why did ye not recover [them] within that time?
Therefore, I have not sinned against you. Rather, you have wronged me by attacking me. Let the LORD, who is judge, decide today which of us is right — Israel or Ammon.”
So I have not sinned against thee, but it is thou who doest me wrong in making war against me. Jehovah, the Judge, be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon!
But the king of Ammon paid no attention to Jephthah’s message.
But the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not to the words of Jephthah that he had sent him.
Jephthah’s Vow
At that time the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he led an army against the Ammonites.
Jephthah's Tragic Vow
Then the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed to Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the children of Ammon.
Then the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed to Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the children of Ammon.
And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites,
And Jephthah vowed a vow to Jehovah, and said, If thou wilt without fail give the children of Ammon into my hand,
I will give to the LORD whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
then shall that which cometh forth from the door of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, be Jehovah's, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering.
So Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave him victory.
And Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and Jehovah gave them into his hand.
He crushed the Ammonites, devastating about twenty towns from Aroer to an area near Minnith and as far away as Abel-keramim. In this way Israel defeated the Ammonites.
And he smote them from Aroer until thou come to Minnith, twenty cities, even unto Abel-Cheramim, with a very great slaughter; and the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy. She was his one and only child; he had no other sons or daughters.
And Jephthah came to Mizpah to his house, and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambours and with dances; and she was an only child: besides her he had neither son nor daughter.
When he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish. “Oh, my daughter!” he cried out. “You have completely destroyed me! You’ve brought disaster on me! For I have made a vow to the LORD, and I cannot take it back.”
And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his garments, 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 to Jehovah, and I cannot go back.
And she said, “Father, if you have made a vow to the LORD, you must do to me what you have vowed, for the LORD has given you a great victory over your enemies, the Ammonites.
And she said to him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to Jehovah, do to me according to that which has proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as Jehovah has taken vengeance for thee upon thine enemies, upon the children of Ammon.
But first let me do this one thing: Let me go up and roam in the hills and weep with my friends for two months, because I will die a virgin.”
And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go and descend to the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
“You may go,” Jephthah said. And he sent her away for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never have children.
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.
When she returned home, her father kept the vow he had made, and she died a virgin.
So it has become a custom in Israel
So it has become a custom in Israel
And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, and he performed on her the vow that he had vowed; and she had known no man. And it became a fixed custom in Israel,