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Judges 11:12-28
New American Standard Bible
Judges 11:12-28
New American Standard Bible
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 (A)took my land when they came up from Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the (B)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 (C)went through the wilderness to the [a]Red Sea, and (D)came to Kadesh, 17 then Israel (E)sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let us pass through your land”; but the king of Edom would not listen. (F)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 (G)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 (H)did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. 19 And Israel sent (I)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 [b](J)defeated them; so Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. 22 (K)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 (L)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 (M)Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel, or did he ever fight against them? 26 (N)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. (O)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 [c]disregarded the message which Jephthah sent him.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 11:16 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Judges 11:21 Lit struck
- Judges 11:28 Lit did not listen to the words
Judges 11:12-28
New Living Translation
Judges 11:12-28
New Living Translation
12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon, asking, “Why have you come out to fight against my land?”
13 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.”
14 Jephthah sent this message back to the Ammonite king:
15 “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not steal any land from Moab or Ammon. 16 When the people of Israel arrived at Kadesh on their journey from Egypt after crossing the Red Sea,[a] 17 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.
18 “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.
19 “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. 20 But King Sihon didn’t trust Israel to pass through his land. Instead, he mobilized his army at Jahaz and attacked them. 21 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, 22 from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and from the eastern wilderness to the Jordan.
23 “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? 24 You keep whatever your god Chemosh gives you, and we will keep whatever the Lord our God gives us. 25 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?
26 “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? 27 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.”
28 But the king of Ammon paid no attention to Jephthah’s message.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 11:16 Hebrew sea of reeds.
Judges 11:12-28
New International Version
Judges 11:12-28
New International Version
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(A) to the Jabbok,(B) 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(C) or the land of the Ammonites.(D) 16 But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea[a](E) and on to Kadesh.(F) 17 Then Israel sent messengers(G) to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Give us permission to go through your country,’(H) but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab,(I) and he refused.(J) So Israel stayed at Kadesh.
18 “Next they traveled through the wilderness, skirted the lands of Edom(K) and Moab, passed along the eastern side(L) of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon.(M) They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was its border.
19 “Then Israel sent messengers(N) to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon,(O) and said to him, ‘Let us pass through your country to our own place.’(P) 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.(Q)
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.(R)
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(S) gives you? Likewise, whatever the Lord our God has given us,(T) we will possess. 25 Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor,(U) king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them?(V) 26 For three hundred years Israel occupied(W) Heshbon, Aroer,(X) 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,(Y) decide(Z) the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites.(AA)”
28 The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.
Footnotes
- Judges 11:16 Or the Sea of Reeds
- Judges 11:20 Or however, would not make an agreement for Israel
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.