Jephthah’s Vow and Victory

²⁹ Then ^(A)the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of Gilead he advanced toward the people of Ammon. ³⁰ And Jephthah ^(B)made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, ³¹ then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, ^(C)shall surely be the Lord’s, ^(D)and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

³² So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord delivered them into his hands. ³³ And he ^[a]defeated them from Aroer as far as ^(E)Minnith—twenty cities—and to ^[b]Abel Keramim, with a very great slaughter. Thus the people of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

Jephthah’s Daughter

³⁴ When Jephthah came to his house at ^(F)Mizpah, there was ^(G)his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; 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 ^(H)tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I ^(I)have ^[c]given my word to the Lord, and ^(J)I cannot ^[d]go back on it.”

³⁶ So she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the Lord, ^(K)do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because ^(L)the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon.” ³⁷ Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and ^[e]bewail my virginity, my ^[f]friends and I.”

³⁸ So he said, “Go.” And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. ³⁹ And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he ^(M)carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She ^[g]knew no man.

And it became a custom in Israel ⁴⁰ that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to ^[h]lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Jephthah’s Conflict with Ephraim

12 Then ^(N)the men of Ephraim ^[i]gathered together, crossed over toward Zaphon, and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the people of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down on you with fire!”

² And Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were in a great struggle with the people of Ammon; and when I called you, you did not deliver me out of their hands. ³ So when I saw that you would not deliver me, I ^(O)took my life in my hands and crossed over against the people of Ammon; and the Lord delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?” ⁴ Now Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, “You Gileadites ^(P)are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites.” ⁵ The Gileadites seized the ^(Q)fords of the Jordan before the Ephraimites arrived. And when any Ephraimite who escaped said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” ⁶ then they would say to him, “Then say, ^(R)‘Shibboleth’!”^[j] And he would say, “Sibboleth,” for he could not ^[k]pronounce it right. Then they would take him and kill him at the fords of the Jordan. There fell at that time forty-two thousand Ephraimites.

⁷ And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried among the cities of Gilead.

Hold Fast Your Confession

¹⁹ Therefore, brethren, having ^(A)boldness^[a] to enter ^(B)the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and ^(C)living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹ and having a High Priest over the house of God, ²² let us ^(D)draw near with a true heart ^(E)in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for ^(F)He who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ^25 (G)not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and ^(H)so much the more as you see ^(I)the Day approaching.

The Just Live by Faith

²⁶ For ^(J)if we sin willfully ^(K)after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there ^(L)no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and ^(M)fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three ^(N)witnesses. ^29 (O)Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, ^(P)counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, ^(Q)and insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, ^(R)“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” ^[b]says the Lord. And again, ^(S)“The Lord will judge His people.” ^31 (T)It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³² But ^(U)recall the former days in which, after you were ^[c]illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: ³³ partly while you were made ^(V)a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while ^(W)you became companions of those who were so treated; ³⁴ for you had compassion on ^[d]me ^(X)in my chains, and ^(Y)joyfully accepted the plundering of your ^[e]goods, knowing that ^(Z)you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves ^[f]in heaven. ³⁵ Therefore do not cast away your confidence, ^(AA)which has great reward. ^36 (AB)For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, ^(AC)you may receive the promise:

³⁹ But we are not of those ^(AG)who draw back to ^[j]perdition, but of those who ^(AH)believe to the saving of the soul.

The Birth of Samson^(A)

13 Again the children of Israel ^(B)did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them ^(C)into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

² Now there was a certain man from ^(D)Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. ³ And the ^(E)Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. ⁴ Now therefore, please be careful ^(F)not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. ⁵ For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no ^(G)razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be ^(H)a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall ^(I)begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

⁶ So the woman came and told her husband, saying, ^(J)“A Man of God came to me, and His ^(K)countenance^[a] was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I ^(L)did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. ⁷ And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ”

⁸ Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, and said, “O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.”

⁹ And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. ¹⁰ Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!”

¹¹ So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?”

And He said, “I am.”

¹² Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?”

¹³ So the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. ¹⁴ She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, ^(M)nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.”

¹⁵ Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “Please ^(N)let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.”

¹⁶ And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the Lord.)

¹⁷ Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?”

¹⁸ And the Angel of the Lord said to him, ^(O)“Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”

¹⁹ So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, ^(P)and offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on— ²⁰ it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they ^(Q)fell on their faces to the ground. ²¹ When the Angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, ^(R)then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the Lord.

²² And Manoah said to his wife, ^(S)“We shall surely die, because we have seen God!”

²³ But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.”

²⁴ So the woman bore a son and called his name ^(T)Samson; and ^(U)the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. ^25 (V)And the Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him at ^[b]Mahaneh Dan ^(W)between Zorah and ^(X)Eshtaol.

By Faith We Understand

11 Now faith is the ^[a]substance of things hoped for, the ^[b]evidence ^(A)of things not seen. ² For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

³ By faith we understand that ^(B)the ^[c]worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Faith at the Dawn of History^(C)

⁴ By faith ^(D)Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still ^(E)speaks.

⁵ By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ^(F)“and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. ⁶ But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

⁷ By faith ^(G)Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, ^(H)prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of ^(I)the righteousness which is according to faith.

Faithful Abraham^(J)

⁸ By faith ^(K)Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, ^(L)dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, ^(M)the heirs with him of the same promise; ¹⁰ for he waited for ^(N)the city which has foundations, ^(O)whose builder and maker is God.

¹¹ By faith ^(P)Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and ^(Q)she^[d] bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him ^(R)faithful who had promised. ¹² Therefore from one man, and him as good as ^(S)dead, were born as many as the ^(T)stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

The Heavenly Hope

¹³ These all died in faith, ^(U)not having received the ^(V)promises, but ^(W)having seen them afar off ^[e]were assured of them, embraced them and ^(X)confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ¹⁴ For those who say such things ^(Y)declare plainly that they seek a homeland. ¹⁵ And truly if they had called to mind ^(Z)that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed ^(AA)to be called their God, for He has ^(AB)prepared a city for them.

The Faith of the Patriarchs^(AC)

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, ^(AD)when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, ^18 [f]of whom it was said, ^(AE)“In Isaac your seed shall be called,” ¹⁹ concluding that God ^(AF)was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

²⁰ By faith ^(AG)Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, ^(AH)blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

²² By faith ^(AI)Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

The Faith of Moses^(AJ)

²³ By faith ^(AK)Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s ^(AL)command.

²⁴ By faith ^(AM)Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵ choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the ^[g]passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶ esteeming ^(AN)the ^[h]reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures ^[i]in Egypt; for he looked to the ^(AO)reward.

²⁷ By faith ^(AP)he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith ^(AQ)he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

²⁹ By faith ^(AR)they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

By Faith They Overcame

³⁰ By faith ^(AS)the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. ³¹ By faith ^(AT)the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who ^[j]did not believe, when ^(AU)she had received the spies with peace.

³² And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of ^(AV)Gideon and ^(AW)Barak and ^(AX)Samson and ^(AY)Jephthah, also of ^(AZ)David and ^(BA)Samuel and the prophets: ³³ who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, ^(BB)stopped the mouths of lions, ^34 (BC)quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. ^35 (BD)Women received their dead raised to life again.

Others were ^(BE)tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and ^(BF)of chains and imprisonment. ^37 (BG)They were stoned, they were sawn in two, ^[k]were tempted, were slain with the sword. ^(BH)They wandered about ^(BI)in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, ^(BJ)in dens and caves of the earth.

³⁹ And all these, ^(BK)having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, ⁴⁰ God having provided something better for us, that they should not be ^(BL)made perfect apart from us.