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Judges 11
English Standard Version

Jephthah Delivers Israel

11 Now (A)Jephthah the Gileadite was (B)a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. 2 And Gilead's wife also 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 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of (C)Tob, and (D)worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him.

4 After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. 5 And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of (E)Tob. 6 And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.” 7 But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father's house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” 8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the Ammonites and (F)be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 9 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.” 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, (G)“The Lord will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people (H)made him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words (I)before the Lord at (J)Mizpah.

12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” 13 And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, (K)“Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the (L)Arnon to the (M)Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.” 14 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites 15 and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: (N)Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, 16 but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness (O)to the Red Sea and (P)came to Kadesh. 17 (Q)Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ (R)but the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel (S)remained at Kadesh.

18 “Then they journeyed through the wilderness and (T)went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and (U)arrived on the east side of the land of Moab and (V)camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. 19 (W)Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our country,’ 20 but Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people together and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. 21 And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. 22 And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. 23 So then the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them? 24 Will you not possess what (X)Chemosh your god gives you to possess? (Y)And all that the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess. 25 Now are you any better than (Z)Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them? 26 While Israel lived (AA)in Heshbon and its villages, and (AB)in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time? 27 I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. (AC)The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.” 28 But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him.

Jephthah's Tragic Vow

29 (AD)Then the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah (AE)made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever[a] comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites (AF)shall be the Lord's, and (AG)I will offer it[b] up for a burnt offering.” 32 So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. 33 And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of (AH)Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.

34 Then Jephthah came to his home at (AI)Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him (AJ)with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, (AK)and I cannot take back my vow.” 36 And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.” 37 So she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.” 38 So he said, “Go.” Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. 39 And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, (AL)who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel 40 that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 11:31 Or whoever
  2. Judges 11:31 Or him
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Judges 11
International Standard Version

Jephthah, Israel’s Eighth Judge

11 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant soldier, but he was also the son of a prostitute and Jephthah’s father Gilead. 2 Gilead’s wife bore two sons through him, but when his wife’s sons grew up, they expelled Jephthah and declared to him, “You won’t have an inheritance in this[a] house, since you’re the son of a different woman.” 3 So Jephthah escaped from his brothers and lived in the territory of Tob, where worthless men gathered themselves around him and went out on raiding parties with him.

4 Later on, the Ammonites attacked Israel. 5 When this happened,[b] the elders of Gilead went to the territory of Tob to find Jephthah. 6 They told him, “Come and be our commander so we can fight the Ammonites!”

7 But Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “Weren’t you the ones who hated me and drove me out of my father’s house? And you come to me now that you’re in trouble?”

8 So the elders of Gilead told Jephthah, “Well, we’re coming back to you now so you can accompany us, fight the Ammonites, and become the head of all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

9 Then Jephthah asked the elders of Gilead, “If you all send me to fight against the Ammonites and the Lord hands them over right in front of me, will I really become your head?”

10 The elders of Gilead responded to Jephthah, “May the Lord serve[c] as a witness that we’re making this agreement between ourselves to do as we’ve said.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people appointed him head and military commander over them. Jephthah uttered everything he had to say with the solemnity of an oath[d] in the Lord’s presence at Mizpah.

Jephthah’s Dialogue with the Ammonites

12 Afterwards, Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites to ask him, “What’s your dispute between us that prompted you to come and attack my land?”

13 The king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “We’re here[e] because Israel took away my land from the Arnon River as far as the Jabbok River and as far as the Jordan River when they came up from Egypt! So restore it as a gesture of good will.”[f]

14 But Jephthah sent additional messengers again to the king of the Ammonites 15 and they informed him, “This is Jephthah’s response:

‘Israel didn’t seize the land of Moab nor the land of the Ammonites. 16 Here’s what happened:[g] When Israel came up from Egypt, passed through the desert to the Red[h] Sea, and arrived at Kadesh, 17 Israel sent a delegation to the king of Edom and asked him, “Please let us pass through your territory.”

‘But the king of Edom wouldn’t listen. So they also sent word to the king of Moab, but he wouldn’t consent, either. So Israel stayed at Kadesh. 18 Then they went through the desert, circumventing the territory belonging to Edom and Moab. They encamped on the other side of the Arnon River, but never entered the territory of Moab because the Arnon River is the border of Moab.

19 ‘Then Israel sent a delegation to Sihon, king of the Amorites and king of Heshbon. Israel requested of him, “Please let us pass through your territory to our place.” 20 But Sihon didn’t trust Israel to pass through his territory, so he assembled his entire army, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 21 The Lord God of Israel handed Sihon and his entire army into the control of Israel, and defeated them. As a result, Israel took control over the entire land of the Amorites, who were living in that country. 22 They took possession of the entire territory of the Amorites from the Arnon River as far as the Jabbok River and from the desert as far as the Jordan River.

23 ‘Now then, since the Lord God of Israel expelled the Amorites right in front of his people Israel, are you going to control their territory? 24 Don’t you control what your god Chemosh gives you? In the same way, we’ll take control of whomever the Lord our God has driven out in front of us. 25 Also ask yourselves:[i] do you have a better case[j] than Zippor’s son Balak, king of Moab? Did he ever have a quarrel with Israel or ever win a[k] fight against them? 26 When Israel was living in Heshbon and its surrounding villages, in Aroer and its surrounding villages, and in all the cities that line the banks of the Arnon River these past three hundred years, why didn’t you retake them during that time? 27 I haven’t sinned against you, but you are acting wrongly against me by declaring war on me. May the Lord, the Judge, sit in judgment today between the Israelis and the Ammonites.’”

28 But the king of the Ammonites wouldn’t heed the message that Jephthah had sent to him.

Jephthah’s Vow

29 The Spirit of the Lord came[l] on Jephthah, so he swept through Gilead and the territory of[m] Manasseh, then swept through Mizpah in Gilead, and from Mizpah in Gilead he proceeded toward where the Ammonites were encamped. 30 Jephthah made this solemn vow to the Lord: “If you truly give the Ammonites into my control, 31 then if I return from the Ammonites without incident,[n] whatever comes[o] out the doors of my house to meet me will become the Lord’s, and I will offer it[p] up as a burnt offering.”

32 Then Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites and attacked them. The Lord gave them into his control. 33 He attacked them from Aroer to the entrance of Minnith—twenty cities in all[q]—even as far as Abel-keramim. As a result, the Ammonites were subdued right in front of the Israelis. 34 When Jephthah arrived at his home in Mizpah—surprise!—it was his daughter who came out to meet him, playing tambourines and dancing. She was his one and only child. Except for her, he had no other son or daughter. 35 When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and cried out, “Oh no! My daughter! You have terribly burdened me! You’ve joined those who are causing me trouble, because I’ve given my word[r] to the Lord, and I cannot go back on it.[s]

36 She told him, “My father, you have given your word[t] to the Lord. Do to me according to what has come out of your own mouth, considering that the Lord has paid back your enemies, the Ammonites.” 37 Then she continued talking with her father, “Do this for me: leave me alone by myself for two months. I’ll go up to the mountains and cry there because I’ll never marry.[u] My friends and I will go.”[v]

38 So he said, “Go!” He sent her away for two months. She left with her friends and cried there on the mountains because she would never marry.[w] 39 Later, after the two months were concluded, she returned to her father, and he fulfilled what he had solemnly vowed—and she never married.[x] That’s how the custom arose in Israel 40 that for four days out of every year the Israeli women would go to mourn the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite in commemoration.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 11:2 Lit. in our father’s
  2. Judges 11:5 Lit. When the Ammonites attacked Israel
  3. Judges 11:10 Lit. hear
  4. Judges 11:11 Lit. uttered all his words
  5. Judges 11:13 The Heb. lacks We’re here
  6. Judges 11:13 Lit. restore them in peace
  7. Judges 11:16 Lit. Because
  8. Judges 11:16 Lit. Reed
  9. Judges 11:25 Lit. And now
  10. Judges 11:25 Lit. are you better
  11. Judges 11:25 The Heb. lacks ever win a
  12. Judges 11:29 Lit. was
  13. Judges 11:29 The Heb. lacks the territory of
  14. Judges 11:31 Lit. Ammonites in peace
  15. Judges 11:31 MT participle is masculine
  16. Judges 11:31 MT suffix is masculine
  17. Judges 11:33 The Heb. lacks in all
  18. Judges 11:35 Lit. I’ve opened my mouth
  19. Judges 11:35 The Heb. lacks on it
  20. Judges 11:36 Lit. You’ve opened your mouth
  21. Judges 11:37 Lit. there on behalf of my virginity; i.e. terminating the genealogy of Jephthah
  22. Judges 11:37 The Heb. lacks will go
  23. Judges 11:38 Lit. there for her virginity
  24. Judges 11:39 Lit. she did not know a man
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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