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Judges 11
Lexham English Bible

Jephthah

11 Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.[a] 2 Gilead’s wife also bore for him sons; and the sons of his wife grew up and drove Jephthah away, and they said to him, “You will not inherit the house of our father because you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah fled from the presence of his brothers, and he lived in the land of Tob. And outlaws[b] gathered around Jephthah and went with him.

4 After a time the Ammonites[c] made war with Israel. 5 When the Ammonites[d] made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, so that we may make war against the Ammonites.”[e] 7 Jephthah said to the elders, “Did you not shun me and drive me out from the house of my father? Why do you come to me now when you have trouble?” 8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That being so, we have now returned to you, that you may go with us to fight[f] against the Ammonites[g] and become for us as head of all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 9 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me back to fight[h] against the Ammonites,[i] and Yahweh gives them over to me,[j] will I be your head?” 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “Yahweh will be a witness[k] between us; we will act according to your word.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before Yahweh at Mizpah.

12 And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites,[l] saying, “What is between you and me that you have come to me to make war against my land?” 13 And the king of the Ammonites[m] said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel took my land from the Arnon up to the Jabbok and the Jordan when they came up from Egypt; so then, restore it peacefully.” 14 Once again Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites,[n] 15 and he said to him, “Thus says Jephthah, ‘Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites,[o] 16 because when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea[p] and went to Kadesh. 17 Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let us cross through your land,” but the king of Edom would not listen. And they also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he was not willing. So Israel stayed in Kadesh. 18 Then they traveled through the wilderness, went around the land of Edom and Moab, and came to the east[q] side of the land of Moab, and they[r] encamped beyond the Arnon; and they did not go into the territory of Moab because the Arnon was the border of Moab. 19 Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites,[s] king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, ‘Please let us cross through your land to our country.’[t] 20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to cross through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people and then encamped at Jahaz; and he made war with Israel. 21 And Yahweh, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them; and Israel occupied all the land of the Amorites[u] inhabiting that land. 22 They occupied all the territory of the Amorites[v] from the Arnon up to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness up to the Jordan. 23 So then Yahweh, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites[w] from before his people Israel, and you want to possess it? 24 Do you not possess what Chemosh your god gave you to possess? Whoever Yahweh our God has driven out before us, we will possess it. 25 So then, are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel, or did he ever make war against them? 26 When Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns that are along the Arnon,[x] for three hundred years,[y] why did you not recover them at that time? 27 I have not sinned against you; but you are the one who is doing wrong by making war against me. Let Yahweh judge[z] today between the Israelites[aa] and the Ammonites.”[ab] 28 But the king of the Ammonites[ac] did not listen to the message that Jephthah sent to him.

Jephthah Makes a Vow

29 And the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh. He passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed through to the Ammonites.[ad] 30 And Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh, and he said, “If indeed you will give the Ammonites[ae] into my hand, 31 whatever[af] comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from the Ammonites[ag] will be Yahweh’s, and I will offer it as a burnt offering.” 32 And Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites[ah] to make war against them; and Yahweh gave them into his hand. 33 And he defeated them with a very great blow, from Aroer as far as Minnith, twenty towns,[ai] up to Abel Keramim. And the Ammonites[aj] were subdued before the Israelites.[ak]

34 Jephthah came to Mizpah, to his house, and behold his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and dancing. She was his only child; he did not have a son or daughter except her. 35 And the moment he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Ah! My daughter, you have caused me to bow down, and you have become my trouble. I made an oath[al] to Yahweh, and I cannot take it back.” 36 She said to him, “My father, you made an oath[am] to Yahweh. Do to me according to what has gone out from your mouth, since Yahweh gave vengeance to you against your enemies, the Ammonites.”[an] 37 And she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: grant me two months so that I may go wander[ao] on the mountains and lament over my virginity, I and my companions. 38 And he said, “Go.” He sent her away for two months, and she went with her friends, and she lamented over her virginity on the mountains. 39 At the end of the two months she returned to her father, and he did to her according to his vow; and she did not sleep with a man.[ap] And it became an annual custom in Israel 40 for the daughters of Israel to go and lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for forty days of the year.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 11:1 Literally “Gilead fathered Jephthah”
  2. Judges 11:3 Literally “unprincipled/worthless men”
  3. Judges 11:4 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  4. Judges 11:5 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  5. Judges 11:6 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  6. Judges 11:8 Literally “to make war”
  7. Judges 11:8 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  8. Judges 11:9 Literally “to make war”
  9. Judges 11:9 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  10. Judges 11:9 Literally “before me”
  11. Judges 11:10 Literally “hearer”
  12. Judges 11:12 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  13. Judges 11:13 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  14. Judges 11:14 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  15. Judges 11:15 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  16. Judges 11:16 Literally “sea of reed”
  17. Judges 11:18 Literally “from rise of sun”
  18. Judges 11:18 Hebrew “he”
  19. Judges 11:19 Hebrew “Amorite”
  20. Judges 11:19 Literally “to our place”
  21. Judges 11:21 Hebrew “Amorite”
  22. Judges 11:22 Hebrew “Amorite”
  23. Judges 11:23 Hebrew “Amorite”
  24. Judges 11:26 Literally “on the hands of the Arnon”
  25. Judges 11:26 Hebrew “year”
  26. Judges 11:27 Literally “Let Yahweh the judge, judge”
  27. Judges 11:27 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  28. Judges 11:27 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  29. Judges 11:28 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  30. Judges 11:29 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  31. Judges 11:30 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  32. Judges 11:31 Or “whoever”
  33. Judges 11:31 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  34. Judges 11:32 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  35. Judges 11:33 Hebrew “town”
  36. Judges 11:33 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  37. Judges 11:33 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  38. Judges 11:35 Literally “I have opened wide my mouth”
  39. Judges 11:36 Literally “you have opened wide your mouth”
  40. Judges 11:36 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  41. Judges 11:37 Hebrew “down”
  42. Judges 11:39 Literally “she did not know a man”
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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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