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.”

Jesus Forbids Oaths

³³ “Again you have heard that ^(A)it was said to those of ^[a]old, ^(B)‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^(C)shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(D)do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is ^(E)God’s throne; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of ^(F)the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. ^37 (G)But let ^[b]your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.