³ When a man makes a vow to the Lord or binds himself under oath to a pledge,^[a] he shall not violate his word, but must fulfill exactly the promise he has uttered.^(A)

^30 [a]Jephthah made a vow to the Lord.^(A) “If you deliver the Ammonites into my power,” he said, ³¹ “whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return from the Ammonites in peace shall belong to the Lord. I shall offer him up as a burnt offering.”

³² Jephthah then crossed over against the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord delivered them into his power. ³³ He inflicted a very severe defeat on them from Aroer to the approach of Minnith—twenty cities in all—and as far as Abel-keramin. So the Ammonites were brought into subjection by the Israelites. ³⁴ When Jephthah returned to his house in Mizpah, it was his daughter who came out to meet him, with tambourine-playing and dancing. She was his only child: he had neither son nor daughter besides her. ³⁵ When he saw her, he tore his garments and said, “Ah, my daughter! You have struck me down and brought calamity upon me. For I have made a vow^[b] to the Lord and I cannot take it back.”^{(B) 36} “Father,” she replied, “you have made a vow to the Lord. Do with me as you have vowed, because the Lord has taken vengeance for you against your enemies the Ammonites.”

²⁴ Even though the Israelites were exhausted that day, Saul laid an oath on them, saying, “Cursed be the one who takes food before evening, before I am able to avenge myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. ²⁵ Now there was a honeycomb lying on the ground, ²⁶ and when the soldiers came to the comb the honey was flowing; yet no one raised a hand from it to his mouth, because the people feared the oath.

Violation of the Oath. ²⁷ Jonathan, who had not heard that his father had put the people under oath, thrust out the end of the staff he was holding and dipped it into the honeycomb. Then he raised it to his mouth and his eyes brightened. ²⁸ At this, one of the soldiers spoke up: “Your father put the people under a strict oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who takes food today!’ As a result the people are weakened.” ^29 (A)Jonathan replied: “My father brings trouble to the land. Look how bright my eyes are because I had this little taste of honey. ³⁰ What is more, if the army had eaten freely of the enemy’s plunder when they came across it today, surely the slaughter of the Philistines would have been the greater by now!”

²³ He even swore [many things] to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.”^{(A) 24} She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ²⁶ The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her.

Transfer to Caesarea. ¹² When day came, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.