Beginning
10 2 Tola dieth. 5 Jair also dieth. 7 The Israelites are punished for their sins. 10 They cry unto God, 16 and he hath pity on them.
1 After Abimelech, there arose to defend Israel, Tola, the son of Puah, the son of [a]Dodo, a man of Issachar, which dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.
2 And he [b]judged Israel three and twenty years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.
3 ¶ And after him arose Jair a Gileadite, and judged Israel two and twenty years.
4 And he had thirty sons that [c]rode on thirty asscolts, and they had thirty cities, which are called [d]Havoth Jair unto this day, and are in the land of Gilead.
5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
6 ¶ (A)And the children of Israel wrought wickedness again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baal and (B)Ashtoreth, and the gods of [e]Aram, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord and served not him.
7 Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he [f]sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon:
8 Who from that year vexed and oppressed the children of Israel eighteen years, [g]even all the children of Israel that were beyond Jordan, in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
9 Moreover, the children of Ammon went over Jordan to fight against Judah and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim: so that Israel was sore tormented.
10 Then the children of Israel [h]cried unto the Lord, saying, We have sinned against thee, even because we have forsaken our own God, and have served Baal.
11 And the Lord [i]said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
12 The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites did oppress you, and ye cried to me, and I saved you out of their hands.
13 Yet ye (C)have forsaken me, and served other gods: Wherefore I will deliver you no more.
14 Go, and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen: let them save you in the time of your tribulation.
15 And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever please thee: only we pray thee to deliver us [j]this day.
16 Then they put away the strange gods from among them, and [k]served the Lord: and [l]his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
17 Then the children of Ammon gathered themselves together, and pitched in Gilead: and the children of Israel assembled themselves, and pitched in Mizpah.
18 And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, Whosoever will begin the battle against the children of Ammon, the same shall be (D)head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
11 2 Jephthah being chased away by his brethren, was after made captain over Israel. 30 He maketh a rash vow. 32 He vanquisheth the Ammonites, 39 and sacrificeth his daughter according to his vow.
1 Then Gilead begat Jephthah, and Jephthah the Gileadite was [m]a valiant man, but the son of an [n]harlot.
2 And Gilead’s wife bare him sons, and when the woman’s children were come to age, they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house: for thou art the son of a [o]strange woman.
3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of [p]Tob: and there gathered idle fellows to Jephthah, and [q]went out with him.
4 ¶ And in process of time, the children of Ammon made war with Israel.
5 And when the children of Ammon fought with Israel, the [r]Elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob.
6 And they said unto Jephthah, Come and be our captain, that we may fight [s]with the children of Ammon.
7 Jephthah then answered the Elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and [t]expel me out of my father’s house? how then come you unto me now in time of your tribulation?
8 Then the Elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
9 And Jephthah said unto the Elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, if the Lord give them before me, shall I be your head?
10 And the Elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The Lord [u]be witness between us, if we do not according to thy words.
11 Then Jephthah went with the Elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah rehearsed all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.
12 ¶ Then Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me, to fight in my land?
13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, (E)Because Israel took my land, when they came up from Egypt, from Arnon unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands [v]quietly.
14 Yet Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon,
15 And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, (F)Israel took not the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon.
16 But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the red sea, then they came to Kadesh.
17 (G)And Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, go through thy land: but the king of Edom would not consent: and also they sent unto the king of Moab, but he would not: therefore Israel abode in Kadesh.
18 Then they went through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the Eastside of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, (H)and came not within the coast of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.
19 Also Israel (I)sent messengers unto Sihon, king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon, and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, by thy land unto our [w]place.
20 But Sihon [x]consented not to Israel, that he should go through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.
21 And the Lord God of Israel gave Sihon, and all his folk into the hands of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country:
22 And they possessed (J)all the coast of the Amorites, from Arnon unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.
23 Now therefore the Lord God of Israel hath cast out the Amorites before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?
24 Wouldest not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the [y]Lord our God driveth out before us, them will we possess.
25 (K)And art thou now far better than Balak the son of Zippor king of Moab? did he not strive with Israel and fight against them,
26 When Israel dwelt in Heshbon and in her towns, and in Aroer and in her towns, and in all the cities that are by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why did ye not then recover [z]them in that space?
27 Wherefore I have not offended thee: but thou doest me wrong to war against me. The Lord the Judge [aa]be judge this day between the children of Israel, and the children of Ammon.
28 Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah, which he had sent him.
29 ¶ Then the [ab]Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over to Gilead, and to Manasseh, and came to Mizpah in Gilead, and from Mizpah in Gilead he went unto the children of Ammon.
30 And Jephthah [ac]vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
31 Then that thing that cometh out of the doors of mine house to meet me, when I come home in peace from the children of Ammon, shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it for a burnt offering.
32 And so Jephthah went unto the children of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
33 And he smote them from Aroer even till thou come to Minnith, twenty cities, and so forth to [ad]Abel of the vineyards, with an exceeding great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were humbled before the children of Israel.
34 ¶ Now when Jephthah came to Mizpah unto his house, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with [ae]timbrels and dances, which was his only child: he had none other son, nor daughter.
35 And when he saw her, he [af]rent his clothes, and said, Alas my daughter, thou hast brought me low, and art of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and cannot go back.
36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do with me as thou hast promised, seeing that the Lord hath avenged thee of thine enemies the children of Ammon.
37 Also she said unto her father, Do thus much for me: suffer me two months, that I may go to the mountains, and [ag]bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
38 And he said, Go: and he sent her away two months: so she went with her companions, and lamented her virginity upon the mountains.
39 And after the end of two months, she turned again unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed, and she had known no man. And it was a custom in Israel:
40 The daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a year.
12 6 Jephthah killeth two and forty thousand Ephraimites, 8 After Jephthah succeedeth Ibzan, 11 Elon, 13 and Abdon.
1 And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went [ah]Northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore wentest thou to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call [ai]us to go with thee? we will therefore burn thine house upon thee with fire.
2 And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon, and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands.
3 So when I saw that ye delivered me not, [aj]I put my life in mine hands, and went upon the children of Ammon: so the Lord delivered them into mine hands. Wherefore then are ye come upon me now to fight against me?
4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are runagates of Ephraim [ak]among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites.
5 Also the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites, and when the Ephraimites that were escaped, said, Let me pass, then the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay,
6 Then said they unto him, Say now [al]Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not so pronounce: then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites two and forty thousand.
7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years: then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
8 ¶ After him [am]Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel,
9 Who had thirty sons and thirty daughters, which he sent out, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons: and he judged Israel seven years.
10 Then Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.
11 ¶ And after him judged Israel Elon, a Zebulunite, and he judged Israel ten years.
12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.
13 ¶ And after him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.
14 And he had forty sons and thirty [an]nephews that rode on seventy [ao]asscolts: and he judged Israel eight years.
15 Then died Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite, and was buried in Pirathon, in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.