Beginning
10 After Abimelech, Tola—the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, who dwelt in Shamir on Mount Ephraim—arose to defend Israel.
2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.
3 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty-two years.
4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty cities, which are called Havoth Jair to this day and are in the land of Gilead.
5 And Jair died and was buried in Camon.
6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtoreth and the gods of 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 did not serve Him.
7 Therefore, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon,
8 who, from that year on, shattered and oppressed the children of Israel for eighteen years, all the children of Israel who 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 severely tormented.
10 Then, the children of Israel cried to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against You, because we have forsaken our own God and have served Baal.
11 And the LORD said to 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, Amalekites, and Maonites also oppressed you, and you cried to Me; and I saved you out of their hands.
13 “Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore, I will no longer deliver you.
14 “Go and cry to the gods which you have chosen. Let them save you in the time of your tribulation.”
15 And the children of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned! Do to us whatever pleases You. Only, please deliver us this day!”
16 Then they put away the strange gods from among them and served the LORD. And 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 to one another, “Whoever will begin the battle against the children of Ammon, the same shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
11 Then Gilead begat Jephthah. And Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant man, but the son of a harlot.
2 And Gilead’s wife bore him sons. And when the woman’s children had come of age, they thrust out Jephthah and said to him, “You shall not inherit in our father’s House; for you are the son of another woman.
3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren and dwelt in the land of Tob. And Jephthah’s worthless friends gathered there and went out with him.
4 And in the process of time, the children of Ammon made war with Israel.
5 And when the children of Ammon fought with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob.
6 And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our captain, so that we may fight with the children of Ammon.”
7 Jephthah then answered the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and expel me from my father’s House? How then can you come to me now in the time of your tribulation?”
8 Then the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we turn again to you now, so that you may go with us and fight against the children of Ammon and be our Head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
9 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me back home to fight against the children of Ammon, if the LORD gives them before me, shall I be your head?”
10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD be Witness between us, if we do not do according to your words.”
11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead; and the people made him head and captain over them. And Jephthah repeated all his words before the LORD in Mizpah.
12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, “What have you to do with me, that you have come against me, to fight in my land?”
13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel took my land when they came up from Egypt, from Arnon to Jabbok and to Jordan. Now, therefore, restore those lands quietly.”
14 Yet, Jephthah sent messengers back to the king of the children of Ammon,
15 and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah, ‘Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the children of Ammon.
16 ‘But after Israel came up from Egypt and walked through the wilderness to the Red Sea, they then came to Kadesh.
17 ‘And Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let me go through your land.” But the king of Edom would not consent. And they also sent to the king of Moab, but he would not. Therefore, Israel stayed in Kadesh.
18 ‘Then they went through the wilderness and surrounded the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the eastern side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of Arnon and did not come within the territory of Moab (for Arnon was the border of Moab).
19 ‘Israel also sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon. And Israel said to him, “Please let us pass by your land to our place.”
20 ‘But Sihon did not consent to Israel going through his territory. And Sihon gathered all his people together and camped in Jahaz and fought with Israel.
21 ‘And the LORD God of Israel gave Sihon and all his people into the hands of Israel and they struck them. So, Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.
22 ‘And they possessed all the territory of the Amorites, from Arnon to Jabbok, and from the wilderness to Jordan.
23 ‘Therefore, now the LORD God of Israel has cast out the Amorites before his people, Israel. And should you possess it?
24 ‘Would not you possess that which Chemosh, your god, gives you to possess? So, whomever the LORD our God drives out before us, we will possess.
25 ‘And are you 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 borders of Arnon, for three hundred years? Why, then, did you not recover them in that space?
27 ‘Therefore I have not offended you. But you do me wrong to war against me. The LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.’”
28 However, the king of the children of Ammon did not listen to the words of Jephthah which he had sent.
29 Then, the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah; and he passed over to Gilead and to Manasseh and came to Mizpah in Gilead. And he went to the children of Ammon from Mizpah in Gilead.
30 And Jephthah vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You shall deliver the children of Ammon into my hands,
31 “then that thing that comes out of the doors of my 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 to the children of Ammon to fight against them. And the LORD delivered them into his hands.
33 And he struck them from Aroer until one comes to Minnith—twenty cities, to Abel of the vineyards—with an exceedingly great slaughter. Thus, the children of Ammon were humbled before the children of Israel.
34 Now, when Jephthah came to Mizpah, to his house, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and dances. She was his only child. He had no other son or daughter.
35 And when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me low and are from those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the LORD and cannot go back!”
36 And she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, do with me as you have promised, seeing that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the children of Ammon.”
37 Also, she said to her father, “Do this much for me: allow me two months, so that I may go to the mountains and bewail my virginity, me and my friends.”
38 And he said, “Go.” And he sent her away for two months. So, she went with her companions and lamented her virginity upon the mountains.
39 And after two months, she turned back to 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 And the daughters of Israel went for four days every year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
12 And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together and went northward, and said to Jephthah, “Why did you go fight against the children of Ammon and not call us to go with you? We will, therefore, burn your house upon you with fire!”
2 And Jephthah said to them, “I and my people were in a great struggle with the children of Ammon. And when I called you, you did not deliver me out of their hands.
3 “So, when I saw that you did not deliver me, I put my life in my own hands, and went upon the children of Ammon. So, the LORD delivered them into my hands. Why, then, have you 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 struck Ephraim, because they said, “You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites.”
5 Also, the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites. And when an Ephraimite who had escaped said, “Let me pass,” then the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,”
6 then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth’.” And if he said ‘Sibboleth’ (for he could not pronounce it) then they took him and killed him at the passages of Jordan. And forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites fell at that time.
7 And Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
8 After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel,
9 who had thirty sons. He also had thirty daughters, whom he sent out. And he took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel for seven years.
10 Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem.
11 And after him, Elon, a Zebulunite, judged Israel. And he judged Israel for 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 nephews, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel for eight years.
15 Then Abdon, the son of Hillel the Pirathonite, died and was buried in Pirathon, in the land of Ephraim, on the Mount of the Amalekites.
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