Old/New Testament
11 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father.[a] 2 Gilead’s wife also gave[b] him sons. When his wife’s sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him, “You are not going to inherit any of our father’s wealth,[c] because you are another woman’s son.” 3 So Jephthah left[d] his half brothers[e] and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah’s gang and traveled with him.[f]
4 It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel. 5 When the Ammonites attacked,[g] the leaders[h] of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back[i] from the land of Tob. 6 They said,[j] “Come, be our commander, so we can fight with the Ammonites.” 7 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “But you hated me and made me leave[k] my father’s house. Why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?” 8 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That may be true,[l] but now we pledge to you our loyalty.[m] Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader[n] of all who live in Gilead.”[o] 9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right.[p] If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me,[q] I will be your leader.”[r] 10 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will judge any grievance you have against us,[s] if we do not do as you say.”[t] 11 So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement[u] before the Lord in Mizpah.
Jephthah Gives a History Lesson
12 Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, “Why have[v] you come against me to attack my land?” 13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stole[w] my land when they[x] came up from Egypt—from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan.[y] Now return it[z] peaceably!”
14 Jephthah sent messengers back to the Ammonite king 15 and said to him, “This is what Jephthah says, ‘Israel did not steal[aa] the land of Moab and the land of the Ammonites. 16 When they left[ab] Egypt, Israel traveled[ac] through the desert as far as the Red Sea and then came to Kadesh. 17 Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please allow us[ad] to pass through your land.” But the king of Edom rejected the request.[ae] Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate.[af] So Israel stayed at Kadesh. 18 Then Israel[ag] went through the wilderness and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They traveled east of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River;[ah] they did not go through Moabite territory (the Arnon was Moab’s border). 19 Israel sent messengers to King Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, “Please allow us to pass through your land to our land.”[ai] 20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He[aj] assembled his whole army,[ak] camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. 21 The Lord God of Israel handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel and they defeated them. Israel took[al] all the land of the Amorites who lived in that land. 22 They took all the Amorite territory from the Arnon River on the south to the Jabbok River on the north, from the desert in the east to the Jordan in the west.[am] 23 Since[an] the Lord God of Israel has driven out[ao] the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can just take it from them?[ap] 24 You have the right to take what Chemosh your god gives you, but we will take the land of all whom the Lord our God has driven out before us.[aq] 25 Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them?[ar] 26 Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for 300 years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time? 27 I have not done you wrong,[as] but you are doing wrong[at] by attacking me. May the Lord, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!’” 28 But the Ammonite king disregarded[au] the message sent by Jephthah.[av]
A Foolish Vow Spells Death for a Daughter
29 The Lord’s Spirit empowered[aw] Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went[ax] to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites.[ay] 30 Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, saying, “If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me, 31 then whoever is the first to come through[az] the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites—he[ba] will belong to the Lord and[bb] I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice.” 32 Jephthah approached[bc] the Ammonites to fight with them, and the Lord handed them over to him. 33 He defeated them from Aroer all the way to Minnith—twenty cities in all, even as far as Abel Keramim. He wiped them out![bd] The Israelites humiliated the Ammonites.[be]
34 When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying out[bf] to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines.[bg] She was his only child; except for her he had no son or daughter. 35 When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said, “Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me![bh] You have brought me disaster![bi] I made an oath to the Lord, and I cannot break it.”[bj] 36 She said to him, “My father, since[bk] you made an oath to the Lord, do to me as you promised.[bl] After all, the Lord vindicated you before[bm] your enemies, the Ammonites.” 37 She then said to her father, “Please grant me this one wish.[bn] For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity.”[bo] 38 He said, “You may go.” He permitted her to leave[bp] for two months. She went with her friends and mourned her virginity as she walked through the hills.[bq] 39 After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin.[br] Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel.[bs] 40 Every year[bt] Israelite women commemorate[bu] the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days.[bv]
Civil Strife Mars the Victory
12 The Ephraimites assembled[bw] and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you go and fight[bx] with the Ammonites without asking[by] us to go with you? We will burn your house down right over you!”[bz]
2 Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were in a struggle and the Ammonites were oppressing me greatly.[ca] I asked for your help, but you did not deliver me from their power.[cb] 3 When I saw that you were not going to help,[cc] I risked my life[cd] and advanced against[ce] the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why have you come up[cf] to fight with me today?” 4 Jephthah assembled all the men of Gilead and they fought with Ephraim. The men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because the Ephraimites insulted them, saying,[cg] “You Gileadites are refugees in Ephraim, living within Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s territory.”[ch] 5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River[ci] opposite Ephraim.[cj] Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive[ck] said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked[cl] him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” 6 then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth!’”[cm] If he said, “Sibboleth” (and could not pronounce the word[cn] correctly), they grabbed him and executed him right there at the fords of the Jordan. On that day 42,000 Ephraimites fell dead.
7 Jephthah led[co] Israel for six years; then he[cp] died and was buried in his town in Gilead.[cq]
Order Restored
8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem led[cr] Israel. 9 He had thirty sons. He arranged for thirty of his daughters to be married outside his extended family,[cs] and he arranged for thirty young women to be brought from outside as wives for his sons.[ct] Ibzan[cu] led[cv] Israel for seven years; 10 then he[cw] died and was buried in Bethlehem.
11 After him Elon the Zebulunite led[cx] Israel for ten years.[cy] 12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
13 After him Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite led[cz] Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel for eight years. 15 Then Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
Lord of the Sabbath
6 Jesus[a] was going through the grain fields on[b] a Sabbath,[c] and his disciples picked some heads of wheat,[d] rubbed them in their hands, and ate them.[e] 2 But some of the Pharisees[f] said, “Why are you[g] doing what is against the law[h] on the Sabbath?” 3 Jesus[i] answered them,[j] “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry— 4 how he entered the house of God, took[k] and ate the sacred bread,[l] which is not lawful[m] for any to eat but the priests alone, and[n] gave it to his companions?”[o] 5 Then[p] he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord[q] of the Sabbath.”
Healing a Withered Hand
6 On[r] another Sabbath, Jesus[s] entered the synagogue[t] and was teaching. Now[u] a man was there whose right hand was withered.[v] 7 The experts in the law[w] and the Pharisees[x] watched[y] Jesus[z] closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath,[aa] so that they could find a reason to accuse him. 8 But[ab] he knew[ac] their thoughts,[ad] and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Get up and stand here.”[ae] So[af] he rose and stood there. 9 Then[ag] Jesus said to them, “I ask you,[ah] is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?” 10 After[ai] looking around[aj] at them all, he said to the man,[ak] “Stretch out your hand.” The man[al] did so, and his hand was restored.[am] 11 But they were filled with mindless rage[an] and began debating with one another what they would do[ao] to Jesus.
Choosing the Twelve Apostles
12 Now[ap] it was during this time that Jesus[aq] went out to the mountain[ar] to pray, and he spent all night[as] in prayer to God.[at] 13 When[au] morning came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles:[av] 14 Simon[aw] (whom he named Peter), and his brother Andrew; and James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,[ax] 15 Matthew, Thomas,[ay] James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot,[az] 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot,[ba] who became a traitor.
The Sermon on the Plain
17 Then[bb] he came down with them and stood on a level place.[bc] And a large number[bd] of his disciples had gathered[be] along with[bf] a vast multitude from all over Judea, from[bg] Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.[bh] They came to hear him and to be healed[bi] of their diseases, 18 and those who suffered from[bj] unclean[bk] spirits were cured. 19 The[bl] whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power[bm] was coming out from him and healing them all.
20 Then[bn] he looked up[bo] at his disciples and said:
“Blessed[bp] are you who are poor,[bq] for the kingdom of God belongs[br] to you.
21 “Blessed are you who hunger[bs] now, for you will be satisfied.[bt]
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.[bu]
22 “Blessed are you when people[bv] hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil[bw] on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because[bx] your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors[by] did the same things to the prophets.[bz]
24 “But woe[ca] to you who are rich, for you have received[cb] your comfort[cc] already.
25 “Woe to you who are well satisfied with food[cd] now, for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you[ce] who laugh[cf] now, for you will mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you[cg] when all people[ch] speak well of you, for their ancestors[ci] did the same things to the false prophets.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.