“1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he [was]
the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. 2 And Gilead’s wife
bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah,
and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for
thou [art] the son of a strange woman. 3 Then Jephthah fled from his
brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men
to Jephthah, and went out with him.”
“4 And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon
made war against Israel. 5 And it was so, that when the children of
Ammon made war against Israel, the 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 with the children of Ammon. 7 And
Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel
me out of my father’s house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are
in distress? 8 And 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, and the LORD deliver
them before me, shall I be your head? 10 And the elders of Gilead said
unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so 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 uttered all his
words before the LORD in Mizpeh.”
“12 And 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, Because Israel took away my
land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and
unto Jordan: now therefore restore those [lands] again peaceably. 14 And
Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon:
15 And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away 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, and
came to Kadesh; 17 Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom,
saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom
would not hearken [thereto]. And in like manner they sent unto the king
of Moab: but he would not [consent]: and Israel abode in Kadesh. 18 Then
they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom,
and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and
pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of
Moab: for Arnon [was] the border of Moab. 19 And Israel sent messengers
unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said
unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place. 20
But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon
gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought
against Israel. 21 And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all
his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel
possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.
22 And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even
unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan. 23 So now the
LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people
Israel, and shouldest thou possess it? 24 Wilt not thou possess that
which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our
God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess. 25 And now
[art] thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab?
did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them, 26
While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns,
and in all the cities that [be] along by the coasts of Arnon, three
hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover [them] within that time?
27 Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest 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 Howbeit the king of the
children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent
him.”
“29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over
Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh
of Gilead he passed over [unto] the children of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah
vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver
the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31 Then it shall be, that
whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I
return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S,
and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. 32 So Jephthah passed over
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, [even] twenty cities, and unto the plain of the
vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were
subdued before the children of Israel. 34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh
unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with
timbrels and with dances: and she [was his] only child; beside her he
had neither son nor daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her,
that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought
me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened
my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. 36 And she said unto him,
My father, [if] thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me
according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as
the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, [even] of the
children of Ammon. 37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be
done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the
mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. 38 And he said,
Go. And he sent her away [for] two months: and she went with her
companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 39 And it
came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her
father, who did with her [according] to his vow which he had vowed: and
she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, 40 [That] the daughters
of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite
four days in a year.” (Judges 11:1-40 AV)
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