Jephthah Delivers Israel

1Now Jephthah (he opens) the Gileadite (rocky region) was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father. 2And Gilead’s (rocky region) wife bore him sons who grew up, drove Jephthah (he opens) out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.”

3So Jephthah (he opens) fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob (good), where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him.

4Some time later, when the Ammonites (tribal) fought against Israel (he wrestles with God) 5and (tribal) made war with them (he wrestles with God), the elders of Gilead (rocky region) went to get Jephthah (he opens) from the land of Tob (good). 6“Come,” they said (he opens), “be our commander, so that we can fight against the Ammonites (tribal).”

7Jephthah (he opens) replied to the elders of Gilead (rocky region), “Did you⁺ not hate me and expel me from my father’s house? Why then have you⁺ come to me now, when you⁺ are in distress?”

8They (rocky region) answered Jephthah (he opens), “This is why we now turn to you, that you may go with us, fight the Ammonites (tribal), and become leader over all of us who live in Gilead.”

9But Jephthah (he opens) asked them (rocky region), “If you⁺ take me back to fight the Ammonites (tribal) and the LORD {YHWH} gives them to me, will I really be your⁺ leader?”

10And the elders of Gilead (rocky region) said to Jephthah (he opens), “The LORD {YHWH} is our witness if we do not do as you say.”

11So Jephthah (he opens) went with the elders of Gilead (rocky region), and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD {YHWH} at Mizpah (watchtower).

12Then Jephthah (he opens) sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites (tribal), saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against my land?”

13The king of the Ammonites (tribal) answered Jephthah’s (he opens) messengers, “When Israel (he wrestles with God) came up out of Egypt (land of bondage), they seized my land, from the Arnon (rushing stream) to the Jabbok (emptying) and all the way to the Jordan (flowing down). Now, therefore, restore it peaceably.”

14Jephthah (he opens) again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites (tribal) 15to tell him, “This is what Jephthah (he opens) says: Israel (he wrestles with God) did not take away the land of Moab (of his father) or of the Ammonites (tribal). 16But when Israel came up out of Egypt (land of bondage), they (he wrestles with God) traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea (the Sea of Reeds)a and came to Kadesh (holy). 17Then Israel (he wrestles with God) sent messengers to the king of Edom (red), saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab (of his father), but he would not consent. So Israel stayed in Kadesh (holy).

18Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom (red) and Moab (of his father). They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon (rushing stream). But they did not enter the territory of Moab, since the Arnon was its border.

19And Israel (he wrestles with God) sent messengers to Sihon (warrior) king of the Amorites (sayers), who ruled in Heshbon (stronghold), and said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land into our own place.’ 20But Sihon (warrior) would not trust Israel (he wrestles with God) to pass through his territory. So he gathered all his people, encamped in Jahaz (trodden down), and fought with Israel.

21Then the LORD, the God {YHWH Elohe} of Israel (he wrestles with God), delivered Sihon (warrior) and all his people into the hand of Israel, who defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites (sayers) who inhabited that country, 22seizing all the land (a sayer) from the Arnon (rushing stream) to the Jabbok (emptying) and from the wilderness to the Jordan (flowing down).

23Now since the LORD, the God {YHWH Elohe} of Israel (he wrestles with God), has driven out the Amorites (sayers) from before His people Israel, should you now possess it? 24Do you not possess whatever your god {Eloheka} Chemosh (subduer) grants you? So also, we possess whatever the LORD our God {YHWH Elohenu} has granted us. 25Are you now so much better than Balak (devastator) son of Zippor (sparrow), king of Moab (of his father)? Did he ever contend with Israel (he wrestles with God) or fight against them?

26For three hundred years Israel (he wrestles with God) has lived in Heshbon (stronghold), Aroer (ruins), and their villages, as well as all the cities along the banks of the Arnon (rushing stream). Why did you⁺ not take them back during that time? 27I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by waging war against me. May the LORD {YHWH}, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites (God prevails) and the Ammonites (tribal).”

28But the king of the Ammonites (tribal) paid no heed to the message Jephthah (he opens) sent him.

Jephthah’s Tragic Vow

29Then the Spirit of the LORD {Ruach YHWH} came upon Jephthah (he opens), and he passed through Gilead (rocky region) and Manasseh (causing to forget), then through Mizpah (watchtower) of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites (tribal).

30Jephthah (he opens) made this vow to the LORD {YHWH}: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites (tribal) into my hand, 31then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites (tribal) will belong to the LORD {YHWH}, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

32So Jephthah (he opens) crossed over to the Ammonites (tribal) to fight against them, and the LORD {YHWH} delivered them into his hand. 33With a great blow he devastated twenty cities from Aroer (ruins) to the vicinity of Minnith (distribution), as far as Abel-keramim (meadow of the vineyards). So the Ammonites (tribal) were subdued before the Israelites (God prevails).

34And when Jephthah (he opens) returned home to Mizpah (watchtower), there was his daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her.

35As soon as Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You have brought great misery upon me, for I have given my word to the LORD {YHWH} and cannot take it back.”

36“My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD {YHWH}. Do to me as you have said, for the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites (tribal).” 37She also said to her father, “Let me do this one thing: Let me wander for two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity.”

38“Go,” he said. And he sent her away for two months.

So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity upon the mountains. 39After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man.

So it has become a custom in Israel (he wrestles with God) 40that each year the young women of Israel (he wrestles with God) go out for four days to lament the daughter of Jephthah (he opens) the Gileadite (rocky region).