Jephthah Delivers Israel

1And Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor. And he was son of a woman, a prostitute. And Gilead begat Jephthah. 2And the wife of Gilead bore to him sons, and the sons of his wife grew up, and they drove out Jephthah and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in the house of our father; for you are the son of another woman.”

3And Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob. And worthless men gathered themselves to Jephthah and went out with him.

4And it came to pass after some days, that the sons of Ammon made war against Israel. 5And it came to pass, when the sons of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob; 6and they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the sons of Ammon.”

7And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did not you⁺ hate me and expel me from the house of my father? Why have you⁺ come to me now when there is distress to you⁺?”

8And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “Therefore now we have turned again to you, that you may go with us and fight against the sons of Ammon, and be our leader over all those dwelling in Gilead.”

9And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you⁺ take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon, and YHWH delivers them to me, will I be to you⁺ leader?”

10And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “YHWH will be a witness between us if according to your words we do not so.”

11And Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head over them and commander. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the face of YHWH in Mizpah.

12And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, “And what do you have against me that you have come against me to fight in my land?”

13And the king of the sons of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon and as far as the Jabbok and as far as the Jordan. And now, return them in peace.”

14And Jephthah added again and sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon 15and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the sons of Ammon. 16For in their coming up out of Egypt, Israel walked through the wilderness as far as the Red Sea,† and came to Kadesh; 17and Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Let me pass, please, through your land,’ and the king of Edom did not listen. And in like manner they sent to the king of Moab, and he was not willing. And Israel remained in Kadesh.

18And he went along through the wilderness and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and he came to the east side of the land of Moab and encamped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter into the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.

19And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorite, king of Heshbon. And Israel said to him, ‘Let us pass, please, through your land into our place.’ 20And Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. And Sihon gathered together all his people and encamped in Jahaz, and he fought against Israel.

21And YHWH, God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they struck them. And Israel gained possession of all the land of the Amorite inhabiting that land. 22And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorite, from the Arnon and to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness and to the Jordan.

23And YHWH, God of Israel, has dispossessed the Amorite from before His people Israel; and should you possess it? 24Whatever Chemosh your god would give you to possess, is it not that you will possess it? And all that YHWH our God takes possession of before us, we will possess. 25And now are you so good, better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he at all fight against them?

26In the dwelling of Israel in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are along the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years—why did you⁺ not snatch them up within that time? 27And I have not sinned against you, and you are doing to me evil by fighting against me. May YHWH, the Judge, render judgment this day between the sons of Israel and between the sons of Ammon.”

28And the king of the sons of Ammon did not listen to the words of Jephthah, that he sent to him.

Jephthah’s Tragic Vow

29And the Spirit of YHWH came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed through to the sons of Ammon.

30And Jephthah made a vow to YHWH, and said, “If You fully deliver the sons of Ammon into my hands, 31Then it shall come to pass that whatever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it will be unto YHWH, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

32And Jephthah passed over toward the sons of Ammon to fight against them, and YHWH delivered them into his hand. 33And he defeated them from Aroer and as far as the entrance to Minnith, twenty cities, and to Abel-keramim. And with a very great slaughter the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel.

34And Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, and there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing. And she was his only child; none were unto him besides her, son or daughter.

35And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have caused me greatly to bow, and you are among those who trouble me. For I have given my word to YHWH, and I cannot turn back.”

36And she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to YHWH, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, after that YHWH has done for you vengeance on your enemies, the sons of Ammon.” 37And she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me. Leave me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and mourn for my virginity, I and my friends.”

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

And she went, and her friends, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. 39And it was at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out with her his vow that he had vowed. And she knew not a man.

And it became a custom in Israel 40that from time to time the daughters of Israel went to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in the year.