| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father. | 1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father. |
| 2And Gilead’s wife bore him sons who grew up, drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.” | 2Gilead's wife also gave 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, because you are another woman's son." |
| 3So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him. | 3So Jephthah left his half-brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah's gang and traveled with him. |
| 4Some time later, when the Ammonites fought against Israel | 4It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel. |
| 5and made war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. | 5When the Ammonites attacked, the leaders of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back from the land of Tob. |
| 6“Come,” they said, “be our commander, so that we can fight against the Ammonites.” | 6They said, "Come, be our commander, so we can fight with the Ammonites." |
| 7Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “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?” | 7Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, "But you hated me and made me leave my father's house. Why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?" |
| 8They answered Jephthah, “This is why we now turn to you, that you may go with us, fight the Ammonites, and become leader over all of us who live in Gilead.” | 8The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "That may be true, but now we pledge to you our loyalty. Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader of all who live in Gilead." |
| 9But Jephthah asked them, “If you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, will I really be your leader?” | 9Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, "All right! If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, I will be your leader." |
| 10And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say.” | 10The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The LORD will judge any grievance you have against us, if we do not do as you say." |
| 11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah. | 11So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement before the LORD in Mizpah. |
| 12Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against my land?” | 12Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, "Why have you come against me to attack my land?" |
| 13The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they seized my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and all the way to the Jordan. Now, therefore, restore it peaceably.” | 13The Ammonite king said to Jephthah's messengers, "Because Israel stole my land when they 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. Now return it peaceably!" |
| 14Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites | 14Jephthah sent messengers back to the Ammonite king |
| 15to tell him, “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or of the Ammonites. | 15and said to him, "This is what Jephthah says, 'Israel did not steal the land of Moab and the land of the Ammonites. |
| 16But when Israel came up out of Egypt, they traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. | 16When they left Egypt, Israel traveled through the desert as far as the Red Sea and then came to Kadesh. |
| 17Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, 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, but he would not consent. So Israel stayed in Kadesh. | 17Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, "Please allow us to pass through your land." But the king of Edom rejected the request. Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate. So Israel stayed at Kadesh. |
| 18Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, since the Arnon was its border. | 18Then Israel went through the desert 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; they did not go through Moabite territory (the Arnon was Moab's border). |
| 19And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land into our own place.’ | 19Israel 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." |
| 20But Sihon would not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So he gathered all his people, encamped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. | 20But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He assembled his whole army, camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. |
| 21Then the LORD, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, who defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites who inhabited that country, | 21The LORD God of Israel handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel and they defeated them. Israel took all the land of the Amorites who lived in that land. |
| 22seizing all the land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. | 22They 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. |
| 23Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from before His people Israel, should you now possess it? | 23Since the LORD God of Israel has driven out the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can just take it from them? |
| 24Do you not possess whatever your god Chemosh grants you? So also, we possess whatever the LORD our God has granted us. | 24You 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. |
| 25Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them? | 25Are 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? |
| 26For three hundred years Israel has lived in Heshbon, Aroer, and their villages, as well as all the cities along the banks of the Arnon. Why did you not take them back during that time? | 26Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time? |
| 27I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by waging war against me. May the LORD, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.” | 27I have not done you wrong, but you are doing wrong by attacking me. May the LORD, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!'" |
| 28But the king of the Ammonites paid no heed to the message Jephthah sent him. | 28But the Ammonite king disregarded the message sent by Jephthah. |
| 29Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites. | 29The LORD's spirit empowered Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites. |
| 30Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand, | 30Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, saying, "If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me, |
| 31then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” | 31then whoever is the first to come through the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites--he will belong to the LORD and I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice." |
| 32So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hand. | 32Jephthah approached the Ammonites to fight with them, and the LORD handed them over to him. |
| 33With a great blow he devastated twenty cities from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites. | 33He defeated them from Aroer all the way to Minnith--twenty cities in all, even as far as Abel Keramim! He wiped them out! The Israelites humiliated the Ammonites. |
| 34And when Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, 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. | 34When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying out to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines. She was his only child; except for her he had no son or daughter. |
| 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 and cannot take it back.” | 35When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said, "Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me! You have brought me disaster! I made an oath to the LORD, and I cannot break it." |
| 36“My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me as you have said, for the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.” | 36She said to him, "My father, since you made an oath to the LORD, do to me as you promised. After all, the LORD vindicated you before your enemies, the Ammonites." |
| 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.” | 37She then said to her father, "Please grant me this one wish. For two months allow me to walk through the hills 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. | 38He said, "You may go." He permitted her to leave for two months. She went with her friends and mourned her virginity as she walked through the hills. |
| 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 | 39After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin. Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel. |
| 40that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite. | 40Every year Israelite women commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days. |
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