| NET Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father. | 1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant soldier, but he was also the son of a prostitute and Jephthah's father Gilead. |
| 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." | 2Gilead's wife bore two sons through him, but when his wife's sons grew up, they expelled Jephthah and declared to him, "You won't have an inheritance in this house, since you're the son of a different woman." |
| 3So Jephthah left his half-brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah's gang and traveled with him. | 3So Jephthah escaped from his brothers and lived in the territory of Tob, where worthless men gathered themselves around him and went out on raiding parties with him. |
| 4It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel. | 4Later on, the Ammonites attacked Israel. |
| 5When the Ammonites attacked, the leaders of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back from the land of Tob. | 5When this happened, the elders of Gilead went to the territory of Tob to find Jephthah. |
| 6They said, "Come, be our commander, so we can fight with the Ammonites." | 6They told him, "Come and be our commander so we can fight the Ammonites!" |
| 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?" | 7But Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, "Weren't you the ones who hated me and drove me out of my father's house? And you come to me now that you're in trouble?" |
| 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." | 8So the elders of Gilead told Jephthah, "Well, we're coming back to you now so you can accompany us, fight the Ammonites, and become the head of all the inhabitants of Gilead." |
| 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." | 9Then Jephthah asked the elders of Gilead, "If you all send me to fight against the Ammonites and the LORD hands them over right in front of me, will I really become your head?" |
| 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." | 10The elders of Gilead responded to Jephthah, "May the Lord serve as a witness that we're making this agreement between ourselves to do as we've said." |
| 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. | 11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people appointed him head and military commander over them. Jephthah uttered everything he had to say with the solemnity of an oath in the LORD's presence at Mizpah. |
| 12Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, "Why have you come against me to attack my land?" | 12Afterwards, Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites to ask him, "What's your dispute between us that prompted you to come and attack my land?" |
| 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!" | 13The king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, "We're here because Israel took away my land from the Arnon River as far as the Jabbok River and as far as the Jordan River when they came up from Egypt! So restore it as a gesture of good will." |
| 14Jephthah sent messengers back to the Ammonite king | 14But Jephthah sent additional messengers again to the king 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. | 15and they informed him, "This is Jephthah's response: 'Israel didn't seize the land of Moab nor the land of the Ammonites. |
| 16When they left Egypt, Israel traveled through the desert as far as the Red Sea and then came to Kadesh. | 16Here's what happened: When Israel came up from Egypt, passed through the desert to the Red Sea, and arrived at 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. | 17Israel sent a delegation to the king of Edom and asked him, "Please let us pass through your territory." 'But the king of Edom wouldn't listen. So they also sent word to the king of Moab, but he wouldn't consent, either. So Israel stayed at Kadesh. |
| 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). | 18Then they went through the desert, circumventing the territory belonging to Edom and Moab. They encamped on the other side of the Arnon River, but never entered the territory of Moab because the Arnon River is the border of Moab. |
| 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." | 19Then Israel sent a delegation to Sihon, king of the Amorites and king of Heshbon. Israel requested of him, "Please let us pass through your territory to our place." |
| 20But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He assembled his whole army, camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. | 20But Sihon didn't trust Israel to pass through his territory, so he assembled his entire army, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. |
| 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. | 21The LORD God of Israel handed Sihon and his entire army into the control of Israel, and defeated them. As a result, Israel took control over the entire land of the Amorites, who were living in that country. |
| 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. | 22They took possession of the entire territory of the Amorites from the Arnon River as far as the Jabbok River and from the desert as far as the Jordan River. |
| 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? | 23Now then, since the LORD God of Israel expelled the Amorites right in front of his people Israel, are you going to control their territory? |
| 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. | 24Don't you control what your god Chemosh gives you? In the same way, we'll take control of whomever the LORD our God has driven out in front of us. |
| 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? | 25Also ask yourselves: do you have a better case than Zippor's son Balak, king of Moab? Did he ever have a quarrel with Israel or ever win a fight against them? |
| 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? | 26When Israel was living in Heshbon and its surrounding villages, in Aroer and its surrounding villages, and in all the cities that line the banks of the Arnon River these past three hundred years, why didn't you retake them during that time? |
| 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!'" | 27I haven't sinned against you, but you are acting wrongly against me by declaring war on me. May the LORD, the Judge, sit in judgment today between the Israelis and the Ammonites.'" |
| 28But the Ammonite king disregarded the message sent by Jephthah. | 28But the king of the Ammonites wouldn't heed the message that Jephthah had sent to him. |
| 29The LORD's spirit empowered Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites. | 29The Spirit of the LORD came on Jephthah, so he swept through Gilead and the territory of Manasseh, then swept through Mizpah in Gilead, and from Mizpah in Gilead he proceeded toward where the Ammonites were encamped. |
| 30Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, saying, "If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me, | 30Jephthah made this solemn vow to the LORD: "If you truly give the Ammonites into my control, |
| 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." | 31then if I return from the Ammonites without incident, whatever comes out the doors of my house to meet me will become the LORD's, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering." |
| 32Jephthah approached the Ammonites to fight with them, and the LORD handed them over to him. | 32Then Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites and attacked them. The LORD gave them into his control. |
| 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. | 33He attacked them from Aroer to the entrance of Minnith—twenty cities in all —even as far as Abel-keramim. As a result, the Ammonites were subdued right in front of the Israelis. |
| 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. | 34When Jephthah arrived at his home in Mizpah—surprise!—it was his daughter who came out to meet him, playing tambourines and dancing. She was his one and only child. Except for her, he had no other son or daughter. |
| 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." | 35When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and cried out, "Oh no! My daughter! You have terribly burdened me! You've joined those who are causing me trouble, because I've given my word to the LORD, and I cannot go back on it. |
| 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." | 36She told him, "My father, you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me according to what has come out of your own mouth, considering that the LORD has paid back your enemies, the Ammonites." |
| 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." | 37Then she continued talking with her father, "Do this for me: leave me alone by myself for two months. I'll go up to the mountains and cry there because I'll never marry. My friends and I will go." |
| 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. | 38So he said, "Go!" He sent her away for two months. She left with her friends and cried there on the mountains because she would never marry. |
| 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. | 39Later, after the two months were concluded, she returned to her father, and he fulfilled what he had solemnly vowed—and she never married. That's how the custom arose in Israel |
| 40Every year Israelite women commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days. | 40that for four days out of every year the Israeli women would go to mourn the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite in commemoration. |
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