| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Now Jephthah of Gilead was a great warrior. He was the son of Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute. | 1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father. |
| 2Gilead’s wife also had several sons, and when these half brothers grew up, they chased Jephthah off the land. “You will not get any of our father’s inheritance,” they said, “for you are the son of a prostitute.” | 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.” |
| 3So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Soon he had a band of worthless rebels following him. | 3So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him. |
| 4At about this time, the Ammonites began their war against Israel. | 4Some time later, when the Ammonites fought against Israel |
| 5When the Ammonites attacked, the elders of Gilead sent for Jephthah in the land of Tob. | 5and made war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. |
| 6The elders said, “Come and be our commander! Help us fight the Ammonites!” | 6“Come,” they said, “be our commander, so that we can fight against the Ammonites.” |
| 7But Jephthah said to them, “Aren’t you the ones who hated me and drove me from my father’s house? Why do you come to me now when you’re in trouble?” | 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?” |
| 8“Because we need you,” the elders replied. “If you lead us in battle against the Ammonites, we will make you ruler over all the people of Gilead.” | 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.” |
| 9Jephthah said to the elders, “Let me get this straight. If I come with you and if the LORD gives me victory over the Ammonites, will you really make me ruler over all the people?” | 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?” |
| 10“The LORD is our witness,” the elders replied. “We promise to do whatever you say.” | 10And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say.” |
| 11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their ruler and commander of the army. At Mizpah, in the presence of the LORD, Jephthah repeated what he had said to the elders. | 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. |
| 12Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon, asking, “Why have you come out to fight against my land?” | 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?” |
| 13The king of Ammon answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When the Israelites came out of Egypt, they stole my land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River and all the way to the Jordan. Now then, give back the land peaceably.” | 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.” |
| 14Jephthah sent this message back to the Ammonite king: | 14Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites |
| 15“This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not steal any land from Moab or Ammon. | 15to tell him, “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or of the Ammonites. |
| 16When the people of Israel arrived at Kadesh on their journey from Egypt after crossing the Red Sea, | 16But when Israel came up out of Egypt, they traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. |
| 17they sent messengers to the king of Edom asking for permission to pass through his land. But their request was denied. Then they asked the king of Moab for similar permission, but he wouldn’t let them pass through either. So the people of Israel stayed in 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. |
| 18“Finally, they went around Edom and Moab through the wilderness. They traveled along Moab’s eastern border and camped on the other side of the Arnon River. But they never once crossed the Arnon River into Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. | 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. |
| 19“Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, asking for permission to cross through his land to get to their destination. | 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.’ |
| 20But King Sihon didn’t trust Israel to pass through his land. Instead, he mobilized his army at Jahaz and attacked them. | 20But Sihon would not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So he gathered all his people, encamped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. |
| 21But the LORD, the God of Israel, gave his people victory over King Sihon. So Israel took control of all the land of the Amorites, who lived in that region, | 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, |
| 22from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and from the eastern wilderness to the Jordan. | 22seizing all the land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. |
| 23“So you see, it was the LORD, the God of Israel, who took away the land from the Amorites and gave it to Israel. Why, then, should we give it back to you? | 23Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from before His people Israel, should you now possess it? |
| 24You keep whatever your god Chemosh gives you, and we will keep whatever the LORD our God gives us. | 24Do you not possess whatever your god Chemosh grants you? So also, we possess whatever the LORD our God has granted us. |
| 25Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he try to make a case against Israel for disputed land? Did he go to war against them? | 25Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them? |
| 26“Israel has been living here for 300 years, inhabiting Heshbon and its surrounding settlements, all the way to Aroer and its settlements, and in all the towns along the Arnon River. Why have you made no effort to recover it before now? | 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? |
| 27Therefore, I have not sinned against you. Rather, you have wronged me by attacking me. Let the LORD, who is judge, decide today which of us is right—Israel or Ammon.” | 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.” |
| 28But the king of Ammon paid no attention to Jephthah’s message. Jephthah’s Vow | 28But the king of the Ammonites paid no heed to the message Jephthah sent him. |
| 29At that time the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he led an army against the Ammonites. | 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. |
| 30And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites, | 30Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand, |
| 31I will give to the LORD whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” | 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.” |
| 32So Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave him victory. | 32So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hand. |
| 33He crushed the Ammonites, devastating about twenty towns from Aroer to an area near Minnith and as far away as Abel-keramim. In this way Israel defeated the Ammonites. | 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. |
| 34When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy. She was his one and only child; he had no other sons or daughters. | 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. |
| 35When he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish. “Oh, my daughter!” he cried out. “You have completely destroyed me! You’ve brought disaster on me! For I have made a vow to the LORD, and I cannot take it back.” | 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.” |
| 36And she said, “Father, if you have made a vow to the LORD, you must do to me what you have vowed, for the LORD has given you a great victory over your enemies, the Ammonites. | 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.” |
| 37But first let me do this one thing: Let me go up and roam in the hills and weep with my friends for two months, because I will die a virgin.” | 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“You may go,” Jephthah said. And he sent her away for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never have children. | 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. |
| 39When she returned home, her father kept the vow he had made, and she died a virgin. 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. And she had never had relations with a man. So it has become a custom in Israel |
| 40for young Israelite women to go away for four days each year to lament the fate of Jephthah’s daughter. | 40that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite. |
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