1Now Jephthah, the Gileadite, was a mighty warrior, and he was the son of a harlot: and his father was Gilead. 2And Gilead's wife also bore him sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah (their half-brother) out, and told him, “You shall not share in the inheritance of our father; for you are the son of a prostitute.” 3And so Jephthah fled from his brothers, and lived in the land of Tob: and a band of scoundrels and rebels gravitated to, and followed Jephthah.

4And in process of time, when the Ammonites (descendants of Ammon) made war against Israel, 5The elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob: 6And they told him, “Come, and be our commander, so that we can fight the Ammonites.” 7And Jephthah replied, “Are you not the ones who hated and drove me from my father's house? Why come to me now, when you are in trouble?” 8And the elders of Gilead replied, “We turn to you now, because we need you. If you lead us against the Ammonites, we will make you ruler over all who live in Gilead.” 9And Jephthah answered, “If you bring me back home to fight against the Ammonites, and the LORD delivers them to me, will I really be your head?” 10And the elders of Gilead replied, “The LORD is witness between us; we will certainly do whatever you say.” 11So then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah repeated at Mizpah, in the presence of the LORD, all he had said to the elders before.

12And Jephthah sent this message to the king of the Ammonites, “What have you got against me, that you have attacked my country?” 13And the king of the Ammonites sent this answer back with Jephthah’s messengers: “Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt - from the Arnon to Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now, restore those lands to us peaceably.” 14And Jephthah sent the messengers back to the king of the Ammonites, 15And told him, “Thus says Jephthah, ‘Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the Ammonites; 16But when Israel came up from Egypt, and went through the wilderness to the Red Sea, and on to Kadesh, 17Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “I pray you, let me pass through your land”; but the king of Edom would not listen to them. And they sent the request to the king of Moab, but he would not consent either; and so Israel stayed in Kadesh. 18Then they travelled through the wilderness, and passed by the east side of the land of Edom, and camped on the other side of the Arnon, but they did not come within its border; for Arnon was the border of the land of Moab.

19‘And then Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, and to the king of Heshbon, that said,“Let us pass through your land to our own place”. 20But Sihon did not allow Israel to pass through his border; but mustered all his troops, and took position in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 21And then the LORD God of Israel gave Sihon and all his army over to Israel, and they defeated them; and so, Israel gained possession of all the land of the Amorites, who had occupied that country. 22And they gained possession of all the borders of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jabbok, and from the desert as far as the Jordan.’ 23So now, since the LORD God of Israel has driven the Amorites from before His people Israel, do you think that you should now possess it? 24Would you not take what Chemosh, your god, gives you to possess? So, likewise, whomever the LORD our God drives out from before us, their land we will possess. 25And do you think you are any better than Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel, or did he ever fight against them, 26For three hundred years, Israel occupied the cities of Heshbon and Aroer and all its villages, and all the cities that are along the borders of Arnon. Why did you not retake them in all that time? 27Therefore, I have not wronged you, but you do me wrong by waging war against me, and may the LORD, the Judge, be judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites.” 28However, the king of the Ammonites ignored this last message which of Jephthah sent him.

29Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead, and Manasseh, and crossed over Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah he crossed over to the Ammonites. 30And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: “If You shall give me victory over the Ammonites, 31Then whatever comes out of my house to meet me, when I return in triumph from the Ammonites, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” 32So Jephthah crossed over to fight against the Ammonites; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. 33And he destroyed twenty cities, from Aroer almost to Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. And so the Ammonites were defeated before the Israelites.

34And when Jephthah returned to his house in Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances; and she was his only child; he had no other son nor daughter. 35And when he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me very low, and I am devastated; for I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break.” 36And she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, you must do to me whatever you have vowed, for the LORD has given you a great victory over your enemies, the Ammonites.” 37And then she said to her father, “Grant just this one thing to me: let me alone for two months, so that I may roam up and down upon the mountains with my companions, and bewail my virginity; for I will never marry and have children.” 38And he said, “You may go.” And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 39And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did as he had vowed; and she died a virgin. And from this came a custom in Israel, 40That each year, for four days, the daughters of Israel went to lament the daughter of Jephthah, the Gileadite.