Judges 11
1 There was at that time Jephte the Galaadite, a most valiant man and a warrior, the son of a woman that was a harlot, and his father was Galaad.
And Jephthae the Galaadite [was] a mighty man; and he [was] the son of a harlot, who bore Jephthae to Galaad.
2 Now Galaad had a wife of whom he had sons: who after they were grown up, thrust out Jephte, saying: Thou canst not inherit in the house of our father, because thou art born of another mother.
And the wife of Galaad bore him sons; and the sons of his wife grew up, and they cast out Jephthae, and said to him, You shall not inherit in the house of our father, for you are the son of a concubine.
3 Then he fled and avoided them and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered to him needy men, and robbers, and they followed him as their prince.
And Jephthae fled from the face of his brethren, and lived in the land of Tob; and vain men gathered to Jephthae, and went out with him.
4 In those days the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
And it came to pass when the children of Ammon prepared to fight with Israel,
5 And as they pressed hard upon them, the ancients of Galaad went to fetch Jephte out of the land of Tob to help them:
that the elders of Galaad went to fetch Jephthae from the land of Tob.
6 And they said to him: Come thou and be our prince, and fight against the children of Ammon.
And they said to Jephthae, Come, and be our head, and we will fight with the sons of Ammon.
7 And he answered them: Are not you the men that hated me, and cast me out of my father’s house, and now you are come to me constrained by necessity?
And Jephthae said to the elders of Galaad, Did you not hate me, and cast me out of my father's house, and banish me from you? and therefore are you come to me now when you lack me?
8 And the princes of Galaad said to Jephte: For this cause we are now come to thee, that thou mayst go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be head over all the inhabitants of Galaad.
And the elders of Galaad said to Jephthae, Therefore have we now turned to you, that you should go with us, and fight against the sons of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Galaad.
9 Jephte also said to them: If you be come to me sincerely, that I should fight for you against the children of Ammon, and the Lord shall deliver them into my band, shall I be your prince?
And Jephthae said to the elders of Galaad, If you turn me back to fight with the children of Ammon, and the Lord should deliver them before me, then will I be your head.
10 They answered him: The Lord who heareth these things, he himself is mediator and witness that we will do as we have promised.
And the elders of Galaad said to Jephthae, The Lord be witness between us, if we shall not do according to your word.
11 Jephte therefore went with the princes of Galaad, and all the people made him their prince. And Jephte spoke all his words before the Lord in Maspha.
And Jephthae went with the elders of Galaad, and the people made him head and ruler over them: and Jephthae spoke all his words before the Lord in Massepha.
12 And he sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, to say in his name, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me, to waste my land?
And Jephthae sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What have I to do with you, that you have come against me to fight in my land?
13 And he answered them: I Because Israel took away my land when he came up out of Egypt, from the confines of the Arnon unto the Jaboc and the Jordan: now therefore restore the same peaceably to me.
And the king of the children of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthae, Because Israel took my land when he went up out of Egypt, from Arnon to Jaboc, and to Jordan: now then return them peaceably and I will depart.
14 And Jephte again sent word by them, and commanded them to say to the king of Ammon:
And Jephthae again sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon,
15 Thus saith Jephte: Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
and said to him, Thus says Jephthae, Israel took not the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon;
16 But when they came up out of Egypt, he walked through the desert to the Red Sea and came into Cades.
for in their going up out of Egypt Israel went in the wilderness as far as the sea of Siph, and came to Cades.
17 And he sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying: Suffer me to pass through thy land. But he would not condescend to his request. He sent also to the king of Moab, who likewise refused to give him passage. He abode therefore in Cades,
And Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, I will pass, if it please you, by your land: and the king of Edom complied not: and [Israel] also sent to the king of Moab, and he did not consent; and Israel sojourned in Cades.
18 And went round the land of Edom at the side, and the land of Moab: and came over against the east coast of the land of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon: and he would not enter the bounds of Moab.
And [they] journeyed in the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab: and they came by the east of the land of Moab, an encamped in the country beyond Arnon, and came not within the borders of Moab, for Arnon [is] the border of Moab.
19 So Israel sent messengers to Sehon king of the Amorrhites, who dwelt in Hesebon, and they said to him: Suffer me to pass through thy land to the river.
And Israel sent messengers to Seon king of the Amorite, king of Esbon, and Israel said to him, Let us pass, we pray you, by your land to our place.
20 But he also despising the words of Israel, suffered him not to pass through his borders: but gathering an infinite multitude, went out against him to Jasa, and made strong opposition.
And Seon did not trust Israel to pass by his coast; and Seon gathered all his people, and they encamped at Jasa; and he set the battle in array against Israel.
21 And the Lord delivered him with all his army into the hands of Israel, and he slew him, and possessed all the land of the Amorrhite the inhabitant of that country,
And the Lord God of Israel delivered Seon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they struck him; and Israel inherited all the land of the Amorite who lived in that land,
22 And all the coasts thereof from the Arnon to the Jaboc, and from the wilderness to the Jordan.
from Arnon and to Jaboc, and from the wilderness to Jordan.
23 So the Lord the God of Israel destroyed the Amorrhite, his people of Israel fighting against him, and wilt thou now possess this land?
And now the Lord God of Israel has removed the Amorite from before his people Israel, and shall you inherit his [land]?
24 Are not those things which thy god Chamos possesseth, due to thee by right? But what the Lord our God hath obtained by conquest, shall be our possession:
Will you not inherit those possessions which Chamos your god shall cause you to inherit; and shall not we inherit the [land of] all those whom the Lord our God has removed from before you?
25 Unless perhaps thou art better than Balac the son of Sephor king of Moab: or canst shew that he strove against Israel and fought against him,
And now are you any better than Balac son of Sepphor, king of Moab? did he indeed fight with Israel, or indeed make war with him,
26 Whereas he hath dwelt in Hesebon, and the villages thereof, and in Aroer, and its villages, and in all the cities near the Jordan, for three hundred years. Why have you for so long a time attempted nothing about this claim?
when [Israel] lived in Esebon and in its coasts, and in the land of Aroer and in its coasts, and in all the cities by Jordan, three hundred years? and therefore did you not recover them in that time?
27 Therefore I do not trespass against thee, but thou wrongest me by declaring an unjust war against me. The Lord be judge and decide this day between Israel and the children of Ammon.
And now I have not sinned against you, but you wrong me in preparing war against me: may the Lord the Judge judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
28 And the king of the children of Ammon would not hearken to the words of Jephte, which he sent him by the messengers.
But the king of the children of Ammon listened not to the words of Jephthae, which he sent to him.
29 Therefore the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephte, and going round Galaad, and Manasses, and Maspha of Galaad, and passing over from thence to the children of Ammon,
And the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthae, and he passed over Galaad, and Manasse, and passed by the watch-tower of Galaad to the other side of the children of Ammon.
30 He made a vow to the Lord, saying: If thou wilt deliver the children of Ammon into my hands,
And Jephthae vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If you will indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand,
31 Whosoever shall first come forth out of the doors of my house, and shall meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, the same will I offer a holocaust to the Lord.
then it shall come to pass that whoever shall first come out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, he shall be the Lord's: I will offer him up for a whole burnt offering.
32 And Jephte passed over to the children of Ammon, to fight against them: and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
And Jephthae advanced to meet the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hand.
33 And he smote them from Aroer till you come to Mennith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel, which is set with vineyards, with a very great slaughter: and the children of Ammon were humbled by the children of Israel.
And he struck them from Aroer till [one] comes to Arnon, in number twenty cities, and as far as Ebelcharmim, with a very great destruction: and the children of Ammon were straitened before the children of Israel.
34 And when Jephte returned into Maspha to his house, his only daughter met him with timbrels and with dances: for he had no other children.
And Jephthae came to Massepha to his house; and behold, his daughter came forth to meet him with timbrels and dances; and she was his only child, he had not another son or daughter.
35 And when he saw her, he rent his garments, and said: Alas! my daughter, thou hast deceived me, and thou thyself art deceived: for I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I can do no other thing.
And it came to pass when he saw her, that he tore his garments, and said, Ah, ah, my daughter, you have indeed troubled me, and you were the cause of my trouble; and I have opened my mouth against you to the Lord, and I shall not be able to return from it.
36 And she answered him: My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to the Lord, do unto me whatsoever thou hast promised, since the victory hath been granted to thee, and revenge of thy enemies.
And she said to him, Father, have you opened your mouth to the Lord? Do to me accordingly as [the word] went out of your mouth, in that the Lord has wrought vengeance for you on your enemies of the children of Ammon.
37 And she said to her father: Grant me only this which I desire: Let me go, that I may go about the mountains for two months, and may bewail my virginity with my companions.
And she said to her father, Let my father now do this thing: let me alone for two months, and I will go up and down on the mountains, and I will bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
38 And he answered her: Go. And he sent her away for two months. And when she was gone with her comrades and companions, she mourned her virginity in the mountains.
And he said, Go: and he sent her away for two months; and she went, and her companions, and she bewailed her virginity on the mountains.
39 And the two months being expired, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed, and she knew no man. From thence came a fashion in Israel, and a custom has been kept:
And it came to pass at the end of the two months that she returned to her father; and he performed upon her his vow which he vowed; and she knew no man:
40 That from year to year the daughters of Israel assemble together, and lament the daughter of Jephte the Galaadite for four days.
and it was an ordinance in Israel, [That] the daughters of Israel went from year to year to bewail the daughter of Jephthae the Galaadite for four days in a year.
