Judges 11
1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a prostitute. And Gilead became the father of Jephthah.
Jephthah of Gilead was a strong fighter. He was the son of a prostitute, and his father was Gilead.
2 Gilead's wife bore him sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove out Jephthah, and said to him, "You shall not inherit in our father's house; for you are the son of another woman."
Gilead's wife gave him sons, who when they grew up, drove Jephthah away, telling him, “You won't inherit anything from our father because you are another woman's son.”
3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers, and lived in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain fellows to Jephthah, and they went out with him.
Jephthah ran away from his brothers and went to live in the land of Tob. A gang of trouble-makers joined him and he led them out on raids.
4 It happened after a while, that the people of Ammon made war against Israel.
Later on, the Ammonites were at war with Israel.
5 It was so, that when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah out of the land of Tob;
As the Ammonites were attacking Israel, the elders of Gilead came to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.
6 and they said to Jephthah, "Come and be our chief, that we may fight with the people of Ammon."
“Come and be our army commander,” they asked Jepthah, “so we can fight the Ammonites.”
7 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "Did you not hate me, and drive me out of my father's house, and sent me away from you? And why have you come to me now when you are in distress?"
“Weren't you the ones who hated me and drove me from my father's house?” Jephthah asked them, “Why are you coming to me now you're in trouble?”
8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "Not so. We have turned to you now, that you may go with us, and fight with the people of Ammon; and you shall be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."
“Yes, that's why we've turned to you now,” the elders of Gilead replied. “Come with us and fight the Ammonites, and you will be the leader of all the people of Gilead.”
9 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "If you bring me home again to fight with the people of Ammon, and YHWH delivers them before me, shall I be your head?"
“So if I go back with you and fight the Ammonites, and the Lord makes me victorious, then I'll be your leader?” Jephthah asked the elders of Gilead.
10 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "YHWH shall be witness between us; surely according to your word so will we do."
“The Lord will be a witness between us,” they replied. “We'll do whatever you say.”
11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before YHWH in Mizpah.
So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and army commander. And Jephthah repeated all his conditions before the Lord at Mizpah.
12 Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, saying, "What have you to do with me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?"
Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites to ask him, “What have you got against me that you want to attack my land?”
13 And the king of the people of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, "Because Israel took away my land, when he came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even to the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore restore it peaceably, and I will depart."
The king of the Ammonites replied to Jephthah's messengers, “Israel seized my land when they came from Egypt. It extended from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and across to the Jordan River. So give it back and there'll be no fighting.”
14 And the messengers returned to Jephthah, and Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the people of Ammon;
Jephthah sent messengers back to the king of the Ammonites
15 and he said to him, "Thus says Jephthah: 'Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the people of Ammon,
to tell him, “This is Jephthah's reply: The Israelites did not take any land from Moab or from the Ammonites.
16 but when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh;
When they left Egypt, the Israelites went through the desert to the Red Sea and arrived at Kadesh.
17 then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Please let me pass through your land.' But the king of Edom did not listen. In the same way, he sent to the king of Moab; but he would not. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.
They sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your country,’ but the king of Edom refused to listen. They also sent the same request to the king of Moab, and he refused too. So they remained at Kadesh.
18 Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they camped on the other side of the Arnon; but they did not come within the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.
Eventually the Israelites traveled through the desert, avoiding the lands of Edom and Moab. They arrived on the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River. But they did not enter Moab territory, for the Arnon River was its border.
19 Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, "Please let me pass through your land to our land.'
Then the Israelites sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, and asked him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our own country.’
20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and camped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
But Sihon didn't trust the Israelites to pass through his territory. So he assembled his army, set up camp at Jahaz, and attacked the Israelites.
21 YHWH, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they struck them. So Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.
However, the Lord, the God of Israel, handed over Sihon and all his people to the Israelites, who defeated them. So the Israelites took over all the land inhabited by the Amorites.
22 They possessed all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon even to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to the Jordan.
They occupied all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and from the desert to the Jordan River.
23 So now YHWH, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from before his people Israel, and should you possess them?
It was the Lord, the God of Israel, who drove out the Amorites before his people Israel, so why should you take it over?
24 Won't you possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whoever YHWH our God has driven out from before us, we will possess.
Why don't you keep whatever your god Chemosh gave you, and we'll keep whatever the Lord our God has given us?
25 And now are you anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?
Do you think you're so much better than Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or attack them?
26 While Israel lived in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of the Arnon, three hundred years; why did you not liberate them within that time?
Israelites have been living in Heshbon, Aroer, their villages, and in all the towns along the banks of the Arnon River for three hundred years. Why didn't you take them back during that time?
27 I therefore have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong by making war against me. YHWH, the Judge, be judge this day between the children of Israel and the people of Ammon."
I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by going to war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”
28 However the king of the people of Ammon did not listen to the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
But the king of Ammon didn't pay any attention to what Jephthah had to say.
29 Then the Spirit of YHWH came on Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the people of Ammon.
Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then on through Mizpah of Gilead. From there he advanced to attack the Ammonites.
30 Jephthah made a vow to YHWH, and said, "If you will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hand,
Jephthah made a solemn promise to the Lord, saying, “If you make me victorious over the Ammonites,
31 then it shall be that whatever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, it shall be YHWH's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering."
I will dedicate to the Lord whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me on my safe return from the battle. I will present it as a burnt offering.”
32 So Jephthah passed over to the people of Ammon to fight against them; and YHWH delivered them into his hand.
Jephthah advanced to attack the Ammonites, and the Lord gave him the victory over them.
33 He struck them from Aroer until you come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and to Abel Keramim, with a very great slaughter. So the people of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
He soundly defeated them, capturing twenty cities from Aroer to the area around Minnith, up as far as Abel-keramim. This is how the Ammonites were conquered by the Israelites.
34 Jephthah came to Mizpah to his house; and look, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances: and she was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter.
When Jephthah arrived home in Mizpah, there came his daughter out to meet him, with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child—he had no son or daughter apart from her.
35 And it happened, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, "Alas, my daughter. You have brought me very low. You have become a stumbling block in my sight. And you are among those who trouble me. For I have given my word to YHWH, and I can't break it."
The moment he saw her, he ripped his clothes in agony and cried out, “Oh no, my daughter! You have crushed me completely! You have destroyed me, for I made a solemn promise to the Lord and I can't go back on it.”
36 She said to him, "My father, since you have given your word to YHWH; do to me as you promised, because YHWH has taken vengeance for you on your enemies, even on the people of Ammon."
She replied, “Father, you have made a solemn promise to the Lord. Do to me what you promised, for the Lord brought vengeance your enemies, the Ammonites.”
37 She said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may depart and go down on the mountains, and weep because of my virginity, I and my companions."
Then she went on to say to him, “Just let me do this: let me walk through the hills for two months with my friends and grieve the fact that I'll never marry.”
38 He said, "Go." He sent her away for two months: and she departed, she and her companions, and wept because of her virginity on the mountains.
“You can go,” he told her. He sent her away for two months, and she and her friends went into the hills and cried because she would never marry.
39 It happened at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to what he had vowed. And she was a virgin. It became a custom in Israel,
When the two months were over, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had promised, and she was a virgin. This is the origin of the custom in Israel
40 that the daughters of Israel went yearly four days in a year to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
that every year the young women of Israel leave for four days to weep in commemoration of the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
