Judges 11 CSB NLT Parallel

◄ Judges 11 ►

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1Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.

1Now Jephthah of Gilead was a great warrior. He was the son of Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute.

2Gilead's wife bore him sons, and when they grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, "You will have no inheritance in our father's family, because you are the son of another woman."

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.”

3So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Then some worthless men joined Jephthah and went on raids with him.

3So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Soon he had a band of worthless rebels following him.

4Some time later, the Ammonites fought against Israel.

4At about this time, the Ammonites began their war against Israel.

5When the Ammonites made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.

5When the Ammonites attacked, the elders of Gilead sent for Jephthah in the land of Tob.

6They said to him, "Come, be our commander, and let's fight the Ammonites."

6The elders said, “Come and be our commander! Help us fight the Ammonites!”

7Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, "Didn't you hate me and drive me out of my father's family? Why then have you come to me now when you're in trouble?"

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?”

8They answered Jephthah, "That's true. But now we turn to you. Come with us, fight the Ammonites, and you will become leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead."

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.”

9So Jephthah said to them, "If you are bringing me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, I will be your leader."

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?”

10The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The LORD is our witness if we don't do as you say."

10“The LORD is our witness,” the elders replied. “We promise to do whatever you say.”

11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander, and Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.

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.

12Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, asking, "What do you have against me that you have come to fight me in my land?"

12Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon, asking, “Why have you come out to fight against my land?”

13The king of the Ammonites said to Jephthah's messengers, "When Israel came from Egypt, they seized my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and the Jordan. Now restore it peaceably."

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.”

14Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites

14Jephthah sent this message back to the Ammonite king:

15to tell him, "This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites.

15“This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not steal any land from Moab or Ammon.

16But when they came from Egypt, Israel traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.

16When the people of Israel arrived at Kadesh on their journey from Egypt after crossing the Red Sea,

17Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Please let us travel through your land,' but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he refused. So Israel stayed in 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.

18"Then they traveled through the wilderness and around 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 did not enter into the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.

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.

19"Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon. Israel said to him, 'Please let us travel through your land to our country,'

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.

20but Sihon would not trust Israel to pass through his territory. Instead, Sihon gathered all his troops, camped at Jahaz, and fought with Israel.

20But King Sihon didn’t trust Israel to pass through his land. Instead, he mobilized his army at Jahaz and attacked them.

21Then the LORD God of Israel handed over Sihon and all his troops to Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of the entire land of the Amorites who lived in that country.

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,

22They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

22from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and from the eastern wilderness to the Jordan.

23"The LORD God of Israel has now driven out the Amorites before his people Israel, and will you now force us out?

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?

24Isn't it true that you can have whatever your god Chemosh conquers for you, and we can have whatever the LORD our God conquers for us?

24You keep whatever your god Chemosh gives you, and we will keep whatever the LORD our God gives us.

25Now are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

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?

26While Israel lived three hundred years in Heshbon and Aroer and their surrounding villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, why didn't you take them back at that time?

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?

27I have not sinned against you, but you are doing me wrong by fighting against me. Let the LORD who is the judge decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites."

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.”

28But the king of the Ammonites would not listen to Jephthah's message that he sent him.

28But the king of Ammon paid no attention to Jephthah’s message. Jephthah’s Vow

29The Spirit of the LORD came on Jephthah, who traveled through Gilead and Manasseh, and then through Mizpah of Gilead. He crossed over to the Ammonites from Mizpah of Gilead.

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.

30Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: "If you in fact hand over the Ammonites to me,

30And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites,

31whoever comes out the doors of my house to greet me when I return safely from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer that person as a burnt offering."

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.”

32Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD handed them over to him.

32So Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave him victory.

33He defeated twenty of their cities with a great slaughter from Aroer all the way to the entrance of Minnith and to Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites.

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.

34When Jephthah went to his home in Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no other son or daughter besides her.

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.

35When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "No! Not my daughter! You have devastated me! You have brought great misery on me. I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back."

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.”

36Then she said to him, "My father, you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me as you have said, for the LORD brought vengeance on your enemies, the Ammonites."

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.

37She also said to her father, "Let me do this one thing: Let me wander two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity."

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.”

38"Go," he said. And he sent her away two months. So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity as she wandered through the mountains.

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.

39At the end of two months, she returned to her father, and he kept the vow he had made about her. And she had never been intimate with a man. Now it became a custom in Israel

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

40that four days each year the young women of Israel would commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

40for young Israelite women to go away for four days each year to lament the fate of Jephthah’s daughter.

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