| NET Bible | English Standard Version |
| 1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father. | 1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. |
| 2Gilead's wife also gave him sons. When his wife's sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him, "You are not going to inherit any of our father's wealth, because you are another woman's son." | 2And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” |
| 3So Jephthah left his half-brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah's gang and traveled with him. | 3Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him. |
| 4It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel. | 4After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. |
| 5When the Ammonites attacked, the leaders of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back from the land of Tob. | 5And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. |
| 6They said, "Come, be our commander, so we can fight with the Ammonites." | 6And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.” |
| 7Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, "But you hated me and made me leave my father's house. Why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?" | 7But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” |
| 8The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "That may be true, but now we pledge to you our loyalty. Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader of all who live in Gilead." | 8And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the Ammonites and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” |
| 9Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, "All right! If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, I will be your leader." | 9Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the LORD gives them over to me, I will be your head.” |
| 10The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The LORD will judge any grievance you have against us, if we do not do as you say." | 10And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say.” |
| 11So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement before the LORD in Mizpah. | 11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD at Mizpah. |
| 12Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, "Why have you come against me to attack my land?" | 12Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” |
| 13The Ammonite king said to Jephthah's messengers, "Because Israel stole my land when they came up from Egypt--from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan. Now return it peaceably!" | 13And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.” |
| 14Jephthah sent messengers back to the Ammonite king | 14Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites |
| 15and said to him, "This is what Jephthah says, 'Israel did not steal the land of Moab and the land of the Ammonites. | 15and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, |
| 16When they left Egypt, Israel traveled through the desert as far as the Red Sea and then came to Kadesh. | 16but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. |
| 17Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, "Please allow us to pass through your land." But the king of Edom rejected the request. Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate. So Israel stayed at Kadesh. | 17Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. |
| 18Then Israel went through the desert and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They traveled east of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River; they did not go through Moabite territory (the Arnon was Moab's border). | 18“Then they journeyed through the wilderness and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and arrived on 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, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. |
| 19Israel sent messengers to King Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, "Please allow us to pass through your land to our land." | 19Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our country,’ |
| 20But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He assembled his whole army, camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. | 20but Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people together and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. |
| 21The LORD God of Israel handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel and they defeated them. Israel took all the land of the Amorites who lived in that land. | 21And the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. |
| 22They took all the Amorite territory from the Arnon River on the south to the Jabbok River on the north, from the desert in the east to the Jordan in the west. | 22And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. |
| 23Since the LORD God of Israel has driven out the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can just take it from them? | 23So then the LORD, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them? |
| 24You have the right to take what Chemosh your god gives you, but we will take the land of all whom the LORD our God has driven out before us. | 24Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? And all that the LORD our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess. |
| 25Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them? | 25Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them? |
| 26Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time? | 26While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time? |
| 27I have not done you wrong, but you are doing wrong by attacking me. May the LORD, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!'" | 27I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The LORD, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.” |
| 28But the Ammonite king disregarded the message sent by Jephthah. | 28But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him. |
| 29The LORD's spirit empowered Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites. | 29Then the Spirit of the LORD was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. |
| 30Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, saying, "If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me, | 30And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, |
| 31then whoever is the first to come through the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites--he will belong to the LORD and I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice." | 31then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” |
| 32Jephthah approached the Ammonites to fight with them, and the LORD handed them over to him. | 32So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD gave them into his hand. |
| 33He defeated them from Aroer all the way to Minnith--twenty cities in all, even as far as Abel Keramim! He wiped them out! The Israelites humiliated the Ammonites. | 33And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel. |
| 34When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying out to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines. She was his only child; except for her he had no son or daughter. | 34Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. |
| 35When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said, "Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me! You have brought me disaster! I made an oath to the LORD, and I cannot break it." | 35And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot take back my vow.” |
| 36She said to him, "My father, since you made an oath to the LORD, do to me as you promised. After all, the LORD vindicated you before your enemies, the Ammonites." | 36And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the LORD; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the LORD has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.” |
| 37She then said to her father, "Please grant me this one wish. For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity." | 37So she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.” |
| 38He said, "You may go." He permitted her to leave for two months. She went with her friends and mourned her virginity as she walked through the hills. | 38So he said, “Go.” Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. |
| 39After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin. Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel. | 39And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel |
| 40Every year Israelite women commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days. | 40that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year. |
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