| New International Version | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. | 1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead was the father of Jephthah. |
| 2Gilead's wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family," they said, "because you are the son of another woman." | 2Gilead's wife 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 fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him. | 3So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob; and worthless fellows gathered themselves about Jephthah, and they went out with him. |
| 4Some time later, when the Ammonites were fighting against Israel, | 4It came about after a while that the sons of Ammon fought against Israel. |
| 5the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. | 5When the sons of Ammon fought against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob; |
| 6"Come," they said, "be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites." | 6and they said to Jephthah, "Come and be our chief that we may fight against the sons of Ammon." |
| 7Jephthah said to them, "Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house? Why do you come to me now, when you're in trouble?" | 7Then Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "Did you not hate me and drive me from my father's house? So why have you come to me now when you are in trouble?" |
| 8The elders of Gilead said to him, "Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be head over all of us who live in Gilead." | 8The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "For this reason we have now returned to you, that you may go with us and fight with the sons of Ammon and become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead." |
| 9Jephthah answered, "Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me--will I really be your head?" | 9So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "If you take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the LORD gives them up to me, will I become your head?" |
| 10The elders of Gilead replied, "The LORD is our witness; we will certainly do as you say." | 10The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The LORD is witness between us; surely we will do as you have said." |
| 11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the LORD in Mizpah. | 11Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD at Mizpah. |
| 12Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: "What do you have against me that you have attacked my country?" | 12Now Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, "What is between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?" |
| 13The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah's messengers, "When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably." | 13The king of the sons of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthah, "Because Israel took away my land when they came up from Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok and the Jordan; therefore, return them peaceably now." |
| 14Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, | 14But Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the sons of Ammon, |
| 15saying: "This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. | 15and they said to him, "Thus says Jephthah, 'Israel did not take away the land of Moab nor the land of the sons of Ammon. |
| 16But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and on to Kadesh. | 16'For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh, |
| 17Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Give us permission to go through your country,' but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab, and he refused. So Israel stayed at Kadesh. | 17then Israel 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 also sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. |
| 18"Next they traveled through the wilderness, skirted the lands of Edom and Moab, passed along the eastern side of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was its border. | 18Then they went through the wilderness and around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came to the east side of the land of Moab, and they camped beyond the Arnon; but they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. |
| 19"Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, 'Let us pass through your country to our own place.' | 19'And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, "Please let us pass through your land to our place." |
| 20Sihon, however, did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his troops and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. | 20'But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people and camped in Jahaz and fought with Israel. |
| 21"Then the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and his whole army into Israel's hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country, | 21'The LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them; so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. |
| 22capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan. | 22'So they possessed all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and from the wilderness as far as the Jordan. |
| 23"Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over? | 23'Since now the LORD, the God of Israel, drove out the Amorites from before His people Israel, are you then to possess it? |
| 24Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the LORD our God has given us, we will possess. | 24'Do you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the LORD our God has driven out before us, we will possess it. |
| 25Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them? | 25'Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive with Israel, or did he ever fight against them? |
| 26For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn't you retake them during that time? | 26'While 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, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time? |
| 27I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the LORD, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites." | 27'I therefore have not sinned against you, but you are doing me wrong by making war against me; may the LORD, the Judge, judge today between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.'" |
| 28The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him. | 28But the king of the sons of Ammon disregarded the message which Jephthah sent him. |
| 29Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. | 29Now the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon. |
| 30And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, | 30Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, "If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, |
| 31whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering." | 31then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering." |
| 32Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. | 32So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD gave them into his hand. |
| 33He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon. | 33He struck them with a very great slaughter from Aroer to the entrance of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel. |
| 34When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. | 34When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. |
| 35When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, "Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break." | 35When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are among those who trouble me; for I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot take it back." |
| 36"My father," she replied, "you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. | 36So she said to him, "My father, you have given your word to the LORD; do to me as you have said, since the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the sons of Ammon." |
| 37But grant me this one request," she said. "Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry." | 37She said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my companions." |
| 38"You may go," he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. | 38Then he said, "Go." So he sent her away for two months; and she left with her companions, and wept on the mountains because of her virginity. |
| 39After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. From this comes the Israelite tradition | 39At the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she had no relations with a man. Thus it became a custom in Israel, |
| 40that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite. | 40that the daughters of Israel went yearly to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year. |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
|
