Judges 11 NIV NLT Parallel

◄ Judges 11 ►

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1Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute.

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

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 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 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. Soon he had a band of worthless rebels following him.

4Some time later, when the Ammonites were fighting against Israel,

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

5the 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.

6"Come," they said, "be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites."

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

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?"

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?”

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."

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.”

9Jephthah answered, "Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me--will I really be your head?"

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 replied, "The LORD is our witness; we will certainly 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, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the LORD in 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.

12Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: "What do you have against me that you have attacked my country?"

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 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 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 sent back messengers to the Ammonite king,

14Jephthah sent this message back to the Ammonite king:

15saying: "This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take 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 up out of Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and on to Kadesh.

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

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.

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"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.

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, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, 'Let us pass through your country to our own place.'

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.

20Sihon, however, did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his troops and encamped 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.

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,

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,

22capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.

22from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and from the eastern wilderness to 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“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?

24Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the LORD our God has given us, we will possess.

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

25Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with 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?

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“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 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."

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.”

28The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.

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

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.

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.

30And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: "If you give the Ammonites into my hands,

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

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."

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.”

32Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands.

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

33He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.

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 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 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 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 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.”

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.

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.

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."

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"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.

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.

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

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 each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to 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.

New International Version (NIV)

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