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Judges 11
1599 Geneva Bible
Judges 11
1599 Geneva Bible
11 2 Jephthah being chased away by his brethren, was after made captain over Israel. 30 He maketh a rash vow. 32 He vanquisheth the Ammonites, 39 and sacrificeth his daughter according to his vow.
1 Then Gilead begat Jephthah, and Jephthah the Gileadite was [a]a valiant man, but the son of an [b]harlot.
2 And Gilead’s wife bare him sons, and when the woman’s children were come to age, they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house: for thou art the son of a [c]strange woman.
3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of [d]Tob: and there gathered idle fellows to Jephthah, and [e]went out with him.
4 ¶ And in process of time, the children of Ammon made war with Israel.
5 And when the children of Ammon fought with Israel, the [f]Elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob.
6 And they said unto Jephthah, Come and be our captain, that we may fight [g]with the children of Ammon.
7 Jephthah then answered the Elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and [h]expel me out of my father’s house? how then come you unto me now in time of your tribulation?
8 Then the Elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
9 And Jephthah said unto the Elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, if the Lord give them before me, shall I be your head?
10 And the Elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The Lord [i]be witness between us, if we do not according to thy words.
11 Then Jephthah went with the Elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah rehearsed all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.
12 ¶ Then Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me, to fight in my land?
13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, (A)Because Israel took my land, when they came up from Egypt, from Arnon unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands [j]quietly.
14 Yet Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon,
15 And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, (B)Israel took not the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon.
16 But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the red sea, then they came to Kadesh.
17 (C)And Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, go through thy land: but the king of Edom would not consent: and also they sent unto the king of Moab, but he would not: therefore Israel abode in Kadesh.
18 Then they went through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the Eastside of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, (D)and came not within the coast of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.
19 Also Israel (E)sent messengers unto Sihon, king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon, and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, by thy land unto our [k]place.
20 But Sihon [l]consented not to Israel, that he should go through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.
21 And the Lord God of Israel gave Sihon, and all his folk into the hands of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country:
22 And they possessed (F)all the coast of the Amorites, from Arnon unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.
23 Now therefore the Lord God of Israel hath cast out the Amorites before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?
24 Wouldest not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the [m]Lord our God driveth out before us, them will we possess.
25 (G)And art thou now far better than Balak the son of Zippor king of Moab? did he not strive with Israel and fight against them,
26 When Israel dwelt in Heshbon and in her towns, and in Aroer and in her towns, and in all the cities that are by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why did ye not then recover [n]them in that space?
27 Wherefore I have not offended thee: but thou doest me wrong to war against me. The Lord the Judge [o]be judge this day between the children of Israel, and the children of Ammon.
28 Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah, which he had sent him.
29 ¶ Then the [p]Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over to Gilead, and to Manasseh, and came to Mizpah in Gilead, and from Mizpah in Gilead he went unto the children of Ammon.
30 And Jephthah [q]vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
31 Then that thing that cometh out of the doors of mine house to meet me, when I come home in peace from the children of Ammon, shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it for a burnt offering.
32 And so Jephthah went unto the children of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
33 And he smote them from Aroer even till thou come to Minnith, twenty cities, and so forth to [r]Abel of the vineyards, with an exceeding great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were humbled before the children of Israel.
34 ¶ Now when Jephthah came to Mizpah unto his house, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with [s]timbrels and dances, which was his only child: he had none other son, nor daughter.
35 And when he saw her, he [t]rent his clothes, and said, Alas my daughter, thou hast brought me low, and art of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and cannot go back.
36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do with me as thou hast promised, seeing that the Lord hath avenged thee of thine enemies the children of Ammon.
37 Also she said unto her father, Do thus much for me: suffer me two months, that I may go to the mountains, and [u]bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
38 And he said, Go: and he sent her away two months: so she went with her companions, and lamented her virginity upon the mountains.
39 And after the end of two months, she turned again unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed, and she had known no man. And it was a custom in Israel:
40 The daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a year.
Footnotes
- Judges 11:1 Hebrew, a man of mighty force.
- Judges 11:1 Or, victualler.
- Judges 11:2 That is, of an harlot as verse 1.
- Judges 11:3 Where the governor of the country was called Tob.
- Judges 11:3 Joined with him, as some think, against his brethren.
- Judges 11:5 Or, ambassadors, sent for that purpose.
- Judges 11:6 Men oft times are constrained to desire help of them, whom before they have refused.
- Judges 11:7 Oft times those things which men reject, God chooseth to do great enterprises by.
- Judges 11:10 Hebrew, be the bearer.
- Judges 11:13 Hebrew, in peace.
- Judges 11:19 Or, country.
- Judges 11:20 He trusted them not to go through his country.
- Judges 11:24 For we ought more to believe and obey God, than thou thine idols.
- Judges 11:26 Meaning, their towns.
- Judges 11:27 To punish the offender.
- Judges 11:29 That is, the spirit of strength and zeal.
- Judges 11:30 As the Apostle commendeth Jephthah for his worthy enterprise in delivering the people, Heb. 11:32, so by his rash vow and wicked performance of the same, his victory was defaced: and here we see that the sins of the godly do not utterly extinguish their faith.
- Judges 11:33 Or, the plain.
- Judges 11:34 According to the manner after the victory.
- Judges 11:35 Being overcome with blind zeal, and not considering whether the vow was lawful or no.
- Judges 11:37 For it was counted as a shame in Israel, to die without children, and therefore they rejoiced to be married.
Judges 11
New International Version
Judges 11
New International Version
11 Jephthah(A) the Gileadite was a mighty warrior.(B) His father was Gilead;(C) his mother was a prostitute.(D) 2 Gilead’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.” 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob,(E) where a gang of scoundrels(F) gathered around him and followed him.
4 Some time later, when the Ammonites(G) were fighting against Israel, 5 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.”
7 Jephthah said to them, “Didn’t you hate me and drive me from my father’s house?(H) Why do you come to me now, when you’re in trouble?”
8 The 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(I) over all of us who live in Gilead.”
9 Jephthah answered, “Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me—will I really be your head?”
10 The elders of Gilead replied, “The Lord is our witness;(J) we will certainly do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders(K) of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated(L) all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.(M)
12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: “What do you have against me that you have attacked my country?”
13 The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon(N) to the Jabbok,(O) all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably.”
14 Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, 15 saying:
“This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab(P) or the land of the Ammonites.(Q) 16 But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea[a](R) and on to Kadesh.(S) 17 Then Israel sent messengers(T) to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Give us permission to go through your country,’(U) but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab,(V) and he refused.(W) So Israel stayed at Kadesh.
18 “Next they traveled through the wilderness, skirted the lands of Edom(X) and Moab, passed along the eastern side(Y) of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon.(Z) They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was its border.
19 “Then Israel sent messengers(AA) to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon,(AB) and said to him, ‘Let us pass through your country to our own place.’(AC) 20 Sihon, however, did not trust Israel[b] to pass through his territory. He mustered all his troops and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.(AD)
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, 22 capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.(AE)
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? 24 Will you not take what your god Chemosh(AF) gives you? Likewise, whatever the Lord our God has given us,(AG) we will possess. 25 Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor,(AH) king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them?(AI) 26 For three hundred years Israel occupied(AJ) Heshbon, Aroer,(AK) the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn’t you retake them during that time? 27 I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge,(AL) decide(AM) the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites.(AN)”
28 The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.
29 Then the Spirit(AO) of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah(AP) of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites.(AQ) 30 And Jephthah made a vow(AR) to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph(AS) from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.(AT)”
32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith,(AU) as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.
34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing(AV) to the sound of timbrels!(AW) She was an only child.(AX) Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes(AY) 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.(AZ)”
36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised,(BA) now that the Lord has avenged you(BB) of your enemies,(BC) the Ammonites. 37 But 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.”
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. 39 After 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 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Footnotes
- Judges 11:16 Or the Sea of Reeds
- Judges 11:20 Or however, would not make an agreement for Israel
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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