Jephthah, the Ninth Judge

1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a [a]valiant warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. And Gilead had fathered Jephthah. 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 lived in the land of Tob; and worthless men gathered [b]around Jephthah, and they went [c]wherever he did.

4Now it came about, after a while, that the sons of Ammon fought against Israel. 5When the sons of Ammon fought against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob; 6and they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the sons of Ammon.” 7But 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 Jephthah, “For this reason we have now returned to you, that you may go with us and fight the sons of Ammon, and become our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 9So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the LORD gives them up [d]to me, will I become your head?” 10And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is [e]witness between us; be assured we will do [f]as you have said.” 11Then 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.

12So Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, “What conflict do you and I have, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” 13And the king of the sons of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthah, “It is because Israel took my land when they came up from Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok and the Jordan; so return them peaceably now.” 14But Jephthah sent messengers once again to the king of the sons of Ammon, 15and they said to him, “This is what Jephthah says: ‘Israel did not take the land of Moab nor the land of the sons of Ammon. 16For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the [g]Red Sea, and came to 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 messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. 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. 19And 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.” 20But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people and camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. 21And the LORD, the God of Israel, handed Sihon and all his people over to Israel, and they [h]defeated them; so Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. 22So 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. 23And now the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from His people Israel; so should you possess it? 24Do you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the LORD our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess it. 25Now then, are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel, or did he ever fight against them? 26While Israel was living 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? 27So I 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.’” 28But the king of the sons of Ammon [i]disregarded the message which Jephthah sent him.

Jephthah’s Tragic Vow

29Now the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and 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 and said, “If You will indeed hand over to me the sons of Ammon, 31then whatever comes out the doors of my house to meet me when I return [j]safely from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” 32So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD handed them over to him. 33He [k]inflicted a very great defeat on them from Aroer [l]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.

34But Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, and behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. And she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. 35So when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Oh, my daughter! You have brought me disaster, and you are among those who trouble me; for I have [m]given my word to the LORD, and I cannot take it back.” 36So she said to him, “My father, you have [n]given your word to the LORD; do to me just as [o]you have said, since the LORD has brought you vengeance on your enemies, the sons of Ammon.” 37And she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; allow me two months, so that I may [p]go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my friends.” 38Then he said, “Go.” So he let her go for two months; and she left with her friends, and wept on the mountains because of her virginity. 39And at the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her [q]what he had vowed; and she [r]had no relations with a man. And it became a custom in Israel, 40that the [s]daughters of Israel went annually to [t]commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days in the year.