Judges 11:1-21 ▼

1 And there was one Iephthah a Gileadite, a strong man, the sonne of an harlot.

2 And Gilead begat Iephthah: And Gileads wyfe bare him sonnes, which when they were come to age, thrust out Iephthah, and said vnto him: Thou shalt not inherite in our fathers house, for thou art the sonne of a straunge woman.

3 Then Iephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the lande of Tob: And there gathered ydle men to Iephthah, and went out with him.

4 And in processe of time, the children of Ammon made warre agaynst Israel.

5 And when the children of Ammon fought thus agaynst Israel, the elders of Gilead went to set Iephthah out of the lande of Tob,

6 And sayde vnto him: Come, and be our captayne, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.

7 Iephthah aunswered the elders of Gilead: Dyd not ye hate me, & expell me out of my fathers house? howe then come you vnto me nowe in time of your tribulation?

8 And the elders of Gilead sayde vnto Iephthah: Therfore we turne agayne to thee nowe, that thou mayest go with vs, & fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head ouer all the inhabitauntes of Gilead.

9 And Iephthah sayde vnto the elders of Gilead: If ye bring me home againe to fight against the children of Ammon, then yf the Lorde deliuer them before me, shall I be your head?

10 And the elders of Gilead sayd to Iephthah: The Lorde be witnesse betweene vs, if we do not according to thy wordes.

11 Then Iephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and ye people made hym head & captayne ouer them: And Iephthah rehearsed al his wordes before the Lorde in Mispah.

12 And Iephthah sent messengers vnto 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 lande?

13 The king of the children of Ammon aunswered vnto ye messengers of Iephthah: Because Israel toke away my lande when they came out of Egypt, euen from Arnon vnto Iabok, and vnto Iordane: Nowe therfore restore those landes agayne with faire meanes.

14 And Iephthah sent messengers agayne vnto the king of the children of Ammon,

15 And sayd vnto him, thus sayth Iephthah: Israel toke not away the lande of Moab, nor the lande of the children of Ammon.

16 But when Israel came vp fro Egypt, and walked thorowe the wildernesse, euen vnto ye red sea, they came to Cades:

17 And Israel sent messengers vnto the king of Edom, saying, Let me I praye thee go thorow thy lande: But the king of Edo would not agree therto. And in lyke maner they sent vnto the king of Moab: but he woulde not consent. And Israel abode stil in Cades.

18 And then they went along thorowe the wildernesse, and compassed the land of Edom, & the land of Moab, and came along by the east syde of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, and woulde not come within the coast of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.

19 And then Israel sent messengers vnto Sehon king of the Amorites, & king of Hesbon, and sayde vnto him: Let vs passe we pray thee thorow thy land vnto our owne countrey.

20 But Sehon consented not to Israel, that he shoulde go thorowe his coast: but gathered all his people together, & pitched in Iasa, & fought with Israel.

21 And the Lorde God of Israel deliuered Sehon & all his folke into the handes of Israel, and they smote them: So Israel smote them, and possessed all the land of the Amorites the inhabitauntes of that countrey.