Judges 11:1-21 ▼

1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a prostitute. And Gilead became the father of Jephthah.

2 Gilead's wife bore him sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove out Jephthah, and said to him, |You shall not inherit in our father's house; for you are the son of another woman.|

3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers, and lived in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain fellows to Jephthah, and they went out with him.

4 It happened after a while, that the people of Ammon made war against Israel.

5 It was so, that when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah out of the land of Tob;

6 and they said to Jephthah, |Come and be our chief, that we may fight with the people of Ammon.|

7 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, |Did you not hate me, and drive me out of my father's house, and sent me away from you? And why have you come to me now when you are in distress?|

8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, |Not so. We have turned to you now, that you may go with us, and fight with the people of Ammon; and you shall be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.|

9 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, |If you bring me home again to fight with the people of Ammon, and the LORD delivers them before me, shall I be your head?|

10 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, |The LORD shall be witness between us; surely according to your word so will we do.|

11 Then 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 in Mizpah.

12 Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, saying, |What have you to do with me, that you are come to me to fight against my land?|

13 And the king of the people of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, |Because Israel took away my land, when he came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even to the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore restore it peaceably, and I will depart.|

14 And the messengers returned to Jephthah, and Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the people of Ammon;

15 and he said to him, |Thus says Jephthah: 'Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the people of Ammon,

16 but when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Lake of Reeds, and came to Kadesh;

17 then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Please let me pass through your land.' But the king of Edom did not listen. In the same way, he sent to the king of Moab; but he would not. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.

18 Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they camped on the other side of the Arnon; but they did not come within the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.

19 Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, |Please let me pass through your land to our land.'

20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and camped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

21 The LORD, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they struck them. So Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.