Judges 11:1-9 ▼

1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant soldier, but he was also the son of a prostitute and Jephthah's father Gilead.

2 Gilead's wife bore two sons through him, but when his wife's sons grew up, they expelled Jephthah and declared to him, |You won't have an inheritance in this house, since you're the son of a different woman.|

3 So Jephthah escaped from his brothers and lived in the territory of Tob, where worthless men gathered themselves around him and went out on raiding parties with him.

4 Later on, the Ammonites attacked Israel.

5 When this happened, the elders of Gilead went to the territory of Tob to find Jephthah.

6 They told him, |Come and be our commander so we can fight the Ammonites!|

7 But Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, |Weren't you the ones who hated me and drove me out of my father's house? And you come to me now that you're in trouble?|

8 So the elders of Gilead told Jephthah, |Well, we're coming back to you now so you can accompany us, fight the Ammonites, and become the head of all the inhabitants of Gilead.|

9 Then Jephthah asked the elders of Gilead, |If you all send me to fight against the Ammonites and the LORD hands them over right in front of me, will I really become your head?|