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11 (A)Yefusa Omugireyaadi yali mulwanyi w’amaanyi; kitaawe yamuzaala mu malaaya. Mukazi wa Gireyaadi yali amuzaalidde abaana aboobulenzi, era abaana b’omukazi oyo bwe baakula, ne bagobaganya Yefusa nga bagamba nti, “Tolisikira wamu naffe ku bintu bya kitaffe, kubanga kitaffe yakuzaala mu mukazi mulala.” (B)Awo Yefusa n’adduka baganda be, n’agenda n’abeera mu nsi ye Tobu. Abasajja abataaliko kigendererwa ne bakuŋŋaana gy’ali ne bamugoberera.

(C)Oluvannyuma lw’ebbanga abaana ba Amoni ne bakola olutalo ku Isirayiri. Awo abaana ba Amoni bwe baali nga balwana ne Isirayiri, abakadde ab’e Gireyaadi ne bagenda okukima Yefusa mu nsi ya Tobu. Ne bagamba Yefusa nti, “Jjangu otukulembere tulwanyise abaana ba Amoni.”

(D)Yefusa n’agamba abakadde b’e Gireyaadi nti, “Temwankyawa ne mungoba mu nnyumba ya kitange? Lwaki kaakano mujja gye ndi nga mulina ekizibu?”

(E)Abakadde b’e Gireyaadi ne bagamba Yefusa nti, “Tuzze gy’oli kaakano, ojje ogende naffe, olwanyise abaana ba Amoni, n’oluvannyuma onoobeera mukulembeze w’abo bonna ababeera mu Gireyaadi.”

Yefusa n’abaddamu nti, “Singa munzizaayo ne nnwana n’abaana ba Amoni, Mukama n’abampangusiza, n’abeera omukulembeze wammwe?”

10 (F)Abakadde b’e Gireyaadi ne baddamu Yefusa nti, “Mukama ye mujulirwa waffe, bwe tutaatuukirize kigambo ekyo.” 11 (G)Awo Yefusa n’agenda n’abakadde b’e Gireyaadi, abantu ne bamufuula omukulembeze waabwe era omuduumizi, n’addamu ebigambo byonna bye yayogera mu maaso ga Mukama mu Mizupa.

12 Yefusa n’atuma ababaka eri kabaka w’abaana ba Amoni, ng’amugamba nti, “Onnanga ki ggwe, okujja gye ndi, olwanyise eggwanga lyange?”

13 (H)Kabaka w’abaana ba Amoni n’addamu ababaka ba Yefusa nti, “Kubanga Isirayiri bwe baali bava e Misiri baatwala ensi yange okuva ku Alunoni ne ku Yaboki n’okutuukira ddala ku Yoludaani. Kaakano gituddize lwa mirembe.”

14 Awo Yefusa n’addamu n’aweereza ababaka eri kabaka w’abaana ba Amoni 15 (I)ng’agamba nti,

“Yefusa bw’ati bw’ayogera nti, ‘Isirayiri teyatwala nsi ya Mowaabu newaakubadde ensi y’abaana ba Amoni. 16 (J)Naye Isirayiri bwe baava mu Misiri ne baba nga bayita mu ddungu nga balaga ku Nnyanja Emyufu n’e Kadesi, 17 (K)Isirayiri yatuma ababaka eri kabaka wa Edomu nga bamusaba bayitemu buyisi mu nsi ye. Naye ye teyabawuliriza. Isirayiri n’atuma n’ababaka eri kabaka wa Mowaabu, naye n’atabakkiriza kuyitamu. Isirayiri kyeyava asigala e Kadesi.

18 (L)“ ‘Awo Isirayiri n’alyoka ayita mu ddungu ne yeetooloola ensi ya Edomu n’ensi ya Mowaabu, n’ayita ku luuyi olw’ebuvanjuba obw’ensi ya Mowaabu, ne basiisira emitala wa Alunoni ku nsalo ya Mowaabu.

19 (M)“ ‘Awo Isirayiri n’atuma ababaka eri Sikoni kabaka w’Abamoli era kabaka w’e Kesuboni, ng’amusaba ng’agamba nti, Tukkirize tuyitemu tulage mu nsi yaffe. 20 (N)Naye Sikoni n’ateesiga Isirayiri kuyita mu nsalo ye, era Sikoni n’akuŋŋaanya abantu be bonna, ne basiisira mu Yakazi, n’alwanyisa Isirayiri.’

21 “ ‘Mukama Katonda wa Isirayiri n’agabula Sikoni n’abantu be bonna mu mukono gwa Isirayiri, n’abawangula, era Isirayiri n’atwala ensi yonna ey’Abamoli. 22 (O)Ne bawamba ensalo yonna ey’Abamoli okuva ku Alunoni okutuuka ku Yaboki, n’okuva ku ddungu okutuuka ku Yoludaani.

23 “ ‘Kaakano obanga Mukama Katonda wa Isirayiri yagoba Abamoli mu maaso g’abantu be Isirayiri, ggwe ani okulwanyisa Isirayiri? 24 (P)Lwaki totwala ensi lubaale wo Kemosi gye yakuwa, naffe ne tutwala eyo Mukama Katonda waffe gye yatuwa? 25 (Q)Ddala ddala osinga Balaki mutabani wa Zipoli kabaka wa Mowaabu? Yali akaayanyizza Isirayiri wadde okubalwanyisa? 26 (R)Isirayiri emaze emyaka ebikumi bisatu mu Kesuboni n’ebyalo byayo, ne mu Aloweri n’ebyalo byayo, ne mu bibuga byonna ebiri ku lubalama lwa Alunoni. Kiki ekyabalobera okubyeddiza mu kiseera ekyo? 27 (S)Kaakano sirina kye nkusobezza naye ggwe onnumbye okulwana nange. Kale Mukama, Omulamuzi, leero alamule wakati w’abaana ba Isirayiri n’abaana ba Amoni.’ ”

28 Naye kabaka w’abaana ba Amoni n’atassaayo mwoyo ku bubaka Yefusa bwe yamutumira.

29 (T)Awo Omwoyo wa Mukama Katonda n’ajja ku Yefusa; Yefusa n’asomoka Gireyaadi ne Manase, n’ayita ne mu Mizupa eky’e Gireyaadi, era mu Mizupa eky’e Gireyaadi gye yava okulumba abaana ba Amoni. 30 (U)Yefusa ne yeeyama eri Mukama Katonda ng’agamba nti, “Bw’onogabula abaana ba Amoni mu mukono gwange, 31 ekintu kyonna ekirifuluma mu nzigi z’ennyumba yange nga nkomyewo mu buwanguzi, ne kinyaniriza nga nva mu baana ba Amoni, ndikiwaayo ng’ekiweebwayo ekyokebwa eri Mukama.”

32 Awo Yefusa n’alumba abaana ba Amoni n’abalwanyisa, era Mukama Katonda n’abagabula mu mukono gwe. 33 (V)N’abakuba okuva ku Aloweri okutuuka e Minnisi, bye bibuga amakumi abiri, n’okutuukira ddala ku Aberukeramimu; n’abakubira ddala era abaana ba Isirayiri ne bawangulira ddala abaana ba Amoni.

34 (W)Awo Yefusa bwe yakomawo e Mizupa mu maka ge, laba muwala we n’ajja okumukulisaayo ng’akuba ebitaasa era ng’amuzinira. Ye mwana yekka gwe yalina. 35 (X)Yefusa bwe yamulaba, n’ayuza engoye ze, n’ayogera mu ddoboozi ery’omwanguka nti, “Zinsaze muwala wange. Onnakuwazizza nnyo, era ondeetedde ennaku, kubanga neeyama eri Mukama Katonda, so siyinza kukimenyawo.”

36 (Y)Awo muwala we n’amugamba nti, “Kitange weeyama eri Mukama. Kola ekyo kye weeyama eri Mukama Katonda, kubanga awooledde eggwanga ku balabe bo, abaana ba Amoni.” 37 N’agamba kitaawe nti, “Nkusaba ekintu kimu kyokka, onzikirize ŋŋende ne mikwano gyange mu nsozi okumala emyezi ebiri, ne kaabireko kubanga ndi mbeerera.”

38 N’amugamba nti, “Genda.” N’agenda n’amala emyezi ebiri mu nsozi ng’ali ne bawala banne nga yeekaabirako olw’okuba yali mbeerera. 39 Oluvannyuma lw’emyezi ebiri, omuwala n’akomawo eri kitaawe, era kitaawe n’amuwaayo, nga bwe yeeyama. Yali muwala mbeerera.

Era okwo kwe kwava empisa mu Isirayiri 40 okuva mu biro ebyo, nti abawala mu Isirayiri bajjukira muwala wa Yefusa Omugireyaadi okumala ennaku nnya buli mwaka.

11 Jephthah(A) the Gileadite was a mighty warrior.(B) His father was Gilead;(C) his mother was a prostitute.(D) 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.” 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.

Some time later, when the Ammonites(G) were fighting against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites.”

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?”

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.”

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

  1. Judges 11:16 Or the Sea of Reeds
  2. Judges 11:20 Or however, would not make an agreement for Israel

11 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.

And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a strange woman.

Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.

And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.

And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:

And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.

And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?

And 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.

And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the Lord deliver them before me, shall I be your head?

10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The Lord be witness between us, if we do not so 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 uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh.

12 And 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, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.

14 And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon:

15 And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away 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, and came to Kadesh;

17 Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh.

18 Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.

19 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.

20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

21 And the Lord God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.

22 And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.

23 So now the Lord God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?

24 Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.

25 And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,

26 While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time?

27 Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the Lord the Judge 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 sent him.

29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.

30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

32 So Jephthah passed over 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, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.

36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.

37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.

38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.

39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.