The Ammonites Trouble Israel

⁶ Again the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] did ·what the Lord said was wrong [^Levil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. They ·worshiped [served] ·Baal and Ashtoreth [^Lthe Baals and Ashtoreths; 2:11–13; ^Creferring to the idols of these gods found throughout Israel], the gods of Aram [^Cthese included Hadad, Mot, Anath, and Rimon], Sidon [^CBaal and Ashtoreth], Moab [^CChemosh; Num. 21:29], and Ammon [^CMolech; 1 Kin. 11:7], and the gods of the Philistines [^CDagon; 16:23]. The Israelites ·left [abandoned; forsook] the Lord and stopped serving him. ⁷ So the Lord ·was angry with [^Lburned with anger against] them and ·handed them over to [^Lgave them into the hand of] the Philistines and the Ammonites. ⁸ In the same year those people ·destroyed [^Lshattered and crushed; ^Cfrom two Hebrew words that sound similar] the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] who lived east of the Jordan River in the region of Gilead, where the Amorites lived. So the Israelites suffered for eighteen years. ⁹ The Ammonites then crossed the Jordan River to fight the people of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim, causing much ·trouble [distress] to the people of Israel. ¹⁰ So the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] cried out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you. We ·left [abandoned; forsook] our God and ·worshiped [served] the ·Baal idols [^LBaals].”

¹¹ The Lord answered the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel], “When the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, ¹² Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites ·were cruel to [oppressed] you, you cried out to me, and ·I saved [^Ldid I not save/rescue/^Tdeliver…?] you [^Lfrom their hand]. ¹³ But now you have ·left [abandoned; forsaken] me again and have ·worshiped [served] other gods. So I ·refuse to [will no longer] save you again. ¹⁴ You have chosen those gods. So go ·call [cry out] to them for help. Let them ·save [rescue; ^Tdeliver] you when you are in ·trouble [distress].”

¹⁵ But the ·people [^Lsons; ^Tchildren] of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do to us whatever ·you want [you see fit; ^Lis good in your eyes], but please ·save [rescue; ^Tdeliver] us today!” ¹⁶ Then the Israelites threw away the foreign gods among them, and they worshiped the Lord again. So ·he felt sorry for them [or he could no longer bear it; or he grew impatient; ^Lhis spirit grew short] when he saw their suffering.

¹⁷ The ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon] ·gathered for war [were called to arms] and camped in Gilead. The Israelites gathered and camped at Mizpah. ¹⁸ The leaders of the people of Gilead said, “Who will lead us to attack the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon]? He will become the head of all those who live in Gilead.”

Jephthah Is Chosen as Leader

11 Jephthah was a ·strong soldier [mighty warrior] from Gilead [^Ca region east of the Jordan]. His father was named Gilead, and his mother was a prostitute. ² Gilead’s wife had several sons. When they grew up, they forced Jephthah to leave his home, saying to him, “You will not get any of our father’s ·property [inheritance], because you are the son of another woman.” ³ So Jephthah ran away from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob [^Cregion northeast of Gilead; 2 Sam. 10:6, 8]. There some ·worthless [good-for-nothing; trouble-making] men began to ·follow [or travel with] him.

⁴ After a time the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon] fought against Israel. ⁵ When the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon] made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to Jephthah to bring him back from Tob. ⁶ They said to him, “Come and ·lead our army [^Lbe our commander/ruler] so we can fight the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon].”

⁷ But Jephthah said to them, “Didn’t you hate me? You forced me to leave my father’s house. Why are you coming to me now that you are in trouble?”

⁸ The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “·It is because of those troubles that [For that reason; or Despite that; Nevertheless]^[a] we come to you now. Please come with us and fight against the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon]. You will be the ·ruler [leader; head] over everyone who lives in Gilead.”

⁹ Then Jephthah answered, “If you take me back to Gilead to fight the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon] and the Lord helps me win, ·I will be your ruler [or will I really be your ruler/leader/head?].”

¹⁰ The elders of Gilead said to him, “The Lord ·is listening to everything we are saying [is our witness; or will mediate for us; ^Lwill hear between us; ^Can oath formula]. ·We promise to do all that you tell us to do [or …if we do not do as you say].” ¹¹ So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their ·leader [head; ruler] and ·commander of their army [or chief; leader]. Jephthah repeated all of his words in front of the Lord at Mizpah [^Ceither to further ratify them or to confirm God’s direction].

Jephthah Sends Messengers to the Ammonite King

¹² Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon], asking, “What ·have you got against Israel [^Lto me and to you]? ·Why have you [^L…that you have] come to attack our land?”

¹³ The king of the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon] answered the messengers of Jephthah, “We are fighting Israel because you took our land when you came up from Egypt. You took our land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River to the Jordan River. Now give our land back to us peacefully.”

¹⁴ Jephthah sent the messengers to the Ammonite king again. ¹⁵ They said:

“This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or Ammon. ¹⁶ When the Israelites came up out of Egypt, they went through the ·desert [wilderness] to the Red Sea and then to Kadesh. ¹⁷ Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let ·the people of Israel [^Lus] ·go across [pass through] your land [Num. 20:14–17].’ But the king of Edom ·refused [^Lwould not listen]. They sent the same message to the king of Moab, but he also refused. So the Israelites stayed at Kadesh.

¹⁸ “Then the Israelites went through the ·desert [wilderness] around the borders of the lands of Edom and Moab. Israel went east of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River [^Cthe border of Moab]. They did not cross it to go into the land of Moab.

¹⁹ “Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of the city of Heshbon, asking, ‘Let the people of Israel pass through your land to go to our ·land [place].’ ²⁰ But Sihon did not trust the Israelites to cross his land. So he ·gathered all of his people [mobilized his army] and camped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.

²¹ “But the Lord, the God of Israel, handed Sihon and his army ·over to [^Linto the hand of] Israel. All ·the land [or that territory] of the Amorites became the property of Israel. ²² So Israel took all the ·land [territory] of the Amorites from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, from the desert to the Jordan River [Num. 21:21–30].

²³ “It was the Lord, the God of Israel, who ·forced [drove] out the Amorites ahead of his people Israel. So do you think you can ·make them leave [take possession of it]? ²⁴ ·Take [^LWill you not possess…?] the land that your god Chemosh [^Cthe chief god of the Moabites, which the Amorites were evidently also worshiping] has given you. We will live in the land the Lord our God has ·given [^Ldispossessed before] us!

²⁵ “Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab [Num. 22–24]? Did he ever quarrel or fight with the people of Israel? ²⁶ For three hundred years the Israelites have lived in Heshbon and Aroer and the towns around them and in all the cities along the Arnon River. Why have you not taken these cities back in all that time? ²⁷ I have not sinned against you, but you are sinning against me by making war on me. May the Lord, the Judge, decide today whether the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] or the Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon] are right.”

²⁸ But the king of the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon] ·ignored [would not listen to] this message from Jephthah.

Jephthah’s Promise

²⁹ Then the Spirit of the Lord ·entered [empowered; came/was upon; 3:10; 6:34] Jephthah. Jephthah passed through Gilead and Manasseh and the city of Mizpah in Gilead to the land of the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon]. ³⁰ Jephthah made a ·promise [vow] to the Lord, saying, “If you will ·hand over the Ammonites to me [^Lgive the sons of Ammon into my hand], ³¹ I will ·give you [offer; sacrifice] as a burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] the first thing that comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return ·from the victory [^Lin peace]. It will be the Lord’s.”

³² Then Jephthah went over to fight the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon], and the Lord ·handed them over to him [^Lgave them into his hand]. ³³ Jephthah ·struck them down [crushed/defeated them with a great slaughter] from the city of Aroer to the area of Minnith, twenty cities in all, and as far as the city of Abel Keramim. So the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon] were ·defeated [subdued] by the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel].

³⁴ When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, [^Llook; ^Tbehold] his daughter was the first one to come out to meet him, ·playing a tambourine [^Lwith tambourines] and dancing [Ex. 15:20]. She was his only child; he had no other sons or daughters. ³⁵ When Jephthah saw his daughter, he tore his clothes [^Cto show his sorrow] and said, “[^LAh!] My daughter! You have ·made me so sad [devastated me; brought me to my knees]. You have brought me disaster! I ·made a promise [have given my word; ^Lopened my mouth] to the Lord, and I cannot ·break it [recant; ^Lreturn]!”

³⁶ Then his daughter said, “Father, you ·made a promise [gave your word; ^Lopened your mouth] to the Lord. So do to me just what ·you promised [^Lcame out of your mouth], because the Lord ·helped you defeat [avenged you of; or vindicated you before] your enemies, the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon].” ³⁷ She also said, “But let me do one thing. Let me be alone for two months to go ·to [^Ldown and up in] the mountains. Let me and my friends go and ·cry together since I will never marry [^Lweep for my virginity].”

³⁸ Jephthah said, “Go.” So he sent her away for two months. She and her friends ·stayed [walked] in the mountains and ·cried for her because she would never marry [^Lwept for her virginity]. ³⁹ After two months she returned to her father, and Jephthah did to her what he had ·promised [vowed; v. 31]. Jephthah’s daughter ·never had a husband [or died a virgin; ^Lnever knew a man; ^Csome claim Jephthah committed her to lifelong service as a virgin at the sanctuary (Ex. 38:8); more likely, he literally fulfilled his rash vow (see next verse)].

From this came a custom in Israel that ⁴⁰ every year the young women of Israel would go out for four days to ·remember [commemorate] the daughter of Jephthah from Gilead.

Jephthah and Ephraim

12 The men of Ephraim called all their soldiers together and crossed the river to the town of Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why didn’t you call us to help you fight the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon]? We will burn your house down ·with you in it [over you].”

² Jephthah answered them, “My people and I fought a great battle against the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon]. I called you, but you didn’t ·come to help me [^Lsave/rescue/^Tdeliver me from their hand]. ³ When I saw that you would not help me, I risked my own life and went against the Ammonites. The Lord ·handed them over to me [^Lgave them into my hand]. So why have you come to fight against me today?”

⁴ Then Jephthah called the men of Gilead together and fought the men of Ephraim. The men of Gilead struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You men of Gilead are ·nothing but deserters [or fugitives; or renegades] from Ephraim—living ·between [or in the territory of] Ephraim and Manasseh.” ⁵ The men of Gilead captured the ·crossings [fords; 3:28] of the Jordan River ·that led to the country of [opposite] Ephraim. A person from Ephraim trying to escape would say, “Let me cross the river.” Then the men of Gilead would ask him, “Are you from Ephraim?” If he replied no, ⁶ they would say to him, “Say the word ‘Shibboleth [the word means “flood” or “stream” in Hebrew].’” The men of Ephraim could not say that word correctly [^Cthe difference in accent gave them away (cf. Matt. 26:73)]. So if the person from Ephraim said, “Sibboleth,” the men of Gilead would kill him at the ·crossing [ford]. So forty-two thousand people from Ephraim were killed at that time.

⁷ Jephthah ·judged [led; 2:16] Israel for six years. Then Jephthah, the man from Gilead, died and was buried in a town in Gilead.

Ibzan, the Judge

⁸ After Jephthah died, Ibzan from Bethlehem ·judged [led; 2:16] Israel. ⁹ He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He ·let his daughters marry [^Lgave them in marriage to] men who were not in his ·family group [clan], and he brought thirty women who were not in his tribe to be wives for his sons. Ibzan ·judged [led] Israel for seven years. ¹⁰ Then he died and was buried in Bethlehem.

Elon, the Judge

¹¹ After Ibzan died, Elon from the tribe of Zebulun ·judged [led; 2:16] Israel. He ·judged [led] Israel for ten years. ¹² Then Elon, the man of Zebulun, died and was buried in the city of Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

Abdon, the Judge

¹³ After Elon died, Abdon son of Hillel from the city of Pirathon ·judged [led; 2:16] Israel. ¹⁴ He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys [10:4]. He ·judged [led] Israel for eight years. ¹⁵ Then Abdon son of Hillel died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the ·mountains [hill country] where the Amalekites lived.