Judges 11:1–29

Jephthah Becomes Israel’s Leader

11Jephthah ^mthe Gileadite was a great warrior, ⁿbut he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father. ²Gilead’s wife bore him sons, and when they grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You will have no inheritance in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.” ³So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. ^oThen some lawless men joined Jephthah and traveled with him.

⁴Some time later, the Ammonites fought against Israel. ⁵When the Ammonites made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. ⁶They said to him, “Come, be our commander, and let’s fight against the Ammonites.”

⁷Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “Didn’t you hate me and drive me from my father’s house? Why then have you come to me now when you’re in trouble?”

⁸They answered Jephthah, “Since that’s true, we now turn to you. Come with us, fight the Ammonites, and you will become leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

⁹So Jephthah said to them, “If you are bringing me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, I will be your leader.”

¹⁰The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord is our witness if we don’t do as you say.” ¹¹So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead. The people put him over themselves as leader and commander, and Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the Lord at Mizpah.

Jephthah Rejects Ammonite Claims

¹²Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against me in my land?”

¹³The king of the Ammonites said to Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came from Egypt, they seized my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok ^pand the Jordan. Now restore it peaceably.”

¹⁴Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites ¹⁵to tell him, “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. ¹⁶But when they came from Egypt, Israel traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. ¹⁷Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us travel through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he refused. So Israel stayed in Kadesh. ^q

¹⁸“Then they traveled through the wilderness and around the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon but did not enter into the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.

¹⁹“Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon. ^rIsrael said to him, ‘Please let us travel through your land to our country,’ ²⁰but Sihon would not trust Israel to pass through his territory. Instead, Sihon gathered all his people, camped at Jahaz, and fought with Israel. ²¹Then the Lord God of Israel handed over Sihon and all his people to Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession ^sof the entire land of the Amorites who lived in that country. ²²They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

²³“The Lord God of Israel has now driven out the Amorites before His people Israel, and will you now force us out? ²⁴Isn’t it true that you may possess whatever your god Chemosh drives out for you, and we may possess everything the Lord our God drives out before us? ²⁵Now are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them? ²⁶While Israel lived 300 years in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, why didn’t you take them back at that time? ²⁷I have not sinned against you, but you have wronged me by fighting against me. Let the Lord who is the Judge ^tdecide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.” ²⁸But the king of the Ammonites would not listen to Jephthah’s message that he sent him.

Jephthah’s Vow and Sacrifice

²⁹The Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, who traveled through Gilead and Manasseh, and then through Mizpah of Gilead. He crossed over to the Ammonites from Mizpah of Gilead.