Judges:11

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* Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour , and he was the son of an harlot #H2181 : and Gilead begat Jephthah . * And Gileads wife bare him sons ; and his wifes sons grew up , and they thrust out Jephthah , and said unto him , Thou shalt not inherit in our fathers 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 Yisra #el #. * And it was so , that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel Yisra #el #, 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 Gil #ad #, Did not ye hate me , and expel me out of my fathers 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 Gil #ad #. * And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead Gil #ad #, 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 ro #sh #? * And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah , The LORD be witness between us , if we do not so according to thy words . * Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead Gil #ad #, and the people made him head and captain over them : and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh . * 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 ? * 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 . * And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon : * And said unto him , Thus saith Jephthah , Israel took not away the land of Moab Mow #ab #, nor the land of the children of Ammon : * But when Israel came up from Egypt , and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea , and came to Kadesh ; * 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 Mow #ab #: but he would not consent : and Israel abode in Kadesh . * Then they went along through the wilderness , and compassed the land of Edom , and the land of Moab Mow #ab #, and came by the east side mizrach # of the land of Moab Mow #ab #, and pitched on the other side of Arnon , but came not within the border of Moab Mow #ab #: for Arnon was the border of Moab Mow #ab #. * 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 . * But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast : but Sihon gatheredall his people together , and pitched in Jahaz , and fought against Israel Yisra #el #. * And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel Yisra #el #, and they smote them : so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites , the inhabitants of that country . * And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites , from Arnon even unto Jabbok , and from the wilderness even unto Jordan . * So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel Yisra #el #, and shouldest thou possess it ? * 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 . * And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor , king of Moab Mow #ab #? did he ever strive against Israel Yisra #el #, or did he ever fight against them , * While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns , and in Aroer #Arow #er # 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 ? * 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 . * Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him . * Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah , and he passed over Gilead Gil #ad #, and Manasseh , and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead Gil #ad #, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon . * And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD , and said , If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands , * 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 LORDS , and I will offer it up for a burnt offering . * So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them ; and the LORD delivered them into his hands . * And he smote them from Aroer #Arow #er #, even till thou come to Minnith , even twenty cities , and unto the plain of the vineyards #Abel , with a very great slaughter . Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel Yisra #el #. * 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 . * 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 . * 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 . * 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 re # ra #yah #. * And he said , Go . And he sent her away for two months : and she went with her companions re #ah #, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains . * 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 Yisra #el #, * That the daughters of Israel went yearly yowm # to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year .

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