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JUDG ES 12
page 229
through his land. Instead, he mobilized his
army at Jahaz and attacked them. 21 But the
Lord, the God of Israel, gave his people
victory over King Sihon. So Israel took
control of all the land of the Amorites, who
lived in that region, 22 from the Arnon River
to the Jabbok River, and from the eastern
wilderness to the Jordan.
23 “So you see, it was the Lord, the God
of Israel, who took away the land from the
Amorites and gave it to Israel. Why, then,
should we give it back to you? 24 You keep
whatever your god Chemosh gives you, and
we will keep whatever the Lord our God
gives us. 25 Are you any better than Balak
son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he try to
make a case against Israel for disputed
land? Did he go to war against them?
26 “Israel has been living here for
300 years, inhabiting Heshbon and its
surrounding settlements, all the way to
Aroer and its settlements, and in all the
towns along the Arnon River. Why have
you made no effort to recover it before now?
27 Therefore, I have not sinned against you.
Rather, you have wronged me by attacking
me. Let the Lord, who is judge, decide today
which of us is right—Israel or Ammon.”
28 But the king of Ammon paid no attention to
Jephthah’s message.
Jephthah’s Vow
29 At that time the Spirit of the Lord came upon
Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of
Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he led an army against the
Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the
Lord. He said, “If you give me victory over
the Ammonites, 31 I will give to the Lord whatever
comes out of my house to meet me when I return
in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
32 So Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave him victory. 33 He
crushed the Ammonites, devastating about
twenty towns from Aroer to an area near Minnith and as far away as Abel-keramim. In this
way Israel defeated the Ammonites.
34 When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah,
his daughter came out to meet him, playing
on a tambourine and dancing for joy. She was
his one and only child; he had no other sons
or daughters. 35 When he saw her, he tore his
clothes in anguish. “Oh, my daughter!” he cried
out. “You have completely destroyed me! You’ve
brought disaster on me! For I have made a vow
to the Lord, and I cannot take it back.”
36 And she said, “Father, if you have made a
vow to the Lord, you must do to me what you
have vowed, for the Lord has given you a great
victory over your enemies, the Ammonites.
37 But first let me do this one thing: Let me go up
and roam in the hills and weep with my friends
for two months, because I will die a virgin.”
38 “You may go,” Jephthah said. And he sent
her away for two months. She and her friends
went into the hills and wept because she would
never have children. 39 When she returned
home, her father kept the vow he had made,
and she died a virgin.
So it has become a custom in Israel 40 for young
Israelite women to go away for four days each
year to lament the fate of Jephthah’s daughter.
Ephraim Fights with Jephthah
Then the people of Ephraim mobilized
an army and crossed over the Jordan
River to Zaphon. They sent this message to Jephthah: “Why didn’t you call for us to help you
fight against the Ammonites? We are going to
burn down your house with you in it!”
2 Jephthah replied, “I summoned you at
the beginning of the dispute, but you refused
to come! You failed to help us in our struggle
against Ammon. 3 So when I realized you
weren’t coming, I risked my life and went to
battle without you, and the Lord gave me victory over the Ammonites. So why have you now
come to fight me?”
4 The people of Ephraim responded, “You
men of Gilead are nothing more than fugitives
from Ephraim and Manasseh.” So Jephthah
gathered all the men of Gilead and attacked the
men of Ephraim and defeated them.
5 Jephthah captured the shallow crossings of
the Jordan River, and whenever a fugitive from
Ephraim tried to go back across, the men of Gilead would challenge him. “Are you a member
of the tribe of Ephraim?” they would ask. If the
man said, “No, I’m not,” 6 they would tell him
to say “Shibboleth.” If he was from Ephraim,
he would say “Sibboleth,” because people from
Ephraim cannot pronounce the word correctly.
Then they would take him and kill him at the
shallow crossings of the Jordan. In all, 42,000
Ephraimites were killed at that time.
7 Jephthah judged Israel for six years. When
he died, he was buried in one of the towns of
Gilead.
12
Ibzan Becomes Israel’s Judge
8 After Jephthah died, Ibzan from Bethlehem
judged Israel. 9 He had thirty sons and thirty
daughters. He sent his daughters to marry men
outside his clan, and he brought in thirty young
women from outside his clan to marry his sons.
Ibzan judged Israel for seven years. 10 When he
died, he was buried at Bethlehem.
Elon Becomes Israel’s Judge
11 After Ibzan died, Elon from the tribe of Zebulun judged Israel for ten years. 12 When he died,
he was buried at Aijalon in Zebulun.