Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was his father.

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

Gilead's wife also bore him sons, and when they grew up, they drove Jephthah away, saying, 'You will have no inheritance in our father's house because you are the son of another woman.'

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.

So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob. Men who were worthless gathered around Jephthah and went out with him.

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.

After some time, the Ammonites made war against Israel.

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

When the Ammonites fought against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.

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:

They said to Jephthah, 'Come and be our leader so we can fight against the Ammonites.'

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

But Jephthah said to them, 'Didn’t you hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why do you come to me now when you’re in trouble?'

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?

The elders of Gilead replied, 'That is why we have now turned to you. Come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.'

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.

Jephthah answered, 'If you bring me back to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them to me, will I really become your head?'

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?

The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, 'The Lord is our witness; we will certainly do as you say.'

And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.

So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their head and commander. Jephthah repeated all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.

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.

Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, asking, 'What do you have against me that you have come to fight against my land?'

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?

The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, 'When Israel came out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and as far as the Jordan. Now return it peacefully.'

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.

Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the Ammonites,

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

Jephthah said to him, 'This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites.'

And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:

For when they came up from Egypt, Israel traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and arrived at Kadesh.

But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;

Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Please let us pass through your land,' but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent to the king of Moab, but he refused. So Israel stayed in 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: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh.

Then they journeyed through the wilderness, went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came to the east side of the land of Moab. They camped on the other side of the Arnon but did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.

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.

Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who was king of Heshbon, and said to him, 'Let us pass through your land to our destination.'

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 did not trust Israel to pass through his land. Instead, he gathered all his people, camped at Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

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.

The Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into Israel’s hand, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who lived in that territory.

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.

They took possession of the entire region of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

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

Now the Lord, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites before His people Israel. Would you now take possession of it?

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

Do you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, we will take possession of whatever the Lord our God has driven out before us.

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.

Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive or fight against Israel?

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,

While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns along the Arnon for three hundred years, why didn’t you recover them during that time?

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?

I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. May the Lord, the Judge, judge today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.

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.

But the king of the Ammonites would not listen to the message Jephthah sent to him.

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 on Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and he went on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites.

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.

And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: 'If you give the Ammonites into my hands,

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

whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites will belong to the Lord, and I will offer it as a burnt offering.'

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.

Then Jephthah crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands.

So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.

He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith and as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued the Ammonites.

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.

When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing. She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her.

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.

When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, 'Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me to my knees and made me miserable, for I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.'

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.

She said to him, 'My father, you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, since the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.'

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.

She also said to her father, 'Let me do this one thing: Allow me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends because I will never marry.'

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.

He said, 'Go,' and he sent her away for two months. She and her friends went to the hills and wept because she would never marry.

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.

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, it became a custom in Israel

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,

Each year the daughters of Israel would go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

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