Judges 11:22-37

²²The Israelis took all the land that belonged to the Amor people-group, from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and from the desert in the east to the Jordan River in the west.

²³It was Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship, who forced the Amor people-group to leave as the Israelis advanced. So do you now think that you can force the Israelis to leave RHQ?

²⁴You take the land that your god Chemosh has given to you. And we will live in the land that Yahweh our God has given to us!

²⁵◄You are no/Are you► better than Zippor's son Balak, who was the king of the Moab people-group? He never RHQ quarreled with the Israeli people, and he never started to fight against us RHQ!

²⁶For three hundred years the Israeli people have lived in Heshbon and Aroer cities in your region, and in the surrounding towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon River. Why have you people of the Ammon people-group not taken back those cities during all those years RHQ?

²⁷We have not sinned against you, but you are sinning against me by attacking me and my army. I trust that Yahweh, the great judge, will decide whether we Israelis are right, or whether you people of the Ammon people-group are right.’ ”

²⁸But the king of the Ammon people-group did not pay attention to that message from Jephthah.

²⁹Then the Spirit of Yahweh took control of Jephthah. Jephthah went through the Gilead region and through the area where the tribe of Manasseh lived, to enlist/gather men for his army. He finally gathered them together in Mizpah city in the Gilead region to fight against the Ammon people-group.

³⁰There Jephthah made a solemn promise to Yahweh. He said, “If you will enable my army to defeat IDM the Ammon people-group,

³¹when I return from the battle, I will sacrifice to you the first person who comes out of my house to greet me. It will be a sacrifice that will be completely burned on the altar.”

³²Then Jephthah and his men went from Mizpah to attack the Ammon people-group, and Yahweh enabled his army to defeat them.

³³Jephthah and his men killed them, from Aroer city all the way to the area around th/e city of Minnith. They destroyed twenty cities, as far as the city of Abel Keramim. So the Israelis completely defeated the Ammon people-group.

³⁴When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, his daughter was the first one to come out of the house to meet him. She was joyfully playing a tambourine and dancing. She was his only child; he had no sons and no other daughters.

³⁵When Jephthah saw his daughter, he tore his clothes to show that he was very sad about what he was going to do. He said to her, “My daughter, you have caused me to become very sad DOU because I made a solemn promise to Yahweh to sacrifice the first one who came out of my house, and I must do what I promised.”

³⁶His daughter said, “My father, you made a solemn promise to Yahweh. So you must do to me what you promised, because you said that you would do that if Yahweh helped you to defeat our enemies, the Ammon people-group.”

³⁷Then she also said, “But allow me to do one thing. ◄First/before you do what you promised►, allow me to go up into the hilly area and wander around for two months. Since I will never be married and have children, allow me and my friends to go and cry together.”