Judges 11:1–40

¹ Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father. ² And Gilead’s wife bore him sons who grew up, drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.” ³ So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him. ⁴ Some time later, when the Ammonites fought against Israel ⁵ and made war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. ⁶ “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so that we can fight against the Ammonites.” ⁷ Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and expel me from my father’s house? Why then have you come to me now, when you are in distress?” ⁸ They answered Jephthah, “This is why we now turn to you, that you may go with us, fight the Ammonites, and become leader over all of us who live in Gilead.” ⁹ But Jephthah asked them, “If you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, will I really be your leader?” ¹⁰ And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say.” ¹¹ So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah. ¹² Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against my land?” ¹³ The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they seized my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and all the way to the Jordan. Now, therefore, restore it peaceably.” ¹⁴ Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites ¹⁵ to tell him, “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or of the Ammonites. ¹⁶ But when Israel came up out of Egypt, they traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. ¹⁷ 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 messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel stayed in Kadesh. ¹⁸ Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed 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 they did not enter the territory of Moab, since the Arnon was its border. ¹⁹ And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Please let us pass through you…