1Then Gilead begate Iphtah, and Iphtah the Gileadite was a valiant man, but the sonne of an harlot. 2And 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. 3Then 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. 4And in processe of time the children of Ammon made warre with Israel. 5And 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: 6And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. 7And 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? 8Then the Elders of Gilead saide vnto Iphtah, Therefore we turne againe to thee now, that thou mayest goe with vs, and fight against the children of Ammon, and bee our head ouer all the inhabitants of Gilead. 9And Iphtah said vnto the Elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home againe to fight against the children of Ammon, if the Lord giue them before me, shall I be your head? 10And the Elders of Gilead saide to Iphtah, The Lorde be witnesse betweene vs, if we doe not according to thy wordes. 11Then Iphtah went with the Elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captaine ouer them: and Iphtah rehearsed all his wordes before the Lorde in Mizpeh. 12Then Iphtah sent messengers vnto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to doe with me, that thou art come against me, to fight in my lande? 13And the King of the children of Ammon answered vnto the messengers of Iphtah, Because Israel tooke my lande, when they came vp from Egypt, fro Arnon vnto Iabbok, & vnto Iorden: now therefore restore those lands quietly. 14Yet Iphtah sent messengers againe vnto the King of the children of Ammon, 15And said vnto him, Thus saith Iphtah, Israel tooke not the lande of Moab, nor the lande of the children of Ammon. 16But when Israel came vp from Egypt, and walked through the wildernesse vnto the redde Sea, then they came to Kadesh. 17And Israel sent messengers vnto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, goe thorowe thy lande: but the King of Edom woulde not consent: and also they sent vnto the King of Moab, but he would not: therefore Israel abode in Kadesh. 18Then they went through the wildernesse, and compassed the lande of Edom, and the lande of Moab, and came by the Eastside of the lande of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, and came not within the coast of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab. 19Also Israel sent messengers vnto Sihon, King of the Amorites, the King of Heshbon, and Israel said vnto him, Let vs passe, we pray thee, by thy lande vnto our place. 20But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 21And the Lorde God of Israel gaue Sihon and all his folke into the handes of Israel, & they smote them: so Israel possessed all the lande of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that countrey: 22And they possessed all the coast of the Amorites, from Arnon vnto Iabbok, and from the wildernesse euen vnto Iorden. 23Nowe therefore the Lorde God of Israel hath cast out the Amorites before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possesse it? 24Wilt 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. 25And art thou nowe farre better then Balak the sonne of Zippor King of Moab? did he not striue with Israel and fight against them, 26While 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? 27Wherefore 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. 28Howbeit the King of the children of Ammon hearkened not vnto the wordes of Iphtah, which he had sent him. 29Then 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. 30And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31Then that thing that commeth out of the doores of mine house to meete me, when I come home in peace from the children of Ammon, shall be the Lordes, and I will offer it for a burnt offering. 32And so Iphtah went vnto the children of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord deliuered them into his handes. 33And he smote them from Aroer euen till thou come to Minnith, twentie cities, and so foorth to Abel of the vineyardes, with an exceeding great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were humbled before the children of Israel. 34And 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. 35And 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. 36And she said vnto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth vnto the Lorde, doe with me as thou hast promised, seeing that the Lorde hath auenged thee of thine enemies the children of Ammon. 37And 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. 38And he sayde, Goe: and he sent her away two moneths: so she went with her companions, and lamented her virginitie vpon the moutaines. 39And after the ende of two moneths, she turned againe vnto her father, who did with her according to his vowe which he had vowed, and she had knowen no man; it was a custome in Israel: 40The daughters of Israel went yere by yere to lament the daughter of Iphtah the Gileadite, foure dayes in a yeere.