Judges 10-12

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Judges 10

And after Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in the hill-country of Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.

 

3 And after him arose Jair, the Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havvoth-Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead. 5 And Jair died, and was buried in Kamon.

 

6 And the children of Israel again that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and served the Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the elohim of Syria, and the elohim of Sidon, and the elohim of Moab, and the elohim of the children of Ammon, and the elohim of the Philistines, and they forsook Yahweh, and did not serve him. 7 And the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon. 8 And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel that year: eighteen years they oppressed all the children of Israel that were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 And the children of Ammon crossed over the Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was very distressed.

 

10 And the children of Israel cried to Yahweh, saying, We have sinned against you, even because we have forsaken our Elohim, and have served the Baalim. 11 And Yahweh said to the children of Israel, Did I not save you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? 12 The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, oppressed you; and you cried to me, and I saved you out of their hand. 13 Yet you have forsaken me, and served other elohim: so I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry to the elohim which you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress. 15 And the children of Israel said to Yahweh, We have sinned: do you to us whatever seems good to you; only deliver us, we pray you, this day. 16 And they put away the foreign elohim from among them, and served Yahweh; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

 

17 Then the children of Ammon gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh. 18 And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

 

Judges 11

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a harlot: and Gilead procreated Jephthah. 2 And Gilead’s wife bore him sons: and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove out Jephthah, and said to him, You shall not inherit in our father’s house; for you are the son of another woman. 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain fellows to Jephthah, and they went out with him.

 

4 And it came to pass after a while, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. 5 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; 6 And they said to Jephthah, Come and be our chief, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. 7 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Did you not hate me, and drive me out of my father’s house? And why have you come to me now when you are in distress? 8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Therefore we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us, and fight with the children of Ammon; and shall be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. 9 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If you bring me home again to fight with the children of Ammon, and Yahweh deliver them before me, shall I be your head? 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Yahweh shall be witness between us, surely according to your words so will we do. 11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them: and Jephthah spoke all his words before Yahweh in Mizpeh.

 

12 And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What have you to do with me, that you have come to me to fight against my land? 13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered to the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when he came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even to the Jabbok, and to the Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably. 14 And Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the children of Ammon; 15 And he said to him, In this manner says Jephthah, Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon; 16 But when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh; 17 Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray you, pass through your land; but the king of Edom listen not. And in like manner they sent to the king of Moab; but he would not: and Israel remained in Kadesh. 18 Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they encamped on the other side of Arnon; but came not within the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. 19 And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, Let us pass, we pray you, through your land to my place. 20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 21 And Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. 22 And they possessed all the border of the Amorites, from Arnon even to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to the Jordan. 23 So now Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel has dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and should you possess them? 24 Will not you possess that which Chemosh your elohim gives you to possess? So whomever Yahweh our Elohim has dispossessed from before us, them will we possess. 25 And now are you anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel against Israel, or did he ever fight against them? 26 While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of Arnon, three hundred years; why did you not recover them within that time? 27 I therefore have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong to war against me: Yahweh, the Judge, be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon. 28 However the king of the children of Ammon listened not to the words of Jephthah which he sent him.

 

29 Then the Spirit of Yahweh came on Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the children of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah vowed a vow to Yahweh, and said, If you indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand, 31 Then it shall be, that whatever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be Yahweh’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering. 32 So Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and Yahweh delivered them into his hand. 33 And he struck them from Aroer, until you come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and to Abelcheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

 

34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh to 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. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! you have brought me very low, and you are one of them that trouble me; for I have opened my mouth to Yahweh, and I cannot go back. 36 And she said to him, My father, you have opened your mouth to Yahweh; do to me according to that which has proceeded out of your mouth, since Yahweh has taken vengeance for you on your enemies, even of the children of Ammon. 37 And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down upon the mountains, and mourn my virginity, I and my companions. 38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she departed, she and her companions, and mourned her virginity upon the mountains. 39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew not man. And it was a custom in Israel, 40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to celebrate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

 

 

Judges 12

And the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and said to Jephthah, Why did you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house on you with fire. 2 And Jephthah said to them, I and my people were in a great struggle with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, you saved me not out of their hand. 3 And when I saw that you saved me not, I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and Yahweh delivered them into my hand: why then have you come up to me this day, to fight against me? 4 Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead fought against Ephraim, because they said, You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the middle of Manasseh. 5 And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And it was so, that when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said to him, Are you an Ephraimite? If he said, No, 6 then they said to him, Say now Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth; for he could not pronounce it right: then they laid hold on him, and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. And there fell at that time of Ephraim forty-two thousand.

 

7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

 

8 And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. 9 And he had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty daughters he brought in from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years. 10 And Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.

 

11 And after him Elon the Zebulunite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years. 12 And Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

 

13 And after him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite, judged Israel. 14 And he had forty sons and thirty grandsons, that rode on seventy ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years. 15 And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill-country of the Amalekites.

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