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Jephthah
the Ninth Judge |
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| Judges 11:1 |
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Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior,
but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead was the father of Jephthah. |
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| Judges 11:2 |
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Gilead's wife bore him sons; and when his wife's
sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, "You shall not have an
inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman." |
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| Judges 11:3 |
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So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived
in the land of Tob; and worthless fellows gathered themselves about Jephthah,
and they went out with him. |
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| Judges 11:4 |
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It came about after a while that the sons of
Ammon fought against Israel. |
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| Judges 11:5 |
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When the sons of Ammon fought against Israel,
the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob; |
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| Judges 11:6 |
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and they said to Jephthah, "Come and be our
chief that we may fight against the sons of Ammon." |
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| Judges 11:7 |
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Then Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead,
"Did you not hate me and drive me from my father's house? So why have you come
to me now when you are in trouble?" |
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| Judges 11:8 |
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The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "For
this reason we have now returned to you, that you may go with us and fight with
the sons of Ammon and become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead." |
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| Judges 11:9 |
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So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "If
you take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the LORD gives them up
to me, will I become your head?" |
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| Judges 11:10 |
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The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The
LORD is witness between us; surely we will do as you have said." |
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| Judges 11:11 |
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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 the LORD at Mizpah. |
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| Judges 11:12 |
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Now Jephthah sent messengers to the king of
the sons of Ammon, saying, "What is between you and me, that you have come to
me to fight against my land?" |
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| Judges 11:13 |
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The king of the sons of Ammon said to the messengers
of Jephthah, "Because Israel took away my land when they came up from Egypt, from
the Arnon as far as the Jabbok and the Jordan; therefore, return them peaceably
now." |
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| Judges 11:14 |
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But Jephthah sent messengers again to the king
of the sons of Ammon, |
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| Judges 11:15 |
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and they said to him, "Thus says Jephthah, 'Israel
did not take away the land of Moab nor the land of the sons of Ammon. |
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| Judges 11:16 |
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For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel
went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh, |
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| Judges 11:17 |
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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. And they also sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel
remained at Kadesh. |
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| Judges 11:18 |
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Then they went through the wilderness and around
the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came to the east side of the land of
Moab, and they camped beyond the Arnon; but they did not enter the territory of
Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. |
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| Judges 11:19 |
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And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of
the Amorites, the king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, "Please let us pass
through your land to our place." |
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| Judges 11:20 |
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But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through
his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people and camped in Jahaz and fought
with Israel. |
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| Judges 11:21 |
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The LORD, the God of Israel, gave 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. |
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| Judges 11:22 |
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So they possessed all the territory of the Amorites,
from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and from the wilderness as far as the Jordan. |
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| Judges 11:23 |
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Since now the LORD, the God of Israel, drove
out the Amorites from before His people Israel, are you then to possess it? |
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| Judges 11:24 |
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Do you not possess what Chemosh your god gives
you to possess? So whatever the LORD our God has driven out before us, we will
possess it. |
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| Judges 11:25 |
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Now are you any better than Balak the son of
Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive with Israel, or did he ever fight against
them? |
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| Judges 11:26 |
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While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages,
and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of
the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time? |
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| Judges 11:27 |
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I therefore have not sinned against you, but
you are doing me wrong by making war against me; may the LORD, the Judge, judge
today between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.'" |
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| Judges 11:28 |
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But the king of the sons of Ammon disregarded
the message which Jephthah sent him. |
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Jephthah's
Tragic Vow |
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| Judges 11:29 |
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Now the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah,
so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of
Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon. |
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| Judges 11:30 |
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Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, "If
You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, |
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| Judges 11:31 |
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then it shall be that whatever comes out of
the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon,
it shall be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering." |
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| Judges 11:32 |
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So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon
to fight against them; and the LORD gave them into his hand. |
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| Judges 11:33 |
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He struck them with a very great slaughter from
Aroer to the entrance of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. So
the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel. |
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| Judges 11:34 |
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When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, behold,
his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now
she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter.35 When
he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "Alas, my daughter |
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| Judges 11:35 |
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When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said,
"Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are among those who
trouble me; for I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot take it back." |
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| Judges 11:36 |
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So she said to him, "My father, you have given
your word to the LORD; do to me as you have said, since the LORD has avenged you
of your enemies, the sons of Ammon." |
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| Judges 11:37 |
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She said to her father, "Let this thing be done
for me; let me alone two months, that I may go to the mountains and weep because
of my virginity, I and my companions." |
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| Judges 11:38 |
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Then he said, "Go." So he sent her away for
two months; and she left with her companions, and wept on the mountains because
of her virginity. |
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| Judges 11:39 |
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At the end of two months she returned to her
father, who did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she had no
relations with a man. Thus it became a custom in Israel, |
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| Judges 11:40 |
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that the daughters of Israel went yearly to
commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year. |
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