¹ These are the words which Moses spoke to^▵ all Israel across the Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain^▵ next·​·to the Suph Sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Chazeroth, and Dizahab.

² (It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb^* by the way of Mount Seir even·​·to Kadesh-barnea.)

³ And it was in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on^◦ the first^◦ of the month, that Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, according to all which Jehovah had commanded to them,

⁴ after He had smitten Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt in Ashtaroth in Edrei;

⁵ across the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses would^◦ make· this law ·plain, saying,

⁶ Jehovah our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying, It is much for you to dwell in this mountain.

⁷ Turn^◦, and take your journey, and come to the mountain of the Amorites, and to all the places neighboring^◦ thereunto, in the desert, in the mountains, and in the lowland, and in the south by the sea coast, to the land of the Canaanites, and to Lebanon, to the great river, the river Euphrates.

⁸ See, I have put^◦ the land before you; go·​·in and possess the land which Jehovah promised to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their seed after them.

⁹ And I said to^▵ you at that^◦ time, saying, I am· not ·able to bear you alone;

¹⁰ Jehovah your God has multiplied you, and, behold, you are today as the stars of the heavens for multitude.

¹¹ May Jehovah the God of your fathers add upon you more than as you^◦ are a thousand times^◦; and may He bless you, as^◦ He has spoken to you!

¹² How^◦ can I alone bear your encumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?

¹³ Let the men^◦ of wisdom and understanding and knowledge from your tribes^◦ come^◦, and I will set them as your heads.

¹⁴ And you answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.

¹⁵ And I took the heads of your tribes^◦, wise men^◦, and known, and put^◦ them as heads over you, princes of thousands, and princes of hundreds, and princes of fifties, and princes of tens, and officers for your tribes^◦.

¹⁶ And I commanded your judges at that^◦ time, saying, Hear the causes between your brothers, and judge with justice between a man^◦ and his brother, and his sojourner.

¹⁷ You shall not acknowledge faces in judgment^*; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be·​·afraid of the face of a man^◦, for the judgment is of God; and the matter that is too hard for you, offer it to^▵ me, and I will hear it.

¹⁸ And I commanded you at that^◦ time all the things which you should do.

¹⁹ And when we journeyed from Horeb, we went through all that^◦ great and fearful wilderness, which you saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as^◦ Jehovah our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.

²⁰ And I said to^▵ you, You have come to the mountain of the Amorites, which Jehovah our God gives to us.

²¹ Behold, Jehovah thy God has set the land before thee; go up, possess it, as Jehovah God of thy fathers has spoken to thee; fear not, neither be dismayed.

²² And you came·​·near to^▵ me, all of you, and said, Let us send men^◦ before us, and they shall spy·​·out^◦ the land for us, and bring· us ·back word as to the way by which we should go·​·up, and the cities to^▵ which we should come.

²³ And the word was·​·good in my eyes; and I took from among you twelve men^◦, one man^◦ for a tribe^◦,

²⁴ and they turned^◦ and went·​·up the mountain, and came to^◦ the brook of Eshcol, and spied· it ·out.

²⁵ And they took from the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought· it ·down to^▵ us, and brought· us ·back word, and said, It is a good land which Jehovah our God gives to us.

²⁶ But you were· not ·willing to go·​·up, but rebelled against the mouth of Jehovah your God,

²⁷ and you muttered in your tents, and said, When Jehovah hated us, He brought· us ·out from the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to blot· us ·out.

²⁸ Whither^▵ shall we^◦ go·​·up? Our brothers have melted our heart, saying, The people is greater and more exalted than we; the cities are great and fortified to the heavens; and we have even seen the sons of the Anakim there.

²⁹ And I said to^▵ you, You shall not be terrified, neither shall you fear them.

³⁰ Jehovah your God, who walks before you, He^◦ shall fight for you, according·​·to all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

³¹ and in the wilderness, where^▵ thou hast seen that Jehovah thy God bore thee, as a man^◦ bears his son, in all the way that you went^◦, until you came even·​·to this place.

³² But in this thing none of you believed in Jehovah your God,

³³ who went^◦ in the way before you, to explore a place for you to encamp in, with fire by night, to show you by which way you should go, and with a cloud by·​·day.

³⁴ And Jehovah heard the voice of your words, and was·​·enraged, and promised, saying,

³⁵ When^▫ shall a man^◦ among^◦ these men^◦ of this evil generation see the good land, which I promised to give to your fathers?

³⁶ except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he^◦ shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he has trodden on, and to his sons, because he has filled after Jehovah^*.

³⁷ Also Jehovah was·​·angry with me because·​·of you, saying, Even thou^◦ shalt not go·​·in thither.

³⁸ But Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before thee, he shall come thither; confirm him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

³⁹ And your infants, whom you said should be a plunder, and your sons, who today do not know between good and evil, they shall go·​·in thither, and to them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

⁴⁰ But as for you, turn^◦ you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Suph Sea.

⁴¹ Then you answered and said to me, We have sinned against Jehovah. We will go·​·up and we will fight, according·​·to all that Jehovah our God commanded us. And when you had girded yourselves, each·​·man^◦ his weapons^◦ of war, you were ready^◦ to go·​·up toward the mountain.

⁴² And Jehovah said to^▵ me, Say to them, Go· not ·up, neither fight, for I am not among you; lest you be struck before your enemies.

⁴³ And I spoke to you; and you would not hear, but rebelled against the mouth of Jehovah, and you were·​·presumptuous, and went·​·up toward the mountain.

⁴⁴ And the Amorites, who dwelt in that mountain, went·​·out to meet you, and pursued you, as bees do, and beat· you ·down in Seir, even to Hormah.

⁴⁵ And you turned·​·back and wept before Jehovah; but Jehovah would not obey your voice, nor give·​·ear to you.

⁴⁶ And you dwelt in Kadesh many days, as the days that you dwelt there.

¹ And Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty·​·man of valor, and he^◦ was the son of a woman that was a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah.

² And the wife of Gilead gave·​·birth to sons for him; and the sons of his wife grew·​·up and they drove·​·out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house, for thou^◦ art the son of another woman.

³ And Jephthah ran·​·away from before his brothers, and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless^* men^◦ collected themselves to^▵ Jephthah, and went·​·out with him.

⁴ And it was after some days, and the sons of Ammon fought with Israel.

⁵ And it was as^◦ the sons of Ammon fought with Israel, that^◦ the elders of Gilead went to take Jephthah out of the land of Tob.

⁶ And they said to Jephthah, Come and be our captain, that we may fight·​·against the sons of Ammon.

⁷ And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Did you not hate me and drive· me ·out of the house of my father? And why have you come to^▵ me now when^▵ you^◦ are in adversity?

⁸ And the elders of Gilead said to^▵ Jephthah, Therefore we now return to^▵ thee, and thou mayest go^◦ with us, and fight against^◦ the sons of Ammon, and be for us a head for all those who dwell in Gilead.

⁹ And Jephthah said to^▵ the elders of Gilead, If you^◦ bring· me ·back to fight·​·against the sons of Ammon, and Jehovah give· them ·over before me, shall I^▵ be your head?

¹⁰ And the elders of Gilead said to^▵ Jephthah, Let Jehovah hear between us, if we do not so according to thy word.

¹¹ And Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people set him over them for their head and for their captain; and Jephthah spoke all his words before Jehovah in Mizpah.

¹² And Jephthah sent messengers to^▵ the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, What is there to me and to thee^*, that thou hast come against^▵ me to fight in my land?

¹³ And the king of the sons of Ammon said to^▵ the messengers of Jephthah, Because^◦ Israel took my land, when he came·​·up out of Egypt, from Arnon even·​·to Jabbok, and even·​·to Jordan; and now return it in peace.

¹⁴ And Jephthah sent messengers yet again to^▵ the king of the sons of Ammon,

¹⁵ and said to him, Thus says Jephthah: Israel took not the land of Moab, nor the land of the sons of Ammon;

¹⁶ for^◦ when they went·​·up from Egypt, and Israel walked^◦ in the wilderness even·​·to the Suph Sea^*, and came to Kadesh,

¹⁷ then Israel sent messengers to^▵ the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray^◦ thee, pass through thy land; but the king of Edom hearkened not. And he also sent to^▵ the king of Moab, and he was· not ·willing. And Israel dwelt in Kadesh.

¹⁸ And he went through the wilderness, and went·​·around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab; and came to the land of Moab from the rising^◦ of the sun, and encamped across Arnon, and came not unto the border of Moab, for^◦ Arnon was the border of Moab.

¹⁹ And Israel sent messengers to^▵ Sihon king of the Amorite, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, Let us pass·​·through, we pray^◦ thee, on^◦ thy land even·​·to my place.

²⁰ But Sihon believed not Israel^* to let them pass·​·through into his border; but Sihon gathered all his people, and encamped in Jahatsah, and fought with Israel.

²¹ And Jehovah, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them; and Israel possessed all the land of the Amorite, that dwelt in this^◦ land.

²² And they possessed all the border of the Amorite, from Arnon even·​·to Jabbok, and from the wilderness even·​·to the Jordan.

²³ And now Jehovah, the God of Israel, has dispossessed the Amorite from before His people Israel, and shouldest thou^◦ possess it?

²⁴ Wilt thou not possess that which Chemosh thy god makes thee to possess? And whomever Jehovah our god dispossess from before us, them will we possess.

²⁵ And now art thou^◦ any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Striving, did he strive with Israel? Fighting, did he fight against^◦ them?

²⁶ While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns^*, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that are by the sides^* of Arnon three hundred years; and why did you not rescue them at that^◦ time?

²⁷ And I^▵ have not sinned against thee, but thou^◦ doest me evil to fight against^◦ me. May Jehovah, the Judge, be Judge this day between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.

²⁸ And the king of the sons of Ammon hearkened not to^▵ the words of Jephthah, which he sent him.

²⁹ And the spirit of Jehovah was upon Jephthah, and he passed·​·through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed·​·through Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed·​·through unto the sons of Ammon.

³⁰ And Jephthah vowed a vow to Jehovah and said, If giving Thou wilt give the sons of Ammon into my hands,

³¹ and it shall be that the one going·​·out, that goes·​·out from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, he shall be for Jehovah, and I will offer· him ·up as a burnt·​·offering.

³² And Jephthah crossed·​·over to^▵ the sons of Ammon to fight against^◦ them; and Jehovah gave them into his hand.

³³ And he smote them from Aroer, even^◦ until thou come to Minnith, twenty cities, and even·​·to Abel-cheramim, with a very great smiting. And the sons of Ammon were humbled before the sons of Israel.

³⁴ And Jephthah came·​·into Mizpah to^▵ his house; and, behold, his daughter came·​·out to meet him with timbrels and with dances; and she^◦ only was the only·​·one; he had^◦ none other from himself, either son or daughter.

³⁵ And it was, when he saw her, that he rent his garments, and said, Alas, my daughter! And thou^◦ hast made me stoop·​·low, stooping·​·low, and thou^◦ art among^◦ those who trouble me; for I^▵ have opened· my mouth ·wide to^▵ Jehovah, and I am· not ·able to turn·​·back.

³⁶ And she said to^▵ him, My father, thou hast opened· thy mouth ·wide to^▵ Jehovah; do to me according·​·to that which is gone·​·out from thy mouth; forasmuch as Jehovah has done vengeance for thee from thine enemies, from the sons of Ammon.

³⁷ And she said to^▵ her father, Let this word be done for me; Let· me ·go for two months, and I will go and go·​·down on the mountains, and I will weep for my virginity, I^▵ and my companions.

³⁸ And he said, Go. And he sent· her ·away for two months; and she went, she^◦ and her companions, and she wept over her virginity upon the mountains.

³⁹ And it was, at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, and he did to^▵ her according to the vow which he had vowed; and she^◦ knew no^◦ man^◦. And it was for a statute in Israel

⁴⁰ that from days to days the daughters of Israel went to commemorate^◦ the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.