Judges 11

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior. He was a prostitute's son. Gilead was Jephthah's father,	1 There was at that time Jephte the Galaadite, a most valiant man and a warrior, the son of a woman that was a harlot, and his father was Galaad.
2 but Gilead's wife also bore him sons, and the sons of this wife, when they grew up, drove Jephthahaway, saying, 'No share of the paternal heritage for you, since you are a son of another woman.'	2 Now Galaad had a wife of whom he had sons: who after they were grown up, thrust out Jephte, saying: Thou canst not inherit in the house of our father, because thou art born of another mother.
3 Jephthah fled far from his brothers and settled in the territory of Tob. Jephthah enlisted a group ofadventurers who used to go raiding with him.	3 Then he fled and avoided them and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered to him needy men, and robbers, and they followed him as their prince.
4 It was some time after this that the Ammonites made war on Israel.	4 In those days the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
5 And when the Ammonites had attacked Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah from theterritory of Tob.	5 And as they pressed hard upon them, the ancients of Galaad went to fetch Jephte out of the land of Tob to help them:
6 'Come', they said, 'and be our commander, so that we can fight the Ammonites.'	6 And they said to him: Come thou and be our prince, and fight against the children of Ammon.
7 Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, 'Didn't you hate me and drive me out of my father's house?Why come to me now, when you are in trouble?'	7 And he answered them: Are not you the men that hated me, and cast me out of my father's house, and now you are come to me constrained by necessity?
8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, 'That is why we are turning to you now. Come with us; fight theAmmonites and be our chief, chief of al the people living in Gilead.'	8 And the princes of Galaad said to Jephte: For this cause we are now come to thee, that thou mayst go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be head over all the inhabitants of Galaad.
9 Jephthah then said to the elders of Gilead, 'If you bring me home to fight the Ammonites and Yahwehdefeats them for me, I am to be your chief?'	9 Jephte also said to them: If you be come to me sincerely, that I should fight for you against the children of Ammon, and the Lord shall deliver them into my band, shall I be your prince?
10 And the elders of Gilead then said to Jephthah, 'Yahweh be witness between us, if we do not do asyou have said!'	10 They answered him: The Lord who heareth these things, he himself is mediator and witness that we will do as we have promised.
11 So Jephthah set off with the elders of Gilead. The people put him at their head as chief andcommander; and Jephthah repeated al his conditions at Mizpah in Yahweh's presence.	11 Jephte therefore went with the princes of Galaad, and all the people made him their prince. And Jephte spoke all his words before the Lord in Maspha.
12 Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites to say to him, 'What do you have against us,for you to come and make war on my country?'	12 And he sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, to say in his name, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me, to waste my land?
13 The king of the Ammonites replied to Jephthah's messengers, 'The reason is that when Israel cameup from Egypt, they seized my country from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; so now restore it to mepeaceful y.'	13 And he answered them: I Because Israel took away my land when he came up out of Egypt, from the confines of the Arnon unto the Jaboc and the Jordan: now therefore restore the same peaceably to me.
14 Jephthah sent messengers back to the king of the Ammonites	14 And Jephte again sent word by them, and commanded them to say to the king of Ammon:
15 with this answer, 'Jephthah says this, "Israel seized neither the country of Moab nor the country of theAmmonites.	15 Thus saith Jephte: Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
16 When Israel came out of Egypt, they marched through the desert as far as the Sea of Reeds and,having reached Kadesh,	16 But when they came up out of Egypt, he walked through the desert to the Red Sea and came into Cades.
17 Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom to say: Please let me pass through your country, butthe king of Edom would not listen. They sent similarly to the king of Moab, but he refused, and Israel remained atKadesh;	17 And he sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying: Suffer me to pass through thy land. But he would not condescend to his request. He sent also to the king of Moab, who likewise refused to give him passage. He abode therefore in Cades,
18 later, moving on through the desert and skirting the countries of Edom and Moab until arriving to theeast of Moabite territory, the people camped on the other side of the Arnon but did not enter Moabite territory,the Arnon being the Moabite frontier.	18 And went round the land of Edom at the side, and the land of Moab: and came over against the east coast of the land of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon: and he would not enter the bounds of Moab.
19 Israel then sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, ruling in Heshbon. Israel's message was:Please let me pass through your country to my destination.	19 So Israel sent messengers to Sehon king of the Amorrhites, who dwelt in Hesebon, and they said to him: Suffer me to pass through thy land to the river.
20 But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory; he mustered his whole army; they encampedat Jahaz, and he then joined battle with Israel.	20 But he also despising the words of Israel, suffered him not to pass through his borders: but gathering an infinite multitude, went out against him to Jasa, and made strong opposition.
21 Yahweh, God of Israel, delivered Sihon and his whole army into the power of Israel, who defeatedthem; as the result of which, Israel took possession of the entire territory of the Amorites living in that region.	21 And the Lord delivered him with all his army into the hands of Israel, and he slew him, and possessed all the land of the Amorrhite the inhabitant of that country,
22 Israel took possession of all the Amorite territory from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert tothe Jordan.	22 And all the coasts thereof from the Arnon to the Jaboc, and from the wilderness to the Jordan.
23 And now that Yahweh, God of Israel, has dispossessed the Amorites before his people Israel, do youthink you can dispossess us?	23 So the Lord the God of Israel destroyed the Amorrhite, his people of Israel fighting against him, and wilt thou now possess this land?
24 Will you not keep as your possession whatever Chemosh, your god, has given you? And, just thesame, we shal keep as ours whatever Yahweh our God has given us, to inherit from those who were before us!	24 Are not those things which thy god Chamos possesseth, due to thee by right? But what the Lord our God hath obtained by conquest, shall be our possession:
25 Are you a better man than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he pick a quarrel with Israel? Didhe make war on them?	25 Unless perhaps thou art better than Balac the son of Sephor king of Moab: or canst shew that he strove against Israel and fought against him,
26 When Israel settled in Heshbon and its dependencies, and in Aroer and its dependencies, or in any ofthe towns on the banks of the Arnon (three hundred years ago), why did you not recover them then?	26 Whereas he hath dwelt in Hesebon, and the villages thereof, and in Aroer, and its villages, and in all the cities near the Jordan, for three hundred years. Why have you for so long a time attempted nothing about this claim?
27 I for my part have done you no harm, but you are wronging me by making war on me. Let Yahwehthe Judge give judgement today between the Israelites and the king of the Ammonites." '	27 Therefore I do not trespass against thee, but thou wrongest me by declaring an unjust war against me. The Lord be judge and decide this day between Israel and the children of Ammon.
28 But the king of the Ammonites took no notice of the message that Jephthah sent him.	28 And the king of the children of Ammon would not hearken to the words of Jephte, which he sent him by the messengers.
29 The spirit of Yahweh was on Jephthah, who crossed Gilead and Manasseh, crossed by way ofMizpah in Gilead, and from Mizpah in Gilead crossed into Ammonite territory.	29 Therefore the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephte, and going round Galaad, and Manasses, and Maspha of Galaad, and passing over from thence to the children of Ammon,
30 And Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh, 'If you deliver the Ammonites into my grasp,	30 He made a vow to the Lord, saying: If thou wilt deliver the children of Ammon into my hands,
31 the first thing to come out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from fightingthe Ammonites shal belong to Yahweh, and I shal sacrifice it as a burnt offering.'	31 Whosoever shall first come forth out of the doors of my house, and shall meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, the same will I offer a holocaust to the Lord.
32 Jephthah crossed into Ammonite territory to attack them, and Yahweh delivered them into his grasp.	32 And Jephte passed over to the children of Ammon, to fight against them: and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
33 He beat them from Aroer to the border of Minnith (twenty towns) and to Abel-Keramim. It was a verysevere defeat, and the Ammonites were humbled by the Israelites.	33 And he smote them from Aroer till you come to Mennith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel, which is set with vineyards, with a very great slaughter: and the children of Ammon were humbled by the children of Israel.
34 As Jephthah returned to his house at Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him, dancing to thesound of tambourines. She was his only child; apart from her, he had neither son nor daughter.	34 And when Jephte returned into Maspha to his house, his only daughter met him with timbrels and with dances: for he had no other children.
35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and exclaimed, 'Oh my daughter, what misery you havebrought upon me! You have joined those who bring misery into my life! I have made a promise before Yahwehwhich I cannot retract.'	35 And when he saw her, he rent his garments, and said: Alas! my daughter, thou hast deceived me, and thou thyself art deceived: for I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I can do no other thing.
36 She replied, 'Father, you have made a promise to Yahweh; treat me as the promise that you havemade requires, since Yahweh has granted you vengeance on your enemies the Ammonites.'	36 And she answered him: My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to the Lord, do unto me whatsoever thou hast promised, since the victory hath been granted to thee, and revenge of thy enemies.
37 She then said to her father, 'Grant me this! Let me be free for two months. I shal go and wander inthe mountains, and with my companions bewail my virginity.'	37 And she said to her father: Grant me only this which I desire: Let me go, that I may go about the mountains for two months, and may bewail my virginity with my companions.
38 He replied, 'Go,' and let her go away for two months. So she went away with her companions andbewailed her virginity in the mountains.	38 And he answered her: Go. And he sent her away for two months. And when she was gone with her comrades and companions, she mourned her virginity in the mountains.
39 When the two months were over she went back to her father, and he treated her as the vow that hehad uttered bound him. She had remained a virgin. And hence, the custom in Israel	39 And the two months being expired, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed, and she knew no man. From thence came a fashion in Israel, and a custom has been kept:
40 for the daughters of Israel to leave home year by year and lament over the daughter of Jephthah theGileadite for four days every year.	40 That from year to year the daughters of Israel assemble together, and lament the daughter of Jephte the Galaadite for four days.