1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.

1 Fuit illo tempore Jephte Galaadites vir fortissimus atque pugnator, filius mulieris meretricis, qui natus est de Galaad.

2 And 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.

2 Habuit autem Galaad uxorem, de qua suscepit filios: qui postquam creverant, ejecerunt Jephte, dicentes: Hæres in domo patris nostri esse non poteris, quia de altera matre natus es.

3 Then 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.

3 Quos ille fugiens atque devitans, habitavit in terra Tob: congregatique sunt ad eum viri inopes, et latrocinantes, et quasi principem sequebantur.

4 ¶ And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.

4 In illis diebus pugnabant filii Ammon contra Israël.

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:

5 Quibus acriter instantibus perrexerunt majores natu de Galaad, ut tollerent in auxilium sui Jephte de terra Tob:

6 And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.

6 dixeruntque ad eum: Veni et esto princeps noster, et pugna contra filios Ammon.

7 And 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?

7 Quibus ille respondit: Nonne vos estis, qui odistis me, et ejecistis de domo patris mei? et nunc venistis ad me necessitate compulsi.

8 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

8 Dixeruntque principes Galaad ad Jephte: Ob hanc igitur causam nunc ad te venimus, ut proficiscaris nobiscum, et pugnes contra filios Ammon, sisque dux omnium qui habitant in Galaad.

9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the Lord deliver them before me, shall I be your head?

9 Jephte quoque dixit eis: Si vere venistis ad me, ut pugnem pro vobis contra filios Ammon, tradideritque eos Dominus in manus meas, ego ero vester princeps?

10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The Lord be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.

10 Qui responderunt ei: Dominus, qui hæc audit, ipse mediator ac testis est quod nostra promissa faciemus.

11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh.

11 Abiit itaque Jephte cum principibus Galaad, fecitque eum omnis populus principem sui. Locutusque est Jephte omnes sermones suos coram Domino in Maspha.

12 ¶ And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land?

12 ¶ Et misit nuntios ad regem filiorum Ammon, qui ex persona sua dicerent: Quid mihi et tibi est, quia venisti contra me, ut vastares terram meam?

13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.

13 Quibus ille respondit: Quia tulit Israël terram meam, quando ascendit de Ægypto, a finibus Arnon usque Jaboc atque Jordanem: nunc ergo cum pace redde mihi eam.

14 And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon:

14 Per quos rursum mandavit Jephte, et imperavit eis ut dicerent regi Ammon:

15 And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:

15 Hæc dicit Jephte: Non tulit Israël terram Moab, nec terram filiorum Ammon:

16 But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;

16 sed quando de Ægypto conscenderunt, ambulavit per solitudinem usque ad mare Rubrum, et venit in Cades.

17 Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh.

17 Misitque nuntios ad regem Edom, dicens: Dimitte me ut transeam per terram tuam. Qui noluit acquiescere precibus ejus. Misit quoque ad regem Moab, qui et ipse transitum præbere contempsit. Mansit itaque in Cades,

18 Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.

18 et circuivit ex latere terram Edom et terram Moab: venitque contra orientalem plagam terræ Moab, et castrametatus est trans Arnon: nec voluit intrare terminos Moab. (Arnon quippe confinium est terræ Moab.)

19 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.

19 Misit itaque Israël nuntios ad Sehon regem Amorrhæorum, qui habitabat in Hesebon, et dixerunt ei: Dimitte ut transeam per terram tuam usque ad fluvium.

20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

20 Qui et ipse Israël verba despiciens, non dimisit eum transire per terminos suos: sed infinita multitudine congregata, egressus est contra eum in Jasa, et fortiter resistebat.

21 And the Lord God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.

21 Tradiditque eum Dominus in manus Israël cum omni exercitu suo: qui percussit eum, et possedit omnem terram Amorrhæi habitatoris regionis illius,

22 And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.

22 et universos fines ejus, de Arnon usque Jaboc, et de solitudine usque ad Jordanem.

23 So now the Lord God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?

23 Dominus ergo Deus Israël subvertit Amorrhæum, pugnante contra illum populo suo Israël, et tu nunc vis possidere terram ejus?

24 Wilt 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.

24 nonne ea quæ possidet Chamos deus tuus, tibi jure debentur? quæ autem Dominus Deus noster victor obtinuit, in nostram cedent possessionem:

25 And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,

25 nisi forte melior es Balac filio Sephor rege Moab; aut docere potes, quod jurgatus sit contra Israël, et pugnaverit contra eum,

26 While 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?

26 quando habitavit in Hesebon et viculis ejus, et in Aroër et villis illius, vel in cunctis civitatibus juxta Jordanem, per trecentos annos. Quare tanto tempore nihil super hac repetitione tentastis?

27 Wherefore 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.

27 Igitur non ego pecco in te, sed tu contra me male agis, indicens mihi bella non justa. Judicet Dominus arbiter hujus diei inter Israël, et inter filios Ammon.

28 Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.

28 Noluitque acquiescere rex filiorum Ammon verbis Jephte, quæ per nuntios mandaverat.

29 ¶ Then 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.

29 ¶ Factus est ergo super Jephte spiritus Domini, et circuiens Galaad et Manasse, Maspha quoque Galaad, et inde transiens ad filios Ammon,

30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

30 votum vovit Domino, dicens: Si tradideris filios Ammon in manus meas,

31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

31 quicumque primus fuerit egressus de foribus domus meæ, mihique occurrerit revertenti cum pace a filiis Ammon, eum holocaustum offeram Domino.

32 ¶ So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands.

32 Transivitque Jephte ad filios Ammon, ut pugnaret contra eos: quos tradidit Dominus in manus ejus.

33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

33 Percussitque ab Aroër usque dum venias in Mennith, viginti civitates, et usque ad Abel, quæ est vineis consita, plaga magna nimis: humiliatique sunt filii Ammon a filiis Israël.

34 ¶ And 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.

34 ¶ Revertente autem Jephte in Maspha domum suam, occurrit ei unigenita filia sua cum tympanis et choris: non enim habebat alios liberos.

35 And 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.

35 Qua visa, scidit vestimenta sua, et ait: Heu me, filia mea! decepisti me, et ipsa decepta es: aperui enim os meum ad Dominum, et aliud facere non potero.

36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.

36 Cui illa respondit: Pater mi, si aperuisti os tuum ad Dominum, fac mihi quodcumque pollicitus es, concessa tibi ultione atque victoria de hostibus tuis.

37 And 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.

37 Dixitque ad patrem: Hoc solum mihi præsta quod deprecor: dimitte me ut duobus mensibus circumeam montes, et plangam virginitatem meam cum sodalibus meis.

38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.

38 Cui ille respondit: Vade. Et dimisit eam duobus mensibus. Cumque abiisset cum sociis ac sodalibus suis, flebat virginitatem suam in montibus.

39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

39 Expletisque duobus mensibus, reversa est ad patrem suum, et fecit ei sicut voverat, quæ ignorabat virum. Exinde mos increbruit in Israël, et consuetudo servata est,

40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

40 ut post anni circulum conveniant in unum filiæ Israël, et plangant filiam Jephte Galaaditæ diebus quatuor.