Judges Chapter 11 to 13 : Easy-to-Read Version  | SearchSearch | Next Version | Previous Page | Next Page |

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11 Jephthah was from the family group of Gilead. He was a strong soldier. But Jephthah was the son of a prostitute. His father was a man named Gilead. 2Gilead’s wife had several sons. When those sons grew up, they did not like Jephthah. Those sons forced Jephthah to leave his home town. They said to him, “You will not get any of our father’s property. You are the son of another woman.” 3So Jephthah went away because of his brothers. He lived in the land of Tob. In the land of Tob, some rough men began to follow Jephthah. 4After a time the Ammonite people fought with the people of Israel. 5The Ammonite people were fighting against Israel, so the elders (leaders) in Gilead went to Jephthah. They wanted Jephthah to leave the land of Tob and come back to Gilead. 6The elders said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader so that we can fight the Ammonite people.” 7But Jephthah said to the elders (leaders) of the land of Gilead, “You forced me to leave my father’s house. You hate me! So why are you coming to me now that you are having trouble?” 8The elders (leaders) from Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is the reason that we have come to you now. Please come with us and fight against the Ammonite people. You will be the commander over all the people living in Gilead.” 9Then Jephthah said to the elders (leaders) from Gilead, “If you want me to come back to Gilead and fight the Ammonite people, fine. But if the Lord helps me win, then I will be your new leader.” 10The elders (leaders) from Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord is listening to everything we are saying. And we promise to do all that you tell us to do.” 11So Jephthah went with the elders (leaders) from Gilead. Those people made Jephthah their leader and their commander. Jephthah repeated all of his words in front of the Lord at the city of Mizpah.

Jephthah’s Message to the King of Ammon

12Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites. The messengers gave the king this message: “What is the problem between the Ammonites and the people of Israel? Why have you come to fight in our land?” 13The king of the Ammonite people said to the messengers of Jephthah, “We are fighting Israel because the people of Israel took our land when they came up from Egypt. They took our land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River to the Jordan River. Now tell the people of Israel to give our land back to us in peace.” 14So the messengers of Jephthah took this message back to Jephthah.* Then Jephthah sent the messengers to the king of the Ammonite people again. 15They took this message: This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of the people of Moab or the land of the people of Ammon. 16When the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, the people of Israel went into the desert. The people of Israel went to the Red Sea. Then they went to Kadesh. 17The people of Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom. The messengers asked for a favor. They said, “Let the people of Israel cross through your land.” But the king of Edom didn’t let us go through their land. We also sent the same message to the king of Moab. But the king of Moab would not let us go through his land either. So the people of Israel stayed at Kadesh. 18Then the people of Israel went through the desert and around the edges of the land of Edom and the land of Moab. The people of Israel traveled east of the land of Moab. They made their camp on the other side of the Arnon River. They did not cross the border of the land of Moab. (The Arnon River was the border of the land of Moab.) 19Then the people of Israel sent messengers to Sihon the king of the Amorite people. Sihon was the king of the city of Heshbon. The messengers asked Sihon, “Let the people of Israel pass through your land. We want to go to our land.” 20But Sihon, the king of the Amorite people would not let the people of Israel cross his borders. Sihon gathered all of his people and made a camp at Jahaz. Then the Amorite people fought with the people of Israel. 21But the Lord, the God of Israel, helped the people of Israel to defeat Sihon and his army. So the land of the Amorite people became the property of the people of Israel. 22So the people of Israel got all of the land of the Amorite people. That land went from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. That land also went from the desert to the Jordan River. 23It was the Lord, the God of Israel, who forced the Amorite people to leave their land. And the Lord gave the land to the people of Israel. Do you think you can make the people of Israel leave this land? 24Surely you can live in the land which Chemosh* your god has given to you. So we will live in the land that the Lord our God has given to us! 25Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor?* He was the king of the land of Moab. Did he argue with the people of Israel? Did he actually fight with the people of Israel? 26The people of Israel have lived in the city of Heshbon and the towns around it for 300 years. The people of Israel have lived in the city of Aroer and the towns around it for 300 years. The people of Israel have lived in all of the cities along the side of the Arnon River for 300 years. Why have you not tried to take these cities in all that time? 27The people of Israel have not sinned against you. But you are doing a very bad thing against the people of Israel. May the Lord, the true Judge, decide whether the people of Israel are right or the Ammonite people! 28The king of the Ammonite people refused to listen to this message from Jephthah.

Jephthah’s Promise

29Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. Jephthah passed through the area of Gilead and Manasseh. He went to the city of Mizpah in Gilead. From the city of Mizpah in Gilead, Jephthah passed through to the land of the Ammonite people. 30Jephthah made a promise to the Lord. He said, “If you will let me defeat the Ammonite people, 31I will give you the first thing that comes out of my house when I come back from the victory. I will give it to the Lord as a burnt offering.” 32Then Jephthah went to the land of the Ammonite people. Jephthah fought the Ammonite people. The Lord helped him defeat them. 33He defeated them from the city of Aroer to the city of Minnith. Jephthah captured 20 cities. Then he fought the Ammonite people to the city of Abel Keramim. The people of Israel defeated the Ammonite people. It was a very great defeat for the Ammonite people. 34Jephthah went back to Mizpah. Jephthah went to his house and his daughter came out of the house to meet him. She was playing a tambourine and dancing. She was his only daughter. Jephthah loved her very much. Jephthah did not have any other sons or daughters. 35When Jephthah saw that his daughter was the first thing to come out of his house, he tore his clothes to show his sadness. Then he said, “Oh, my daughter! You have ruined me! You have made me very, very sad! I made a promise to the Lord, and I cannot change it!” 36Then his daughter said to Jephthah, “Father, you have made a promise to the Lord. So keep your promise. Do what you said you would do. After all, the Lord did help you defeat your enemies, the Ammonite people.” 37Then Jephthah’s daughter said to her father, “But do this one thing for me first. Let me be alone for two months. Let me go to the mountains. I will not marry and have children, so let me and my friends go and cry together.” 38Jephthah said, “Go and do that.” Jephthah sent her away for two months. Jephthah’s daughter and her friends stayed in the mountains. They cried for her because she would not marry and have children. 39At the end of two months, Jephthah’s daughter returned to her father. Jephthah did what he promised to the Lord. Jephthah’s daughter never had sexual relations with anyone. So this became a custom in Israel. 40Every year the women of Israel remembered the daughter of Jephthah from Gilead. The women of Israel cried four days every year for Jephthah’s daughter.

So the messengers … Jephthah This is from the ancient Greek translation. The Hebrew text does not have this sentence. Chemosh The national god of the land of Moab, even though Milcom was the god of the Ammonite people. Balak son of Zippor See Num. 22–24 for his story.


Jephthah and Ephraim

12 The men from the family group of Ephraim called all their soldiers together. Then they went across the river to the city of Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why didn’t you call us to help you fight the Ammonite people? We will burn your house down with you in it.” 2Jephthah answered them, “The Ammonite people have been giving us many problems. So I and my people fought against them. I called you, but you didn’t come to help us. 3I saw that you would not help us. So I risked my own life. I went across the river to fight against the Ammonite people. The Lord helped me to defeat them. Now why have you come to fight against me today?” 4Then Jephthah called the men of Gilead together. They fought against the men from the family group of Ephraim. They fought against the men of Ephraim because those men had insulted the men of Gilead. They had said, “You men of Gilead are nothing but survivors of the men of Ephraim. {You don’t even have your own land!} Part of you belong to Ephraim, and part of you belong to Manasseh.” The men of Gilead defeated the men of Ephraim. 5The men of Gilead captured the places where people cross the Jordan River. Those places led to the country of Ephraim. Any time a survivor from Ephraim came to the river and said, “Let me cross,” the men of Gilead would ask him, “Are you from Ephraim?” If he said, “No,” 6they would say, “Say the word ‘Shibboleth.’” The men of Ephraim could not say that word correctly. They pronounced the word “Sibboleth.” So if the person said, “Sibboleth,” then the men of Gilead knew he was from Ephraim. So they would kill him at the crossing place. They killed 42,000 men from Ephraim. 7Jephthah was a judge for the people of Israel for six years. Then Jephthah from Gilead died. They buried him in his town in Gilead.

Ibzan, the Judge

8After Jephthah, a man named Ibzan was a judge for the people of Israel. Ibzan was from the city of Bethlehem. 9Ibzan had 30 sons and 30 daughters. He told his 30 daughters to marry men that were not his relatives. And he found 30 women that were not his relatives, and his sons married these women. Ibzan was a judge for the people of Israel for seven years. 10Then Ibzan died. He was buried in the city of Bethlehem.

Elon, the Judge

11After Ibzan, a man named Elon was a judge for the people of Israel. Elon was from the family group of Zebulun. He was a judge for the people of Israel for ten years. 12Then Elon from the family group of Zebulun died. He was buried in the city of Aijalon, Zebulun.

Abdon, the Judge

13After Elon died, a man named Abdon son of Hillel was a judge for the people of Israel. Abdon was from the city of Pirathon. 14Abdon had 40 sons and 30 grandsons. They rode on 70 donkeys.* Abdon was a judge for the people of Israel for eight years. 15Then Abdon son of Hillel died. He was buried in the city of Pirathon. Pirathon is in the land of Ephraim. This is in the hill country where the Amalekite people lived.

They rode on 70 donkeys This showed they were important leaders, possibly mayors of their towns.


The Birth of Samson

13 Again the Lord saw the people of Israel doing evil things. So the Lord allowed the Philistine people to rule over them for 40 years. 2There was a man from the city of Zorah. The man’s name was Manoah. He was from the family group of Dan. Manoah had a wife. But she was not able to have any children. 3The Angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife. He said, “You have not been able to have children. But you will become pregnant and have a son. 4Don’t drink any wine or any other strong drink. Don’t eat any food that is unclean.* 5Why? Because you are pregnant, and you will have a son. He will be dedicated to God in a special way: He will be a Nazirite.* So you must never cut his hair. He will be God’s special person from before he is born. He will save the people of Israel from the power of the Philistine people.” 6Then the woman went to her husband and told him what had happened. She said, “A man of God* came to me. He looked like the Angel of God. He made me afraid. I didn’t ask him where he was from and he didn’t tell me his name. 7But he said to me, ‘You are pregnant and will have a son. Don’t drink any wine or other strong drink. Don’t eat any food that is unclean.* Why? Because the boy will be dedicated to God in a special way. The boy will be God’s special person from before he is born until the day he dies.’” 8Then Manoah prayed to the Lord. He said, “Lord, I beg you to send the man of God to us again. We want him to teach us what we should do for the boy that will soon be born.” 9God heard Manoah’s prayer. The Angel of God came to the woman again. She was sitting in a field and her husband Manoah was not with her. 10So the woman ran to tell her husband, “The man is back! The man that came to me the other day is here!”  11Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the same man that spoke to my wife before?” The angel said, “I am.” 12So Manoah said, “I hope that what you say will happen. Tell me what kind of life will the boy live? What will he do?” 13The Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Your wife must do everything I told her. 14She must not eat anything that grows on a grapevine. She must not drink any wine or strong drink. She must not eat any food that is unclean.* She must do everything that I have commanded her to do.” 15Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “We would like for you to stay a while. We want to cook a young goat for you to eat.” 16The Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Even if you keep me from leaving, I will not eat your food. But if you want to prepare something, then offer a burnt offering to the Lord.” (Manoah did not understand that the man was really the Angel of the Lord.) 17Then Manoah asked the Angel of the Lord, “What is your name? We want to know so that we can honor you when what you have said really happens.” 18The Angel of the Lord said, “Why do you ask my name? It is too amazing {for you to believe}.*” 19Then Manoah sacrificed a young goat on a rock. He offered the goat and a grain offering as a gift to the Lord and to the Person Who Does Amazing Things.* 20Manoah and his wife were watching what happened. As the flames went up to the sky from the altar,* the Angel of the Lord went up to heaven in the fire! When Manoah and his wife saw that, they bowed down with their faces to the ground. 21Manoah finally understood that the man was really the Angel of the Lord. The Angel of the Lord did not appear to Manoah again. 22Manoah said to his wife, “We have seen God! Surely we will die because of this!” 23But his wife said to him, “The Lord does not want to kill us. If the Lord wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He would not have shown us all these things. And he would not have told us these things.” 24So the woman had a boy. She named him Samson. Samson grew and the Lord blessed him. 25The Spirit of the Lord began to work in Samson while he was in the city of Mahaneh Dan. That city is between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol.

unclean Or, “unacceptable.” Not pure or not able to be used in worshiping God. See Lev. 11–15 for the Old Testament rules about clean and unclean things. Nazirite A person that made a special promise to God. See Num. 6:1–21 for the rules about the Nazirite promise. man of God Usually, this is another name for a prophet. unclean Or, “unacceptable.” Not pure or not able to be used in worshiping God. See Lev. 11–15 for the Old Testament rules about clean and unclean things. It is too amazing … to believe Or, “It is Pelei.” This means “amazing,” “wonderful.” This is like the name, “Wonderful Counselor” in Isaiah 9:6. Lord and to the Person Who Does Amazing Things Or, “The Lord Who Does Amazing Things.” Both of these are names for God, but Manoah didn’t know the man was really the Angel of the Lord. altar(s) A stone table used for burning sacrifices that were offered as gifts to God.

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