1 Jephthah, a brave soldier from Gilead, was the son of a prostitute. His father Gilead 2 had other sons by his wife, and when they grew up, they forced Jephthah to leave home. They told him, “You will not inherit anything from our father; you are the son of another woman.” 3 Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. There he attracted a group of worthless men, and they went around with him.
4 It was some time later that the Ammonites went to war against Israel. 5 When this happened, the leaders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah back from the land of Tob. 6 They told him, “Come and lead us, so that we can fight the Ammonites.”
7 But Jephthah answered, “You hated me so much that you forced me to leave my father's house. Why come to me now that you're in trouble?”
8 They said to Jephthah, “We are turning to you now because we want you to go with us and fight the Ammonites and lead all the people of Gilead.”
9 Jephthah said to them, “If you take me back home to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives me victory, I will be your ruler.”
10 They replied, “We agree. The Lord is our witness.” 11 So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead, and the people made him their ruler and leader. Jephthah stated his terms at Mizpah in the presence of the Lord.
12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon to say, “What is your quarrel with us? Why have you invaded our country?”
13 The king of Ammon answered Jephthah's messengers, “When the Israelites came out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River and the Jordan River. Now you must give it back peacefully.”
14 Jephthah sent messengers back to the king of Ammon 15 with this answer: “It is not true that Israel took away the land of Moab or the land of Ammon. 16 This is what happened: when the Israelites left Egypt, they went through the desert to the Gulf of Aqaba and came to Kadesh. 17 Then they sent messengers to the king of Edom to ask permission to go through his land. But the king of Edom would not let them. They also asked the king of Moab, but neither would he let them go through his land. So the Israelites stayed at Kadesh. 18 Then they went on through the desert, going around the land of Edom and the land of Moab until they came to the east side of Moab, on the other side of the Arnon River. They camped there, but they did not cross the Arnon because it was the boundary of Moab. 19 Then the Israelites sent messengers to Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, and asked him for permission to go through his country to their own land. 20 But Sihon would not let Israel do it. He brought his whole army together, camped at Jahaz, and attacked Israel. 21 But the Lord, the God of Israel, gave the Israelites victory over Sihon and his army. So the Israelites took possession of all the territory of the Amorites who lived in that country. 22 They occupied all the Amorite territory from the Arnon in the south to the Jabbok in the north and from the desert on the east to the Jordan on the west. 23 So it was the Lord, the God of Israel, who drove out the Amorites for his people, the Israelites. 24 Are you going to try to take it back? You can keep whatever your god Chemosh has given you. But we are going to keep everything that the Lord, our God, has taken for us. 25 Do you think you are any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? He never challenged Israel, did he? Did he ever go to war against us? 26 For three hundred years Israel has occupied Heshbon and Aroer, and the towns around them, and all the cities on the banks of the Arnon River. Why haven't you taken them back in all this time? 27 No, I have not done you any wrong. You are doing wrong by making war on me. The Lord is the judge. He will decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.” 28 But the king of Ammon paid no attention to this message from Jephthah.
29 Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. He went through Gilead and Manasseh and returned to Mizpah in Gilead and went on to Ammon. 30 Jephthah promised the Lord: “If you will give me victory over the Ammonites, 31 I will burn as an offering the first person that comes out of my house to meet me, when I come back from the victory. I will offer that person to you as a sacrifice.”
32 So Jephthah crossed the river to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave him victory. 33 He struck at them from Aroer to the area around Minnith, twenty cities in all, and as far as Abel Keramim. There was a great slaughter, and the Ammonites were defeated by Israel.
Jephthah's Daughter
34 When Jephthah went back home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him, dancing and playing the tambourine. She was his only child. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes in sorrow and said, “Oh, my daughter! You are breaking my heart! Why must it be you that causes me pain? I have made a solemn promise to the Lord, and I cannot take it back!”
36 She told him, “If you have made a promise to the Lord, do what you said you would do to me, since the Lord has given you revenge on your enemies, the Ammonites.” 37 But she asked her father, “Do this one thing for me. Leave me alone for two months, so that I can go with my friends to wander in the mountains and grieve that I must die a virgin.” 38 He told her to go and sent her away for two months. She and her friends went up into the mountains and grieved because she was going to die unmarried and childless. 39 After two months she came back to her father. He did what he had promised the Lord, and she died still a virgin.
This was the origin of the custom in Israel 40 that the Israelite women would go out for four days every year to grieve for the daughter of Jephthah of Gilead.
Jefta ta xupifa Israel
1 Ndele Jefta, Omugilead, okwa li omukwanyati omuladi, ndelenee ye okwa li omona wombwada. Ndele Gilead okwa li xe yaJefta. 2 Nomwalikadi waGilead eshi e mu dalela ovana ovamati, ndele ovana vomwalikadi, eshi va kula, vo ova taataa mo Jefta ndele tave mu lombwele: “Ove ito ka fyuulula pamwe nafye, osheshi oove omona womukainhu umwe.” 3 Onghee hano Jefta a ya onhapo ovamwaxe ndele a tula medu laTob. Novakolokoshi va ongala puJefta ndele va enda pamwe naye.
4 Nefimbo limwe konima yaai ovana vaAmmoni va homona Israel. 5 Ndelenee ovana vaAmmoni, eshi va homona Israel, ovakulunhu vomuGilead va ifana Jefta medu laTob. 6 Ndele va lombwela Jefta: “Ila u ninge ondjai yetu, tu shiive okulwa novana vaAmmoni.” 7 Ndelenee Jefta okwa nyamukula ovakulunhu vaGilead: “Onye mwa tonda nge ndele mwa taataa nge meumbo latate. Omolwashike hano tamu uya kwaame paife, eshi mwa hangika koudjuu?” 8 Opo nee ovakulunhu vaGilead tava ti kuJefta: “Fye ohatu uya kwoove paife opo u shune nafye, tu lwife ovana vaAmmoni, ndele u ninge omupangeli wetu nowoonakukalamo aveshe vomuGilead.” 9 Opo nee Jefta ta nyamukula ovakulunhu vaGilead ta ti: “Onye ngeenge tamu alula nge tu lwe novana vaAmmoni, nOmwene te va pe nge, ame ohandi ka ninga omupangeli weni.” 10 Opo nee ovakulunhu vaGilead tava ti kuJefta: “Omwene, Ye omupwilikini wetu. Oshili, ngaashi twe ku lombwela, osho hatu ningi.” 11 Osho hano Jefta okwa ya pamwe novakulunhu vaGilead, novanhu ve mu ninga omupangeli wavo nondjai yavo. Ndele Jefta okwa popya eendjovo adishe daye koshipala shOmwene muMispa. 12 Opo nee Jefta ta tumu ovatumwa kohamba yovana vaAmmoni, va pule: “Ove u na shike naame, eshi we uya u homone oshilongo shange?”
13 Nohamba yovana vaAmmoni tai ti kovatumwa vaJefta: “Ovaisraeli va kufa oshilongo shange, vo eshi va dja muEgipiti, okudja kuArnon fiyo okuJabbok nofiyo okuJordan. Shi alula hano paife nombili.” 14 Ndele Jefta okwa tuma vali ovatumwa kohamba yovana vaAmmoni, 15 ndele ta ti kuyo: “Jefta osho ta ti: Israel ina kufa oshilongo shaMoab ile oshilongo shovana vaAmmoni, 16 osheshi Israel, eshi a dja muEgipiti, okwa enda mombuwa fiyo okEfuta Litilyana, ndele a fika kuKades. 17 Ndele Israel okwa tuma ovatumwa kohamba yaEdom, tava ti: Itavelele nge ndi tauluke moshilongo shoye. Ndelenee ohamba yaEdom inai va uda. Ndele okwa tuma yo kohamba yaMoab, ndele nayo yo inai shi hala. Onghee hano Israel a kala muKades. 18 Ye okwa enda vali mombuwa ndele va dingilila oshilongo shaEdom noshilongo shaMoab, ndele e uya kombinga yokoushilo woshilongo shaMoab. Ndele vo ova onga onhanda kombada yaArnon, ndelenee inava ya mo moshilongo shaMoab, osheshi Arnon ongaba yaMoab. 19 Opo nee Israel a tuma ovatumwa kuSihon, ohamba yOvaamori, ohamba yomuHesbon, ndele Israel okwe i lombwela ta ti: Itavela, tu tauluke moshilongo shoye ndi ye konhele yange. 20 Ndelenee Sihon ina itavela Israel a tauluke moshilongo shaye. Ndele Sihon okwa shiva ovakwaita vaye aveshe, ndele vo va onga onhanda muJahas, ndele va lwifa Israel. 21 Ndelenee Omwene, Kalunga kaIsrael, okwa yandja Sihon noshiwana meke laIsrael. Onghee hano Israel okwa nangala oshilongo ashishe shOvaamori nokwa taataa oonakukalamo vomoshilongo. 22 Ndele vo ova nangala oshilongo ashishe shOvaamori, okudja kuArnon fiyo okuJabbok, nokudja kombuwa fiyo okuJordan. 23 Osho ngaha hano Omwene Kalunga kaIsrael, okwa taataa Ovaamori komesho yoshiwana shaye Israel, ndele ove wa hala oku shi nangala? 24 Ove ndishi ho nangala oshilongo osho oshikalunga shoye Kemosh tai shi ku pe, ndele fye ohatu nangala ashishe eshi Omwene Kalunga ketu te tu pe mokutaataa oonakukalamo komesho yetu? 25 Ove u dule hamba Balak yaSippor, ohamba yaMoab? Yo oya twifa ngeno Israel eemhata ile yo ye va homona hamba? 26 Israel a kala muHesbon nomuAroer nomikunda dasho nomoilando aishe oyo i li pomunghulo waArnon omido omafele atatu. Molwashike inamu i kufa po mefimbo linya? 27 Onghee hano ame inandi nyona kwoove, ndelenee ove to monifa nge oixuna moku tu lwifa. Omwene Omutokoli na tokole nena eli pokati kovana vaIsrael novana vaAmmoni!” 28 Ndelenee ohamba yovana vaAmmoni ina pwilikina eendjovo, Jefta e di mu tumina.
Eudaneko laJefta kOmwene
29 Opo nee Omhepo yOmwene ye uya kuJefta, nokwa tauluka Gilead naManasse ndele ta i kuMispa muGilead. Nokwa dja kuMispa muGilead ndele ta i kovana vaAmmoni. 30 Ndele Jefta okwa udanekela Omwene eudaneko ndele ta ti: “Ove ngeenge to yandje meke lange ovana vaAmmoni, 31 opo nee keshe ou ta piti mo monhu yeumbo tete, ame ngeenge handi aluka nombili kovana vaAmmoni, ta ka ninga wOmwene, ndele ame ohandi ke mu yamba exwikiloyambo.” 32 Opo nee Jefta a ya kovana vaAmmoni nokwe va lwifa. NOmwene okwe va yandja meke laye. 33 Ndele ye okwe va taataa okudja kuAroer fiyo okuMinnit, oilando omilongo mbali, nofiyo okuAbel-Keramim, olwoodi linene unene. Osho hano ovana vaAmmoni va ninipikwa moipafi yovana vaIsrael. 34 Ndele Jefta eshi e uya kuMispa popepi neumbo laye, omona waye okakadona, okwa pita mo e mu shakeneke, ta tanhe ta nhuka, ta shiki okaxumba. Ye okwa li omona waye ewifa, ehe nomona omumati ile okakadona ponho yaye. 35 Ndele ye eshi e mu mona, okwa pombaula oikutu yaye, ndele ta ti: “Akutu, omona wange, ove to nyikifa nge oluhodi linene, ndele to undwile nge momupya! Osheshi ame nda makulila Omwene okanya kange, ndele ihandi dulu okulialula.” 36 Ndele ye okwe mu nyamukula ta ti: “Tate yange, ove ngeenge wa makulila Omwene okanya koye, ninge nge ngaashi okanya koye ke di pitifa mo, Omwene eshi a wanifila ovatondadi voye, ovana vaAmmoni, ehandukilo la wana la wanenena.” 37 Nokwa lombwela vali xe: “Nandi itavelelwe, u efe nge eehani mbali, ndi ye ko ndi londe keemhunda ndi kale ko ndi lile oukadona wange, ame nookahewa kange.” 38 Ndele ye ta ti: Inda ko! Nokwe mu efa a ye ko a kale ko eehani mbali. Nokwa ya nookahewa kaye, ndele ta lili oukadona waye keemhunda. 39 Ndele eehani mbali eshi da pita po, ye okwa aluka kuxe, ndele ye okwa wanifila muye eudaneko laye. Ndele ye ina monafana nomulumenhu. Ndele muIsrael mwa li onghedi 40 nokutya oukadona Ovaisraeli tava i ko omudo nomudo okuhambelela nomaimbilo omona okakadona kaJefta, Omugilead, omafiku ane omudo keshe.
