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.
1 Jefta, omukwiita ofule gwokuGilead, okwa li omuna gwohonda. He Gilead 2 okwa li e na oyana yalwe nomukadhi. Sho ya koko, oya tidha po Jefta noya ti kuye: “Ito ka thigulula nando osha putate, oshoka nyoko okwi ili.” 3 Jefta okwa yi ontuku yaamwahe e ta ka kala mevi lyaTob. Okwi ihilile ongundu yaantu yaamakaha noye ende ye mu tula mokakuwilili.
4 Konima yethimbo Aayammoni oya hingile Aaisraeli iita. 5 Shika sho sha ningwa, aawiliki yaGilead oya ka tala Jefta kevi lyaTob. 6 Oya ti: “Ila, u tu wilike, opo tu kondjithe Aayammoni.”
7 Ihe Jefta okwa yamukula: “Ne omwa tondo ndje nayi, sigo mwa tidha ndje maandjatate. Omolwashike tamu ya kungame ngashingeyi, sho mwa adhika kuudhigu?”
8 Oya ti kuye: “Otwi igameke kungoye, oshoka otwa hala, tu ye nangoye, tu ka kondjithe Aayammoni, ngoye u wilike aantu ayehe muGilead.”
9 Jefta okwa ti kuyo: “Ngele otamu galulile ndje kegumbo, ndi kondjithe Aayammoni, nOmuwa ta pe ndje esindano, nena otii ka ninga omuleli gweni.” 10 Oya yamukula: “Otwa zimine. Omuwa oye onzapo yetu.” 11 Osho ngaaka Jefta a yi naawiliki yaGilead, naantu oye mu ningi omuleli nomuwiliki gwawo. Koshipala shOmuwa muMispa Jefta okwe endulula oohapu dhe adhihe e dhi popi naawiliki.
12 Nena Jefta okwa tumu aatumwa komukwaniilwa gwaAmmon nelaka tali ti: “Oshike to tamanana natse? Omolwashike to matukile oshilongo shetu?” 13 Omukwaniilwa gwaAmmon okwa yamukula aatumwa yaJefta ta ti: “Aaisraeli sho ya zile muEgipiti, oya kutha po evi lyandje okuza komulonga Arnon sigo omulonga Jabbok nomulonga Jordan. Ngashingeyi li galulila ndje nombili.”
14 Jefta okwa tumununa ko ishewe aatumwa komukwaniilwa gwaAmmon, 15 neyamukulo lye tali ti: “Kashi shi oshili kutya Israel okwa kutha po evi lyaMoab nenge evi lyaAmmon. 16 Shoka sha ningwa, osho shika. Aaisraeli sho ya thigi po Egipiti, oya taula ombuga, sigo okEkololo lyaAkaba, e taa thiki kuKadesh. 17 Nena oya tumu aatumwa komukwaniilwa gwaEdom, ye mu pule epitikilo, ya taakane evi lye. Ihe omukwaniilwa gwaEdom ine ya pitikila. Oya pula ishewe omukwaniilwa gwaMoab, naye ongashikwawo, ine ya pitikila, ya pite mevi lye. Osho nduno Aaisraeli ya kala muKadesh. 18 Nena oya tsikile ya piti mombuga taa dhingoloka evi lyaEdom nevi lyaMoab, handiyaka yomulonga Arnon. Oko ya yungu ontanda, ihe inaa tokola nando Arnon, oshoka ogwa li ongamba yaMoab. 19 Nena Aaisraeli oya tumu aatumwa kuSihon, omukwaniilwa gwAayamori gwokuHeshbon noye mu pula epitikilo, ya taakane oshilongo she, ya ye kevi lyaandjawo. 20 Ihe Sihon ina pitika nando, Aaisraeli ye shi ninge. Okwe eta aakwiita ye ayehe e taa yungu ontanda puJahas nokwa matukile Aaisraeli. 21 Ihe Omuwa, Kalunga kaIsrael, okwa sinditha Aaisraeli ya sindi Sihon niita ye. Osho ngaaka Israel a lala oshilongo ashihe shAayamori mboka ya kala moshilongo shoka. 22 Oya kutha po oshilongo shAayamori ashihe okuza kuArnon muumbugantu sigo oJabbok muumbangalantu nokuza kombuga kuuzilo sigo oJordan kuuninginino. 23 Shika osha ningwa kOmuwa, Kalunga kaIsrael, ngoka a kwatha aantu ye Aaisraeli, ya tidhe po Aayamori. 24 Owa hala, u kambadhale oku li kutha ko? Dhiginina ndyoka wa pewa kukalunga koye Kemosh. Ihe tse otatu ka takamitha ashihe shoka Omuwa, Kalunga ketu, e tu pe. 25 Oto dhiladhila kutya ongoye omwaanawa u vule Balak yaZippor, omukwaniilwa gwaMoab? Okwa homona tuu Israel nenge e ya etela iita nando olumwe? 26 Oshoka pwa piti omimvo omathele gatatu, sho Israel a lala Heshbon naAroer, niilando yomuushiinda wayo, niilando ayihe komunkulo gwomulonga Arnon. Oshike inoo yi kutha ko nale? 27 Aawoo, inandi ku hinda nando okashona. Ongoye to hindi ndje, sho to etele ndje iita. Omuwa oye omutokoli. Oye ta ka tokola pokati kAaisraeli nAayammoni.” 28 Ihe omukwaniilwa gwaAmmon ina pupa ko nokuli kelaka lyaJefta.
29 Ombepo yOmuwa oya lambele Jefta. Okwa taakana Gilead naManasse e ta galukile kuMispe muGilead e ta yi kuAmmon. 30 Jefta oku uvanekele Omuwa: “Ngele oto sinditha ndje Aayammoni, 31 omuntu ngoka ta ka tsakaneka ndje tango ta zi maandjetu, otandi ke mu gandja kOmuwa omayambo, sho te galuka kiita nda sindana. Omuntu ngoka otandi ke mu ninga efikilondjambo.” 32 Osho Jefta a tokola omulonga, a ka kondje nAayammoni; Omuwa nokwe mu pe esindano. 33 Okwe ya thepagula okuza kuAroer nombinga ayihe muushiinda waMinnit, iilando omilongo mbali ayihe kumwe, sigololo Abel Keramim. Opwa li omulape gwowala, Aayammoni noya sindika kAaisraeli.
Omwanakadhona gwaJefta
34 Jefta sho a galukile kegumbo kuMispe, omwana omukadhona okwe ke mu tsakaneka ta tembula ye ta hiki ontunda. Okwa li epona. 35 Sho e mu mono, okwa tuula oonguwo dhe moluhodhi e ta ti: “O, mumwandje! Owa tatula omutima gwandje! Omolwashike wa undulile ndje momupya gu thike mpano? Onda ninga euvaneko nde li uvanekele Omuwa, noite vulu oku li lundulula.”
36 Omwanakadhona okwa ti kuye: “Ngele owa uvanekele Omuwa euvaneko, ninga sho wa ti, u shi ningile ndje. Omuwa ndishi okwe ku pa esindano, sho wa dhenge aatondi yoye Aayammoni.” 37 Ihe okwi indile he a ti: “Ningila ndje shika. Etha ndje manga oomwedhi mbali, ndi ye nookanee kandje koondundu, ndi ka lilile ko uukadhona wandje, sho te si inaandi fukala.” 38 He okwe mu lombwele, a ye, nokwe mu etha, a kale oomwedhi mbali. Okwa yi nookanee ke koondundu nokwa lilile ko uukadhona we, oshoka ina hokanwa noke na oluvalo. 39 Konima yoomwedhi mbali okwa galukile kuhe. Jefta okwa ningi, ngaashi u uvanekele Omuwa, nomwana okwa si manga ye omukadhona.
Shika osha ningile ondjigilile muIsrael. 40 Aakiintu aagundjuka haa yi omasiku gane omumvo kehe oku ka lila omwana omukadhona gwaJefta gwokuGilead.
