1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. 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. 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.
4 ¶ And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. 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: 6 And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of 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? 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. 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? 10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words. 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.
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? 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. 14 And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of 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: 16 But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh; 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 22 And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan. 23 So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it? 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. 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, 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? 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. 28 Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
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. 30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 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.
32 ¶ So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. 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.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, 40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
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.
