1 Now Jephthah existed then, a Gileadite, a mighty man of valour, the son of a harlot unto whom Gilead had begat a son. 2 And Gilead’s wife bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they threw Jephthah out 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 vain men joined themselves to Jephthah and went out with him.
4 And it came to pass after some days that the sons of Ammon made war against Israel. 5 And when the sons 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 thou shalt be our captain that we may fight with the sons 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? Why, therefore, are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress? 8 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, For this same reason we turn again to thee now that thou may go with us and fight against the sons of Ammon and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. 9 Then Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the sons of Ammon and the LORD delivers them before me, shall I be your head? 10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Let the LORD hear between us, if we do not comply with thy words. 11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and prince over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.
12 And Jephthah sent ambassadors unto the king of the sons 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 sons of Ammon replied unto the ambassadors of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok and unto the Jordan; now, therefore, restore those lands again peaceably. 14 Then Jephthah sent ambassadors again unto the king of the sons of Ammon, 15 saying unto him, Thus hath Jephthah said, Israel did not take land from Moab, nor land from the sons of Ammon, 16 but 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 hear them. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab, but he would not consent either; therefore Israel abode in Kadesh.
18 Then they went along through the wilderness and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and came by the side of the rising of the sun to the land of Moab; they pitched their camp on the other side of Arnon and did not enter 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 did not trust Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together and pitched camp in Jahaz and fought against Israel. 21 But 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 Amorite that inhabited that land. 22 And they possessed all the border of the Amorites from Arnon even unto Jabbok and from the wilderness even unto the Jordan. 23 So now the LORD God of Israel has expelled the Amorites from before his people Israel and should thou possess it? 24 If Chemosh thy god should expel anyone for you, would thou not possess it? So whoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess. 25 Art thou better now in any thing than Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Peradventure did he ever strive against Israel? Peradventure did he ever fight against them? 26 Furthermore, Israel has dwelt in Heshbon and her towns and in Aroer and her towns and in all the cities that are along by the coasts of Arnon, for three hundred years. Why, therefore, did ye not recover them within that time? 27 Therefore, I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me; let the LORD, who is the Judge, judge this day between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon. 28 But the king of the sons of Ammon did not hear the reasons of Jephthah which he sent him.