Judges 11:1-11

New King James Version

Jephthah

11 Now ^(A)Jephthah the Gileadite was ^(B)a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah. ²Gilead’s wife bore sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have ^(C)no inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” ³Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of ^(D)Tob; and ^(E)worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.

⁴It came to pass after a time that the ^(F)people of Ammon made war against Israel. ⁵And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. ⁶Then they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.”

⁷So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, ^(G)“Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in ^[a]distress?”

⁸^(H)And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have ^(I)turned^[b] again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon, and be ^(J)our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

⁹So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back home to fight against the people of Ammon, and the Lord delivers them to me, shall I be your head?”

¹⁰And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, ^(K)“The Lord will be a witness between us, if we do not do according to your words.” ¹¹Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him ^(L)head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words ^(M)before the Lord in Mizpah.