Judges 11:35

35 And when he saw her, he rent his clothes, and said, Alas! my daughter, thou hast troubled me, and thou art troubled; for I opened my mouth to the Lord, and I may do none other thing. (And when he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, Alas! my daughter, thou hast brought woe upon me, and woe upon thyself; for I opened my mouth to the Lord, and I may do no other thing.)

Judges 11:35 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 11:35

And it came to pass, when he saw her
She being the first person that presented to his view, as she was at the head of the virgins with their timbrels and dances:

that he rent his clothes;
as was the usual manner, when anything calamitous and distressing happened; see ( Genesis 37:34 ) ( Job 1:20 )

and said, alas, my daughter, thou hast brought me very low;
damped his spirits, sunk him very low, so that he was ready to drop into the earth, as we say; he that was now returning in triumph, amidst the acclamations of the people, in the height of his glory, and extolled to the skies, and perhaps elated in his own mind; on a sudden, at the sight of his daughter, was so depressed in his spirits, that he could not bear up; but was ready to sink and die away, all his honour being as it were laid in the dust, and nothing to him:

and thou art one of them that trouble me:
or among his troublers, and the greatest he ever met with; he had been in trouble from his brethren, when they drove him from his father's house, and he had had trouble with the children of Ammon to subdue them; but this was the greatest trouble of all, that his daughter should be the first that should meet him; of whom, according to his vow, he was to be deprived, and so all his future comforts, hopes, and expectations from her gone; and therefore ranks her among, and at the head of, his troublers:

for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord;
in a vow; not only had purposed it in his heart, but had expressed it with his lips:

and I cannot go back;
or retract it; looking upon himself under an indispensable obligation to perform it; of which, be it as it may, he seems to have had mistaken notions and apprehensions; for if his vow was to sacrifice her, as some think, he was not obliged to do it, since it was contrary to the law of God, and abominable in his sight; and besides, what was vowed to be the Lord's, or devoted to him, might be redeemed according to the law, a female for thirty pieces of silver, ( Leviticus 27:2-4 ) and if the vow was to separate his daughter from the company of men, and oblige her never to marry, such a power as this parents had not allowed them over their children, according to the laws of God or of men, in the Jewish nation; and therefore, be it which it will, what he had to do was to repent of this rash vow, and humble himself before God for making it, and not add sin to sin by performing it.

Judges 11:35 In-Context

33 and he smote from Aroer till that he came into Minnith, (yea,) twenty cities, and (even) unto Abel, which is set about with vineries, with full great vengeance; and the sons of Ammon were made low of the sons of Israel. (and he struck down, or overcame, from Aroer until that he came unto Minnith, twenty cities, and even unto Abelkeramim, with very great vengeance; and the Ammonites were made low before the Israelites.)

34 And when Jephthah turned again into Mizpeh, (to) his house, his one begotten daughter came to meet him with tympans, and crowds dancing; for he had not other free children. (And when Jephthah returned to Mizpeh, to his house, his only daughter came to meet him with tambourines, and people dancing; and he had no other children.)

35 And when he saw her, he rent his clothes, and said, Alas! my daughter, thou hast troubled me, and thou art troubled; for I opened my mouth to the Lord, and I may do none other thing. (And when he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, Alas! my daughter, thou hast brought woe upon me, and woe upon thyself; for I opened my mouth to the Lord, and I may do no other thing.)

36 To whom she answered, My father, if thou openedest thy mouth to the Lord, do to me whatever thing thou promisedest, while vengeance and victory of thine enemies be granted to thee (for vengeance and victory over thy enemies have been granted to thee by the Lord).

37 And she said to her father, Give thou to me only this thing, which I beseech; suffer thou me that in two months I compass [the] hills (allow me for two months to go about the hills), and bewail my maidenhood with my fellows.