1 Now 1Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiantwarrior, but he was the son of a harlot*. And Gilead was the father of Jephthah.
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Gilead'swifebore him sons; and when his wife'ssonsgrew up, they droveJephthah out and said to him, "You shall not have an inheritance in our father'shouse, for you are the son of anotherwoman."
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So Jephthahfled from his brothers and lived in the land of 2Tob; and worthlessfellowsgathered themselves aboutJephthah, and they went out with him.
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It came about after a while that 3the sons of AmmonfoughtagainstIsrael.
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When the sons of AmmonfoughtagainstIsrael, the elders of Gileadwent to getJephthah from the land of Tob;
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and they said to Jephthah, "Come and be our chief that we may fight against the sons of Ammon."
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Then Jephthahsaid to the elders of Gilead, "4Did you not hate me and drive me from my father'shouse? So why have you come to me nowwhen you are in trouble?"
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The elders of Gileadsaid to Jephthah, "For thisreason we have nowreturned to you, that you may go with us and fight with the sons of Ammon and 5becomehead over all the inhabitants of Gilead."
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So Jephthahsaid to the elders of Gilead, "If you take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the LORDgives them up to me, will I become your head?"
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The elders of Gileadsaid to Jephthah, "6The LORD is witnessbetween us; surely* we will do as you have said."
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Then Jephthahwent with the elders of Gilead, and the peoplemade him head and chiefover them; and Jephthahspokeall his wordsbefore the LORD at 7Mizpah.
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Now Jephthahsentmessengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, "What is between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?"
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The king of the sons of Ammonsaid to the messengers of Jephthah, "BecauseIsrael8took away my land when they came up from Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the 9Jabbok and the Jordan; therefore, return them peaceablynow."
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But Jephthahsentmessengersagain* to the king of the sons of Ammon,
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and they said to him, "ThussaysJephthah, 'Israel did not take away the land of Moabnor the land of the sons of Ammon.
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'For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel10went through the wilderness to the Red*Sea and 11came to Kadesh,
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then Israel12sentmessengers to the king of Edom, saying, "Please let us pass through your land," but the king of Edom would not listen. 13And they alsosent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israelremained at Kadesh.
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'Then they went through the wilderness and 14around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came to the east*side* of the land of Moab, and they campedbeyond the Arnon; but they 15did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.
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'And Israelsent16messengers to Sihonking of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon, and Israelsaid to him, "Please let us pass through your land to our place."
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'But Sihon did not trustIsrael to pass through his territory; so Sihongatheredall his people and camped in Jahaz and fought with Israel.
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'The LORD, the God of Israel, gaveSihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they 17defeated them; so Israelpossessedall the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.
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'18So they possessedall the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and from the wilderness as far as the Jordan.
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'Since now the LORD, the God of Israel, drove out the Amorites from before His peopleIsrael, are you then to possess it?
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'Do you not possesswhat19Chemosh your godgives you to possess? So whatever* the LORD our God has driven out before* us, we will possess it.
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'Now are you anybetterthan20Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he everstrive with Israel, or did he everfight against them?
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'21While Israellived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, threehundredyears, why did you not recover them within that time?
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'I therefore have not sinned against you, but you are doing me wrong by makingwar against me; 22may the LORD, the Judge, judgetodaybetween the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.' "
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But the king of the sons of Ammondisregarded* the messagewhichJephthahsent him.