Judges 11:2-12

2 Meanwhile Gilead's legal wife had given him other sons, and when they grew up, his wife's sons threw Jephthah out. They told him: "You're not getting any of our family inheritance - you're the son of another woman."
3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and went to live in the land of Tob. Some riff-raff joined him and went around with him.
4 Some time passed. And then the Ammonites started fighting Israel.
5 With the Ammonites at war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.
6 They said to Jephthah: "Come. Be our general and we'll fight the Ammonites."
7 But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead: "But you hate me. You kicked me out of my family home. So why are you coming to me now? Because you are in trouble. Right?"
8 The elders of Gilead replied, "That's it exactly. We've come to you to get you to go with us and fight the Ammonites. You'll be the head of all of us, all the Gileadites."
9 Jephthah addressed the elders of Gilead, "So if you bring me back home to fight the Ammonites and God gives them to me, I'll be your head - is that right?"
10 They said, "God is witness between us; whatever you say, we'll do."
11 Jephthah went along with the elders of Gilead. The people made him their top man and general. And Jephthah repeated what he had said before God at Mizpah.
12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with a message: "What's going on here that you have come into my country picking a fight?"
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.