Judges 10:18

10:18 The leaders ¹  of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge ²  against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!”

Judges 11:8-9

11:8 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That may be true, ³  but now we pledge to you our loyalty. ⁴  Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader ⁵  of all who live in Gilead.” ⁶  11:9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! ⁷  If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, ⁸  I will be your leader.” ⁹ 

Judges 11:13

11:13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stole ¹⁰  my land when they ¹¹  came up from Egypt – from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan. ¹²  Now return it ¹³  peaceably!”

Judges 11:27

11:27 I have not done you wrong, ¹⁴  but you are doing wrong ¹⁵  by attacking me. May the Lord, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!’”

Judges 11:29

A Foolish Vow Spells Death for a Daughter

11:29 The Lord’s spirit empowered ¹⁶  Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went ¹⁷  to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites. ¹⁸ 

Judges 11:33

11:33 He defeated them from Aroer all the way to Minnith – twenty cities in all, even as far as Abel Keramim! He wiped them out! ¹⁹  The Israelites humiliated the Ammonites. ²⁰ 

Judges 11:36

11:36 She said to him, “My father, since ²¹  you made an oath to the Lord, do to me as you promised. ²²  After all, the Lord vindicated you before ²³  your enemies, the Ammonites.”

Judges 12:1

Civil Strife Mars the Victory

12:1 The Ephraimites assembled ²⁴  and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you go and fight ²⁵  with the Ammonites without asking ²⁶  us to go with you? We will burn your house down right over you!” ²⁷ 

Judges 12:3

12:3 When I saw that you were not going to help, ²⁸  I risked my life ²⁹  and advanced against ³⁰  the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why have you come up ³¹  to fight with me today?”

[10:18]  ¹ tn Heb “the people, the officers.”

[10:18]  ² tn Heb “Who is the man who will begin fighting.”

[11:8]  ³ tn Heb “therefore”; “even so.” For MT לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) the LXX has an opposite reading, “not so,” which seems to be based on the Hebrew words לֹא כֵן (lo’ khen).

[11:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “we have returned to you.” For another example of שׁוּב אֶל (shuv ’el) in the sense of “give allegiance to,” see 1 Kgs 12:27b.

[11:8]  ⁵ sn Then you will become the leader. The leaders of Gilead now use the word רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “head, leader”), the same term that appeared in their original, general offer (see 10:18). In their initial offer to Jephthah they had simply invited him to be their קָצִין (qatsin, “commander”; v. 6). When he resists they must offer him a more attractive reward – rulership over the region. See R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 198.

[11:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “leader of us and all who live in Gilead.”

[11:9]  ⁵ tn “All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “places them before me.”

[11:9]  ⁷ tn Some translate the final statement as a question, “will I really be your leader?” An affirmative sentence is preferable. Jephthah is repeating the terms of the agreement in an official manner. In v. 10 the leaders legally agree to these terms.

[11:13]  ⁷ tn Or “took”; or “seized.”

[11:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “he” (a collective singular).

[11:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.

[11:13]  ¹⁰ tc The translation assumes a singular suffix (“[return] it”); the Hebrew text has a plural suffix (“[return] them”), which, if retained, might refer to the cities of the land.

[11:27]  ⁹ tn Or “sinned against you.”

[11:27]  ¹⁰ tn Or “evil.”

[11:29]  ¹¹ tn Heb “was on.”

[11:29]  ¹² tn Heb “passed through.”

[11:29]  ¹³ tn Heb “From Mizpah in Gilead he passed through [to] the Ammonites.”

[11:33]  ¹³ tn Heb “with a very great slaughter.”

[11:33]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “The Ammonites were humbled before the Israelites.”

[11:36]  ¹⁵ tn The conjunction “since” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to [what] went out from your mouth.”

[11:36]  ¹⁷ tn Or “has given you vengeance against.”

[12:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the men of Ephraim were summoned [or “were mustered”].”

[12:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “cross over to fight.”

[12:1]  ¹⁹ tn Or “calling”; or “summoning.”

[12:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Your house we will burn over you with fire.”

[12:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “you were no deliverer.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX has “no one was helping.”

[12:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I put my life in my hand.”

[12:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “crossed over to.”

[12:3]  ²² tn The Hebrew adds “against me” here. This is redundant in English and has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.