The leaders ¹  of the assembly said, “How can we find wives for those who are left? ²  After all, the Benjaminite women have been wiped out.

He captured a young man from Succoth ¹  and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Succoth’s officials and city leaders – seventy-seven men in all. ² 

He seized the leaders ¹  of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men of Succoth with them. ² 

When the Ammonites attacked, ¹  the leaders ²  of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back ³  from the land of Tob.

Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “But you hated me and made me leave ¹  my father’s house. Why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?”

The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will judge any grievance you have against us, ¹  if we do not do as you say.” ² 

When he looked up and saw the traveler ¹  in the town square, the old man said, “Where are you heading? Where do you come from?”

The old man said, “Everything is just fine! ¹  I will take care of all your needs. But don’t spend the night in the town square.”

The people worshiped ¹  the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men ²  who outlived him remained alive. These men had witnessed ³  all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. ⁴ 

The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That may be true, ¹  but now we pledge to you our loyalty. ²  Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader ³  of all who live in Gilead.” ⁴ 

Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! ¹  If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, ²  I will be your leader.” ³ 

So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement ¹  before the Lord in Mizpah.

But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field. ¹  The man was from the Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah. (The residents of the town were Benjaminites.) ² 

They were having a good time, ¹  when suddenly ²  some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, ³  surrounded the house and kept beating ⁴  on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, “Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him.” ⁵