1Jephthah was a mighty warrior. He was from the land of Gilead. His father’s name was Gilead. Jephthah’s mother was a prostitute. 2Gilead’s wife also had sons by him. When they had grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You aren’t going to get any share of our family’s property,” they said. “You are the son of another woman.” 3So Jephthah ran away from his brothers. He made his home in the land of Tob. A group of men who weren’t good for anything gathered around him there. And they followed him.
4Some time later, the Ammonites were fighting against Israel. 5So the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6“Come with us,” they said. “Be our commander. Then we can fight against the Ammonites.”
7Jephthah said to them, “Didn’t you hate me? Didn’t you drive me away from my father’s house? Why are you coming to me only when you are in trouble?”
8The elders of Gilead replied to him. “You are right,” they said. “That’s why we’re turning to you now. Come with us and fight against the Ammonites. Then you will rule over all of us who live in Gilead.”
9Jephthah said, “Suppose you take me back to fight against the Ammonites. And suppose the Lord gives me victory over them. Then will I really be your leader?”
10The elders of Gilead replied, “The Lord is our witness. We’ll certainly do as you say.” 11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead. And the people made him their leader and commander. He went to Mizpah. There he repeated to the Lord everything he had said.
12Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon. They asked, “What do you have against me? Why have you attacked my country?”
13The king of Ammon answered Jephthah’s messengers. He said, “Israel came up out of Egypt. At that time they took my land away. They took all the land between the Arnon River and the Jabbok River. It reached all the way to the Jordan River. Now give it back. Then there will be peace.”
14Jephthah sent messengers back to the king of Ammon. 15They said,
“Here is what Jephthah says to you. Israel didn’t take the land of Moab. They didn’t take the land of Ammon. 16When Israel came up out of Egypt, they went through the desert to the Red Sea. From there they went on to Kadesh. 17Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom. They said, ‘Please let us go through your country.’ But the king of Edom wouldn’t listen to them. They sent the same message to the king of Moab. But he refused too. So Israel stayed at Kadesh.
18“Next, they traveled through the desert. They traveled along the borders of the lands of Edom and Moab. They passed along the east side of the country of Moab. They camped on the other side of the Arnon River. They didn’t enter the territory of Moab. The Arnon River was Moab’s border.
19“Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon. He was the king of the Amorites. He ruled in Heshbon. They said to him, ‘Let us pass through your country to our own land.’ 20But Sihon didn’t trust Israel to pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered all his troops together. They camped at Jahaz. And they fought against Israel.
21“Then the Lord, the God of Israel, handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel. Israel won the battle over them. Amorites were living in the country at that time. And Israel took over all their land. 22Israel captured all the land between the Arnon River and the Jabbok River. It reached from the desert all the way to the Jordan River.
23“The Lord, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out to make room for his people. So what right do you have to take it over? 24You will take what your god Chemosh gives you, won’t you? In the same way, we will take over what the Lord our God has given us. 25Are you any better than Balak, the son of Zippor? Balak was the king of Moab. Did he ever argue with Israel? Did he ever fight against them? 26For 300 years Israel has been living in Heshbon and Aroer. They have been living in the settlements around those cities. They have also been living in all the towns along the Arnon River. Why didn’t you take those places back during that time? 27I haven’t done anything wrong to you. But you are doing something wrong to me. You have gone to war against me. The Lord is the Judge. So let him decide our case today. Let him settle matters between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”
28But the king of Ammon didn’t pay any attention to the message Jephthah sent him.
29Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He went across the territories of Gilead and Manasseh. He passed through Mizpah in the land of Gilead. From there he attacked the people of Ammon. 30Jephthah made a promise to the Lord. Jephthah said, “Hand the Ammonites over to me. 31If you do, here’s what I’ll do when I come back from winning the battle. Anything that comes out the door of my house to meet me will belong to the Lord. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
32Then Jephthah went over to fight against the Ammonites. The Lord handed them over to him. 33Jephthah destroyed 20 towns between Aroer and the area of Minnith. He destroyed them all the way to Abel Keramim. So Israel brought Ammon under their control.
34Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah. And guess who came out to meet him. It was his daughter! She was dancing to the beat of tambourines. She was his only child. He didn’t have any other sons or daughters. 35When Jephthah saw her, he was so upset that he tore his clothes. He cried out, “Oh no, my daughter! You have filled me with trouble and sorrow. I’ve made a promise to the Lord. And I can’t break it.”
36“My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord. So do to me just what you promised to do. The Ammonites were your enemies. And the Lord has paid them back for what they did to you. 37But please do one thing for me,” she continued. “Give me two months to wander around in the hills. Let me weep there with my friends. I want to do that because I’ll never get married.”
38“You may go,” he said. He let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills. They were filled with sadness because she would never get married. 39After the two months were over, she returned to her father. He did to her just what he had promised to do. And she was a virgin.
So that became a practice in Israel. 40Each year the young women of Israel go away for four days. They do it in honor of the daughter of Jephthah. He was from the land of Gilead.
1ገለዓዳዊው ዮፍታሔ ኀያል ጦረኛ ነበረ፤ አባቱ ገለዓድ ነበር፤ እናቱም ጋለሞታ ነበረች። 2እንደዚሁም የገለዓድ ሚስት ለገለዓድ ወንዶች ልጆች ወለደችለት፤ እነርሱም ባደጉ ጊዜ ዮፍታሔን፣ “ከሌላ ሴት ስለ ተወለድህ ከቤተ ሰባችን ምንም ዐይነት ውርስ አይገባህም” በማለት አሳደዱት። 3ስለዚህም ዮፍታሔ ከወንድሞቹ ሸሽቶ መኖሪያውን ጦብ በተባለች ምድር አደረገ፤ እዚያም ወሮበሎች ተሰባስበው ተከተሉት።
4ከጥቂት ጊዜ በኋላም አሞናውያን በእስራኤል ላይ ጦርነት ባደረጉ ጊዜ፣ 5የገለዓድ አለቆች ዮፍታሔን ለማምጣት ወደ ጦብ ምድር ሄዱ። 6እነርሱም፣ “ከአሞናውያን ጋር መዋጋት እንችል ዘንድ መጥተህ ምራን” አሉት።
7ዮፍታሔም፣ “ምነው ጠልታችሁኝ ከአባቴ ቤት አሳድዳችሁኝ አልነበረምን? ታዲያ አሁን ችግር ሲገጥማችሁ ነው የምትፈልጉኝ?” አላቸው።
8የገለዓድ አለቆችም፣ “እንግዲህ አሁን ወደ አንተ መጥተናል፤ አሞናውያንን እንድንወጋ በል ተነሥና አብረን እንሂድ፤ በገለዓድ በምንኖረው በሁላችንም ላይ አለቃ ትሆናለህ” አሉት።
9ዮፍታሔም፣ “አሞናውያንን ለመውጋት ወደ አገሬ ብትመልሱኝና እግዚአብሔር በእጄ አሳልፎ ቢሰጣቸው በርግጥ አለቃችሁ እሆናለሁ?” ሲል ጠየቃቸው።
10የገለዓድ አለቆችም፣ “እግዚአብሔር ምስክራችን ነው፤ ያልኸውንም በርግጥ እናደርጋለን” አሉት። 11ስለዚህ ዮፍታሔ ከገለዓድ አለቆች ጋር ሄደ፤ ሕዝቡም በላያቸው ላይ አለቃና አዛዥ አደረጉት፤ ዮፍታሔም የተናገረውን ቃል ሁሉ ምጽጳ ላይ በእግዚአብሔር ፊት ደገመው።
12ከዚያም ዮፍታሔ ወደ አሞናውያን ንጉሥ፣ “ከእኔ ጋር ምን ጠብ ቢኖርህ ነው መጥተህ አገሬን የወጋኸው?” በማለት መልእክተኞች ላከ።
13የአሞናውያንም ንጉሥ ለዮፍታሔ መልእክተኞች፣ “ይህን ያደረግሁት እስራኤል ከግብፅ በወጣ ጊዜ በአርኖንና በያቦቅ ወንዞች መካከል ያለውንና እስከ ዮርዳኖስ ያለውን አገሬን ስለ ወሰዱብኝ ነው፤ አሁንም በሰላም መልሱልኝ” አላቸው።
14ዮፍታሔም መልእክተኞቹን እንደ ገና ወደ አሞናውያን ንጉሥ ላካቸው፤ 15እንዲህም አላቸው፤ “ዮፍታሔ እንዲህ ይላል፤ እስራኤል የሞዓብንም ሆነ የአሞናውያንን ምድር አልወሰደም። 16እስራኤል ከግብፅ በወጣ ጊዜ በምድረ በዳ አድርጎ ወደ ቀይ ባሕር11፥16 ዕብራይስጡ ያም ሶውፍ ይላል፤ ይህም የዳንኤል ባሕር ማለት ነው። ከዚያም ወደ ቃዴስ ሄደ። 17እስራኤልም ወደ ኤዶም ንጉሥ፣ ‘በአገርህ እንዳልፍ እባክህ ፍቀድልኝ’ በማለት መልእክተኞችን ላከበት፤ የኤዶም ንጉሥ ግን አልሰማውም። ለሞዓብ ንጉሥም እንደዚሁ ላከበት፤ እርሱም አልተቀበለውም፤ ስለዚህ እስራኤል በቃዴስ ተቀመጠ።
18“ቀጥሎም የኤዶምንና የሞዓብን ምድር በመዞር፣ በምድረ በዳው ተጕዞ ከሞዓብ በስተ ምሥራቅ በኩል በማለፍ ከአርኖን ማዶ ሰፈረ፤ የሞዓብም ድንበር አርኖን ስለ ነበር ወደ ሞዓብ ክልል አልገባም።
19“ከዚያም እስራኤል በሐሴቦን ወዳለው ወደ አሞራውያን ንጉሥ ወደ ሴዎን መልእክተኞች ልኮ፣ ‘ወደ ገዛ ስፍራችን ለመሄድ በአገርህ እንዳልፍ ፍቀድልኝ’ አለው። 20ሴዎን ግን በግዛቱ እንዲያልፍ ለመፍቀድ እስራኤልን አላመነውም11፥20 ወይም ከእስራኤል ጋር አልተስማማም፤ ሰራዊቱንም ሰብስቦ በያሃድ ከሰፈረ በኋላ ከእስራኤል ጋር ተዋጋ።
21“ከዚያም የእስራኤል አምላክ እግዚአብሔር ሴዎንንና ሕዝቡን ሁሉ በእስራኤል እጅ አሳልፎ ሰጣቸው፤ አሸነፏቸውም። እስራኤልም በዚያ አገር የሚኖሩትን የአሞራውያንን ምድር በሙሉ ወረሰ፤ 22ከአርኖን እስከ ያቦቅ፣ ከምድረ በዳው እስከ ዮርዳኖስ ድረስ ያለውን ምድር በሙሉ ወረሱ።
23“እንግዲህ የእስራኤል አምላክ እግዚአብሔር አሞራውያንን ከሕዝቡ ከእስራኤል ፊት አሳድዶ ካስወጣቸው፣ አንተ ለመውሰድ ምን መብት አለህ? 24አምላክህ ካሞሽ የሰጠህን ይዞ ማቈየቱ ያንተ ፈንታ ነው፤ እኛም እንደዚሁ አምላካችን እግዚአብሔር የሰጠንን ሁሉ ርስት አድርገን እንወርሳለን። 25አንተ ከሞዓብ ንጉሥ ከሴፎር ልጅ ከባላቅ ትበልጣለህን? ለመሆኑ እርሱ ከእስራኤል ጋር ተጣልቷልን? ወይስ ተዋግቷልን? 26እስራኤልም በሐሴቦንና በመንደሮቿ፣ በአሮዔርና በመንደሮቿ፣ በአርኖንም አቅራቢያ ባሉት ከተሞች ሁሉ ሦስት መቶ ዓመት ተቀምጦ በነበረበት በዚያን ጊዜ ስለ ምን አልወሰዳችኋቸውም ነበር? 27እኔ አልበደልሁህም፤ አንተ ግን በእኔ ላይ ዘምተህ በድለኸኛል፤ እንግዲህማ ፈራጁ11፥27 ወይም መሪው እግዚአብሔር በእስራኤላውያንና በአሞናውያን መካከል ዛሬ ይፍረድ።”
28የአሞን ንጉሥ ግን ዮፍታሔ የላከውን መልእክት ከምንም አልቈጠረውም።
29ከዚያም የእግዚአብሔር መንፈስ በዮፍታሔ ላይ ወረደ፤ ተነሥቶም ገለዓድንና ምናሴን አቋርጦ ሄደ። ገለዓድ ባለችው በምጽጳ በኩል አድርጎም በአሞናውያን ላይ ዘመተባቸው። 30ዮፍታሔም እንዲህ ሲል ለእግዚአብሔር ተሳለ፤ “አሞናውያንን በእጄ አሳልፈህ ብትሰጠኝ፣ 31አሞናውያንን ድል አድርጌ በምመለስበት ጊዜ በመጀመሪያ ሊቀበለኝ ከቤቴ ደጅ የሚወጣው ማንኛውም ሰው ለእግዚአብሔር ይሆናል፤ እኔም የሚቃጠል መሥዋዕት አድርጌ አቀርበዋለሁ።”
32ከዚያም ዮፍታሔ አሞናውያንን ለመውጋት ወጣ፤ እግዚአብሔርም እርሱን በእጁ አሳልፎ ሰጠው። 33ከአሮዔር አንሥቶ እስከ ሚኒት አካባ፣ ከዚያም ዐልፎ እስከ ክራሚም የሚገኙትን ሃያ ከተሞች ፈጽሞ አጠፋቸው፤ አሞናውያንም ለእስራኤል ተገዙ።
34ዮፍታሔ ምጽጳ ወዳለው ቤቱ ተመለሰ። እነሆ፤ ልጁ አታሞ እየደለቀች በመዝፈን ልትቀበለው ወጣች፤ እርሷም አንዲት ልጁ ብቻ ነበረች፤ ከእርሷ በቀር ወንድም ሆነ ሴት ልጅ አልነበረውም። 35ባያትም ጊዜ ልብሱን በመቅደድ፣ “ወይኔ ልጄ ጕድ አደረግሽኝ! ጭንቅም ላይ ጣልሽኝ፤ ማስቀረት የማልችለውን ስእለት ለእግዚአብሔር ተስያለሁና” ብሎ በሐዘን ጮኸ።
36እርሷም እንዲህ አለች፤ “አባቴ ሆይ፤ መቼም አንዴ ለእግዚአብሔር ቃል ገብተሃል፤ ጠላቶችህን አሞናውያንን አሁን እግዚአብሔር ተበቅሎልሃልና ቃል የገባኸውን ፈጽምብኝ። 37ነገር ግን አንድ ነገር ብቻ እንድትፈቅድልኝ እለምንሃለሁ፤ ከእንግዲህ ባል ስለማላገባ ከባልንጀሮቼ ጋር ወደ ተራሮች ወጥቼ እየዞርሁ ሁለት ወር እንዳለቅስ አሰናብተኝ።”
38እርሱም፣ “በይ ሂጂ” ብሎ ለሁለት ወር አሰናበታት፤ እርሷም ከእንግዲህ ባል ስለማታገባ ከልጃገረድ ጓደኞቿ ጋር ወደ ተራሮች ሄደው አለቀሱ። 39ከሁለት ወር በኋላ ወደ አባቷ ተመለሰች፤ እርሱም የተሳለውን አደረገ፤ ድንግልም ነበረች።
ከዚያን ጊዜ ጀምሮ ይህ በእስራኤል ልማድ ሆኖ፣ 40የእስራኤል ወጣት ሴቶች የገለዓዳዊውን የዮፍታሔን ልጅ በማሰብ በየዓመቱ እየወጡ የአራት ቀን ሐዘን ያደርጉላታል።
