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.
1Jefté, o gileadita, era um guerreiro valente. Sua mãe era uma prostituta; seu pai chamava-se Gileade. 2A mulher de Gileade também lhe deu filhos, que, quando já estavam grandes, expulsaram Jefté, dizendo: “Você não vai receber nenhuma herança de nossa família, pois é filho de outra mulher”. 3Então Jefté fugiu dos seus irmãos e se estabeleceu em Tobe. Ali um bando de vadios uniu-se a ele e o seguia.
4Algum tempo depois, quando os amonitas entraram em guerra contra Israel, 5os líderes de Gileade foram buscar Jefté em Tobe. 6“Venha”, disseram. “Seja nosso comandante, para que possamos combater os amonitas.”
7Disse-lhes Jefté: “Vocês não me odiavam e não me expulsaram da casa de meu pai? Por que me procuram agora, quando estão em dificuldades?”
8“Apesar disso, agora estamos apelando para você”, responderam os líderes de Gileade. “Venha conosco combater os amonitas, e você será o chefe de todos os que vivem em Gileade.”
9Jefté respondeu: “Se vocês me levarem de volta para combater os amonitas e o Senhor os entregar a mim, serei o chefe de vocês?”
10Os líderes de Gileade responderam: “O Senhor é nossa testemunha; faremos conforme você diz”. 11Assim Jefté foi com os líderes de Gileade, e o povo o fez chefe e comandante sobre todos. E ele repetiu perante o Senhor, em Mispá, todas as palavras que tinha dito.
12Jefté enviou mensageiros ao rei amonita com a seguinte pergunta: “Que é que tens contra nós, para teres atacado a nossa terra?”
13O rei dos amonitas respondeu aos mensageiros de Jefté: “Quando Israel veio do Egito tomou as minhas terras, desde o Arnom até o Jaboque e até o Jordão. Agora, devolvam-me essas terras pacificamente”.
14Jefté mandou de novo mensageiros ao rei amonita, 15dizendo:
“Assim diz Jefté: Israel não tomou a terra de Moabe, e tampouco a terra dos amonitas. 16Quando veio do Egito, Israel foi pelo deserto até o mar Vermelho e daí para Cades. 17Então Israel enviou mensageiros ao rei de Edom, dizendo: ‘Deixa-nos atravessar a tua terra’, mas o rei de Edom não quis ouvi-lo. Enviou o mesmo pedido ao rei de Moabe, e ele também não consentiu. Assim Israel permaneceu em Cades.
18“Em seguida, os israelitas viajaram pelo deserto e contornaram Edom e Moabe; passaram a leste de Moabe e acamparam do outro lado do Arnom. Não entraram no território de Moabe, pois o Arnom era a sua fronteira.
19“Depois Israel enviou mensageiros a Seom, rei dos amorreus, em Hesbom, e lhe pediu: ‘Deixa-nos atravessar a tua terra para irmos ao lugar que nos pertence!’ 20Seom, porém, não acreditou que Israel fosse apenas11.20 Ou porém, não quis fazer acordo com Israel, permitindo-lhe atravessar o seu território; assim convocou todos os seus homens, acampou em Jaza e lutou contra Israel.
21“Então o Senhor, o Deus de Israel, entregou Seom e todos os seus homens nas mãos de Israel, e este os derrotou. Israel tomou posse de todas as terras dos amorreus que viviam naquela região, 22conquistando-a por inteiro, desde o Arnom até o Jaboque, e desde o deserto até o Jordão.
23“Agora que o Senhor, o Deus de Israel, expulsou os amorreus da presença de Israel, seu povo, queres tu tomá-la? 24Acaso não tomas posse daquilo que o teu deus Camos te dá? Da mesma forma tomaremos posse do que o Senhor, o nosso Deus, nos deu. 25És tu melhor do que Balaque, filho de Zipor, rei de Moabe? Entrou ele alguma vez em conflito com Israel ou lutou com ele? 26Durante trezentos anos Israel ocupou Hesbom, Aroer, os povoados ao redor e todas as cidades às margens do Arnom. Por que não os reconquistaste todo esse tempo? 27Nada fiz contra ti, mas tu estás cometendo um erro, lutando contra mim. Que o Senhor, o Juiz, julgue hoje a disputa entre os israelitas e os amonitas”.
28Entretanto, o rei de Amom não deu atenção à mensagem de Jefté.
29Então o Espírito do Senhor se apossou de Jefté. Este atravessou Gileade e Manassés, passou por Mispá de Gileade, e daí avançou contra os amonitas. 30E Jefté fez este voto ao Senhor: “Se entregares os amonitas nas minhas mãos, 31aquele que estiver saindo da porta da minha casa ao meu encontro, quando eu retornar da vitória sobre os amonitas, será do Senhor, e eu o oferecerei em holocausto”.
32Então Jefté foi combater os amonitas, e o Senhor os entregou nas suas mãos. 33Ele conquistou vinte cidades, desde Aroer até as vizinhanças de Minite, chegando a Abel-Queramim. Assim os amonitas foram subjugados pelos israelitas.
34Quando Jefté chegou à sua casa em Mispá, sua filha saiu ao seu encontro, dançando ao som de tamborins. E ela era filha única. Ele não tinha outro filho ou filha. 35Quando a viu, rasgou suas vestes e gritou: “Ah, minha filha! Estou angustiado e desesperado por sua causa, pois fiz ao Senhor um voto que não posso quebrar”.
36“Meu pai”, respondeu ela, “sua palavra foi dada ao Senhor. Faça comigo o que prometeu, agora que o Senhor o vingou dos seus inimigos, os amonitas.” 37E prosseguiu: “Mas conceda-me dois meses para vagar pelas colinas e chorar com as minhas amigas, porque jamais me casarei”.
38“Vá!”, disse ele. E deixou que ela fosse por dois meses. Ela e suas amigas foram para as colinas e choraram porque ela jamais se casaria. 39Passados os dois meses, ela voltou a seu pai, e ele fez com ela o que tinha prometido no voto. Assim, ela nunca deixou de ser virgem.
Daí vem o costume em Israel 40de saírem as moças durante quatro dias, todos os anos, para celebrar a memória da filha de Jefté, o gileadita.
