1-5. The leaders of the Gilead clan decided to ask a brave warrior named Jephthah son of Gilead to lead the attack against the Ammonites.Even though Jephthah belonged to the Gilead clan, he had earlier been forced to leave the region where they had lived. Jephthah was the son of a prostitute, but his half-brothers were the sons of his father's wife.One day his half-brothers told him, “You don't really belong to our family, so you can't have any of the family property.” Then they forced Jephthah to leave home.Jephthah went to the country of Tob, where he was joined by a number of men who would do anything for money.So the leaders of Gilead went to Jephthah and said,
6. “Please come back to Gilead! If you lead our army, we will be able to fight off the Ammonites.”
7. “Didn't you hate me?” Jephthah replied. “Weren't you the ones who forced me to leave my family? You're coming to me now, just because you're in trouble.”
8. “But we do want you to come back,” the leaders said. “And if you lead us in battle against the Ammonites, we will make you the ruler of Gilead.”
9. “All right,” Jephthah said. “If I go back with you and the Lord lets me defeat the Ammonites, will you really make me your ruler?”
10. “You have our word,” the leaders answered. “And the Lord is a witness to what we have said.”
11. So Jephthah went back to Mizpah with the leaders of Gilead. The people of Gilead gathered at the place of worship and made Jephthah their ruler. Jephthah also made promises to them.
12. After the ceremony, Jephthah sent messengers to say to the king of Ammon, “Are you trying to start a war? You have invaded my country, and I want to know why!”
13. The king of Ammon replied, “Tell Jephthah that the land really belongs to me, all the way from the River Arnon in the south, to the River Jabbok in the north, and west to the River Jordan. When the Israelites came out of Egypt, they stole it. Tell Jephthah to return it to me, and there won't be any war.”
14. Jephthah sent the messengers back to the king of Ammon,
15. and they told him that Jephthah had said:Israel hasn't taken any territory from Moab or Ammon.
16. When the Israelites came from Egypt, they travelled in the desert to the Red Sea and then to Kadesh.