Jephte is made ruler of the people of Galaad: he first pleads their cause against the Ammonites; then making a vow obtains a signal victory; he performs his vow.

 1 There was at that time Jephte the Galaadite, a most valiant man and a warrior, the son of a woman that was a harlot, and his father was Galaad.
Fuit illo Jephte Galaadites vir fortissimus atque pugnator, filius mulieris meretricis, qui natus est de Galaad.

 2 Now Galaad had a wife of whom he had sons: who after they were grown up, thrust out Jephte, saying: Thou canst not inherit in the house of our father, because thou art born of another mother.
Habuit autem Galaad uxorem, de qua suscepit filios : qui postquam creverant, ejecerunt Jephte, dicentes : Haeres in domo patris nostri esse non poteris, quia de altera matre natus es.

 3 Then he fled and avoided them and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered to him needy men, and robbers, and they followed him as their prince.
Quos ille fugiens atque devitans, habitavit in terra Tob : congregatique sunt ad eum viri inopes, et latrocinantes, et quasi principem sequebantur.

 4 In those days the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
In illis diebus pugnabant filii Ammon contra Israel.

 5 And as they pressed hard upon them, the ancients of Galaad went to fetch Jephte out of the land of Tob to help them:
Quibus acriter instantibus perrexerunt majores natu de Galaad, ut tollerent in auxilium sui Jephte de terra Tob :

 6 And they said to him: Come thou and be our prince, and fight against the children of Ammon.
dixeruntque ad eum : Veni et esto princeps noster, et pugna contra filios Ammon.

 7 And he answered them: Are not you the men that hated me, and cast me out of my father's house, and now you are come to me constrained by necessity?
Quibus ille respondit : Nonne vos estis, qui odistis me, et ejecistis de domo patris mei, et nunc venistis ad me necessitate compulsi?

 8 And the princes of Galaad said to Jephte: For this cause we are now come to thee, that thou mayst go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be head over all the inhabitants of Galaad.
Dixeruntque principes Galaad ad Jephte : Ob hanc igitur causam nunc ad te venimus, ut proficiscaris nobiscum, et pugnes contra filios Ammon, sisque dux omnium qui habitant in Galaad.

 9 Jephte also said to them: If you be come to me sincerely, that I should fight for you against the children of Ammon, and the Lord shall deliver them into my band, shall I be your prince?
Jephte quoque dixit eis : Si vere venistis ad me, ut pugnem pro vobis contra filios Ammon, tradideritque eos Dominus in manus meas, ego ero vester princeps?

 10 They answered him: The Lord who heareth these things, he himself is mediator and witness that we will do as we have promised.
Qui responderunt ei : Dominus, qui haec audit, ipse mediator ac testis est quod nostra promissa faciemus.

 11 Jephte therefore went with the princes of Galaad, and all the people made him their prince. And Jephte spoke all his words before the Lord in Maspha.
Abiit itaque Jephte cum principibus Galaad, fecitque eum omnis populus principem sui. Locutusque est Jephte omnes sermones suos coram Domino in Maspha.

 12 And he sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, to say in his name, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me, to waste my land?
Et misit nuntios ad regem filiorum Ammon, qui ex persona sua dicerent : Quid mihi et tibi est, quia venisti contra me, ut vastares terram meam?

 13 And he answered them: I Because Israel took away my land when he came up out of Egypt, from the confines of the Arnon unto the Jaboc and the Jordan: now therefore restore the same peaceably to me.
Quibus ille respondit : Quia tulit Israel terram meam, quando ascendit de Aegypto, a finibus Arnon usque Jaboc atque Jordanem : nunc ergo cum pace redde mihi eam.

 14 And Jephte again sent word by them, and commanded them to say to the king of Ammon:
Per quos rursum mandavit Jephte, et imperavit eis ut dicerent regi Ammon :

 15 Thus saith Jephte: Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
Haec dicit Jephte : Non tulit Israel terram Moab, nec terram filiorum Ammon :

 16 But when they came up out of Egypt, he walked through the desert to the Red Sea and came into Cades.
sed quando de Aegypto conscenderunt, ambulavit per solitudinem usque ad mare Rubrum, et venit in Cades.

 17 And he sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying: Suffer me to pass through thy land. But he would not condescend to his request. He sent also to the king of Moab, who likewise refused to give him passage. He abode therefore in Cades,
Misitque nuntios ad regem Edom, dicens : Dimitte me ut transeam per terram tuam. Qui noluit acquiescere precibus ejus. Misit quoque ad regem Moab, qui et ipse transitum praebere contempsit. Mansit itaque in Cades,

 18 And went round the land of Edom at the side, and the land of Moab: and came over against the east coast of the land of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon: and he would not enter the bounds of Moab.
et circuivit ex latere terram Edom, et terram Moab : venitque contra orientalem plagam terrae Moab, et castrametatus est trans Arnon : nec voluit intrare terminos Moab : Arnon quippe confinium est terrae Moab.

 19 So Israel sent messengers to Sehon king of the Amorrhites, who dwelt in Hesebon, and they said to him: Suffer me to pass through thy land to the river.
Misit itaque Israel nuntios ad Sehon regem Amorrhaeorum, qui habitabat in Hesebon, et dixerunt ei : Dimitte ut transeam per terram tuam usque ad fluvium.

 20 But he also despising the words of Israel, suffered him not to pass through his borders: but gathering an infinite multitude, went out against him to Jasa, and made strong opposition.
Qui et ipse Israel verba despiciens, non dimisit eum transire per terminos suos : sed infinita multitudine congregata, egressus est contra eum in Jasa, et fortiter resistebat.

 21 And the Lord delivered him with all his army into the hands of Israel, and he slew him, and possessed all the land of the Amorrhite the inhabitant of that country,
Tradiditque eum Dominus in manus Israel cum omni exercitu suo : qui percussit eum, et possedit omnem terram Amorrhaei habitatoris regionis illius,

 22 And all the coasts thereof from the Arnon to the Jaboc, and from the wilderness to the Jordan.
et universos fines ejus, de Arnon usque Jaboc, et de solitudine usque ad Jordanem.

 23 So the Lord the God of Israel destroyed the Amorrhite, his people of Israel fighting against him, and wilt thou now possess this land?
Dominus ergo Deus Israel subvertit Amorrhaeum, pugnante contra illum populo suo Israel, et tu nunc vos possidere terram ejus?

 24 Are not those things which thy god Chamos possesseth, due to thee by right? But what the Lord our God hath obtained by conquest, shall be our possession:
nonne ea quae possidet Chamos deus tuus, tibi jure debentur? quae autem Dominus Deus noster victor obtinuit, in nostram cedent possessionem :

 25 Unless perhaps thou art better than Balac the son of Sephor king of Moab: or canst shew that he strove against Israel and fought against him,
nisi forte melior es Balac filio Sephor rege Moab : aut docere potes, quod jurgatus sit contra Israel, et pugnaverit contra eum,

 26 Whereas he hath dwelt in Hesebon, and the villages thereof, and in Aroer, and its villages, and in all the cities near the Jordan, for three hundred years. Why have you for so long a time attempted nothing about this claim?
quando habitavit in Hesebon, et viculis ejus, et in Aroer, et villis illius, vel in cunctis civitatibus juxta Jordanem, per trecentos annos. Quare tanto tempore nihil super hac repetitione tentastis?

 27 Therefore I do not trespass against thee, but thou wrongest me by declaring an unjust war against me. The Lord be judge and decide this day between Israel and the children of Ammon.
Igitur non ego pecco in te, sed tu contra me male agis, indicens mihi bella non justa. Judicet Dominus arbiter hujus diei inter Israel, et inter filios Ammon.

 28 And the king of the children of Ammon would not hearken to the words of Jephte, which he sent him by the messengers.
Noluitque acquiescere rex filiorum Ammon verbis Jephte, quae per nuntios mandaverat.

 29 Therefore the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephte, and going round Galaad, and Manasses, and Maspha of Galaad, and passing over from thence to the children of Ammon,
Factus est ergo super Jephte spiritus Domini, et circuiens Galaad, et Manasse, Maspha quoque Galaad, et inde transiens ad filios Ammon,

 30 He made a vow to the Lord, saying: If thou wilt deliver the children of Ammon into my hands,
votum vovit Domino, dicens : Si tradideris filios Ammon in manus meas,

 31 Whosoever shall first come forth out of the doors of my house, and shall meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, the same will I offer a holocaust to the Lord.
quicumque primus fuerit egressus de foribus domus meae, mihique occurrerit revertenti cum pace a filiis Ammon, eum holocaustum offeram Domino.

 32 And Jephte passed over to the children of Ammon, to fight against them: and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
Transivitque Jephte ad filios Ammon, ut pugnaret contra eos : quos tradidit Dominus in manus ejus.

 33 And he smote them from Aroer till you come to Mennith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel, which is set with vineyards, with a very great slaughter: and the children of Ammon were humbled by the children of Israel.
Percussitque ab Aroer usque dum venias in Mennith, viginti civitates, et usque ad Abel, quae est vineis consita, plaga magna nimis : humiliatique sunt filii Ammon a filiis Israel.

 34 And when Jephte returned into Maspha to his house, his only daughter met him with timbrels and with dances: for he had no other children.
Revertente autem Jephte in Maspha domum suam, occurrit ei unigenita filia sua cum tympanis et choris : non enim habebat alios liberos.

 35 And when he saw her, he rent his garments, and said: Alas! my daughter, thou hast deceived me, and thou thyself art deceived: for I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I can do no other thing.
Qua visa, scidit vestimenta sua, et ait : Heu me, filia mea! decepisti me, et ipsa decepta es : aperui enim os meum ad Dominum, et aliud facere non potero.

 36 And she answered him: My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to the Lord, do unto me whatsoever thou hast promised, since the victory hath been granted to thee, and revenge of thy enemies.
Cui illa respondit : Pater mi, si aperuisti os tuum ad Dominum, fac mihi quodcumque pollicitus es, concessa tibi ultione atque victoria de hostibus tuis.

 37 And she said to her father: Grant me only this which I desire: Let me go, that I may go about the mountains for two months, and may bewail my virginity with my companions.
Dixitque ad patrem : Hoc solum mihi praesta quod deprecor : dimitte me ut duobus mensibus circumeam montes, et plangam virginitatem meam cum sodalibus meis.

 38 And he answered her: Go. And he sent her away for two months. And when she was gone with her comrades and companions, she mourned her virginity in the mountains.
Cui ille respondit : Vade. Et dimisit eam duobus mensibus. Cumque abiisset cum sociis ac sodalibus suis, flebat virginitatem suam in montibus.

 39 And the two months being expired, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed, and she knew no man. From thence came a fashion in Israel, and a custom has been kept:
Expletisque duobus mensibus, reversa est ad patrem suum, et fecit ei sicut voverat, quae ignorabat virum. Exinde mos increbruit in Israel, ut consuetudo servata est :

 40 That from year to year the daughters of Israel assemble together, and lament the daughter of Jephte the Galaadite for four days.
ut post anni circulum conveniant in unum filiae Israel, et plangant filiam Jephte Galaaditae diebus quatuor.