19. “Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites. Sihon was the king of the city of Heshbon. The messengers asked Sihon, ‘Let the people of Israel pass through your land. We want to go to our land.’
20. But Sihon would not let the Israelites cross his land. He gathered all of his people and camped at Jahaz. Then the Amorites fought with Israel.
21. “But the Lord, the God of Israel, helped the Israelites to defeat Sihon and his army. All the land of the Amorites became the property of Israel.
22. So Israel took all the land of the Amorites. It went from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. It also went from the desert to the Jordan River.
23. “It was the Lord, the God of Israel, who forced out the Amorites ahead of the people of Israel. So do you think you can make the people of Israel leave this land?
24. Surely you can live in the land which your god Chemosh has given you. So we will live in the land the Lord our God has given us!
25. “Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor? He was the king of Moab. Did he ever quarrel or fight with the people of Israel?
26. For 300 years the Israelites have lived in Heshbon and Aroer and the towns around them. They have lived for 300 years in all the cities along the Arnon River. Why have you not taken these cities back in all that time?
27. I have not sinned against you. But you are sinning against me by making war on me! May the Lord, the Judge, decide whether the Israelites or Ammonites are right.”
28. But the king of the Ammonites ignored this message from Jephthah.
29. Then the Spirit of the Lord entered Jephthah. Jephthah passed through Gilead and Manasseh. He came to the city of Mizpah in Gilead. From there, Jephthah passed through to the land of the Ammonites.
30. Jephthah made a promise to the Lord. He said, “If you will let me defeat the Ammonites,
31. I will give you a burnt offering. I will sacrifice the first thing that comes out of my house to meet me when I return from the victory. It will be the Lord’s.”
32. Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites. The Lord helped him defeat them.
33. Jephthah defeated them from the city of Aroer to the area of Minnith. He defeated them as far as the city of Abel Keramim. He defeated 20 cities in this area. The defeat was great. So the Ammonites were defeated by the Israelites.
34. When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him. She was playing a tambourine and dancing. She was his only child. Jephthah did not have any other sons or daughters.