Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, August 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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Read the Bible
THE MESSAGE
Judges 11:37
And then she said to her father, "But let this one thing be done for me. Give me two months to wander through the hills and lament my virginity since I will never marry, I and my dear friends."
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Christian Standard Bible®
She also said to her father, “Let me do this one thing: Let me wander two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity.”
She also said to her father, “Let me do this one thing: Let me wander two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity.”
Hebrew Names Version
She said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
She said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
King James Version
And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
Lexham English Bible
And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: grant me two months so that I may go wander on the mountains and lament over my virginity, I and my companions.
And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: grant me two months so that I may go wander on the mountains and lament over my virginity, I and my companions.
English Standard Version
So she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions."
So she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions."
New Century Version
She also said, "But let me do one thing. Let me be alone for two months to go to the mountains. Since I will never marry, let me and my friends go and cry together."
She also said, "But let me do one thing. Let me be alone for two months to go to the mountains. Since I will never marry, let me and my friends go and cry together."
New English Translation
She then said to her father, "Please grant me this one wish. For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity."
She then said to her father, "Please grant me this one wish. For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity."
Amplified Bible
And she said to her father, "Let this one thing be done for me; let me alone for two months, so that I may go to the mountains and weep over my virginity, I and my companions."
And she said to her father, "Let this one thing be done for me; let me alone for two months, so that I may go to the mountains and weep over my virginity, I and my companions."
New American Standard Bible
And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me; allow me two months, so that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my friends."
And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me; allow me two months, so that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my friends."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Also she saide vnto her father, Doe thus much for me: suffer me two moneths, that I may goe to the mountaines, and bewaile my virginitie, I and my fellowes.
Also she saide vnto her father, Doe thus much for me: suffer me two moneths, that I may goe to the mountaines, and bewaile my virginitie, I and my fellowes.
Legacy Standard Bible
Verder het sy vir haar vader gesê: Laat dít my toegestaan word: laat my twee maande vry, dat ek kan weggaan en afdaal na die berge en my maagdelike staat beween, ek en my vriendinne.
Verder het sy vir haar vader gesê: Laat dít my toegestaan word: laat my twee maande vry, dat ek kan weggaan en afdaal na die berge en my maagdelike staat beween, ek en my vriendinne.
Contemporary English Version
But first, please let me spend two months, wandering in the hill country with my friends. We will cry together, because I can never get married and have children."
But first, please let me spend two months, wandering in the hill country with my friends. We will cry together, because I can never get married and have children."
Complete Jewish Bible
Then she said to her father, "Just do this one thing for me — let me be alone for two months. I'll go away into the mountains with my friends and mourn, because I will die without getting married."
Then she said to her father, "Just do this one thing for me — let me be alone for two months. I'll go away into the mountains with my friends and mourn, because I will die without getting married."
Darby Translation
And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go and descend to the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go and descend to the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
Easy-to-Read Version
Then Jephthah's daughter said to her father, "But do this one thing for me first. Let me be alone for two months. Let me go to the mountains. I will not marry and have children, so let me and my friends go and cry together."
Then Jephthah's daughter said to her father, "But do this one thing for me first. Let me be alone for two months. Let me go to the mountains. I will not marry and have children, so let me and my friends go and cry together."
George Lamsa Translation
And she said to her father, Grant me this thing only: let me alone two months that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
And she said to her father, Grant me this thing only: let me alone two months that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
Good News Translation
But she asked her father, "Do this one thing for me. Leave me alone for two months, so that I can go with my friends to wander in the mountains and grieve that I must die a virgin."
But she asked her father, "Do this one thing for me. Leave me alone for two months, so that I can go with my friends to wander in the mountains and grieve that I must die a virgin."
Literal Translation
And she said to her father, Let this thing be done to me. Leave me alone two months, and let me go and descend on the mountains. And I will weep for my virginity, my friends and I.
And she said to her father, Let this thing be done to me. Leave me alone two months, and let me go and descend on the mountains. And I will weep for my virginity, my friends and I.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And she sayde vnto hir father: Do this for me, geue me leue to go downe vpo the mountaynes two monethes, that I maye bewepe my virginite with my playfeeres.
And she sayde vnto hir father: Do this for me, geue me leue to go downe vpo the mountaynes two monethes, that I maye bewepe my virginite with my playfeeres.
American Standard Version
And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
Bible in Basic English
Then she said to her father, Only do this for me: let me have two months to go away into the mountains with my friends, weeping for my sad fate.
Then she said to her father, Only do this for me: let me have two months to go away into the mountains with my friends, weeping for my sad fate.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And she sayd vnto her father, Do this much for me: Let me alone two monethes, that I may go to the mountaynes and bewayle my virginite, I and my felowes.
And she sayd vnto her father, Do this much for me: Let me alone two monethes, that I may go to the mountaynes and bewayle my virginite, I and my felowes.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And she said unto her father: 'Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.'
And she said unto her father: 'Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.'
King James Version (1611)
And she said vnto her father, Let this thing be done for me: Let me alone two moneths, that I may goe vp and downe vpon the mountaines, and bewaile my virginitie, I, and my fellowes.
And she said vnto her father, Let this thing be done for me: Let me alone two moneths, that I may goe vp and downe vpon the mountaines, and bewaile my virginitie, I, and my fellowes.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And she said to her father, Let my father now do this thing: let me alone for two months, and I will go up and down on the mountains, and I will bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
And she said to her father, Let my father now do this thing: let me alone for two months, and I will go up and down on the mountains, and I will bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
English Revised Version
And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
Berean Standard Bible
She also said to her father, "Let me do this one thing: Let me wander for two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity."
She also said to her father, "Let me do this one thing: Let me wander for two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And sche seide to the fadir, Yyue thou to me oneli this thing, which Y biseche; suffre thou me that in two monethis Y cumpasse hillis, and biweile my maidynhed with my felowis.
And sche seide to the fadir, Yyue thou to me oneli this thing, which Y biseche; suffre thou me that in two monethis Y cumpasse hillis, and biweile my maidynhed with my felowis.
Young's Literal Translation
And she saith unto her father, `Let this thing be done to me; desist from me two months, and I go on, and have gone down on the hills, and I weep for my virginity -- I and my friends.'
And she saith unto her father, `Let this thing be done to me; desist from me two months, and I go on, and have gone down on the hills, and I weep for my virginity -- I and my friends.'
Update Bible Version
And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
Webster's Bible Translation
And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: Let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: Let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
World English Bible
She said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
She said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
New King James Version
Then she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and I."
Then she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and I."
New Living Translation
But first let me do this one thing: Let me go up and roam in the hills and weep with my friends for two months, because I will die a virgin."
But first let me do this one thing: Let me go up and roam in the hills and weep with my friends for two months, because I will die a virgin."
New Life Bible
But do this for me. Let me alone for two months. So I and my friends may go to the mountains and cry because I will never have a man."
But do this for me. Let me alone for two months. So I and my friends may go to the mountains and cry because I will never have a man."
New Revised Standard
And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I."
And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And she said unto her father, Let this thing, be done for me, - Let me alone two months, that I may depart, and go down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
And she said unto her father, Let this thing, be done for me, - Let me alone two months, that I may depart, and go down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
Douay-Rheims Bible
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.
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.
Revised Standard Version
And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions."
And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
She said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my companions."
She said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my companions."
Contextual Overview
29 God 's Spirit came upon Jephthah. He went across Gilead and Manasseh, went through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there approached the Ammonites. Jephthah made a vow before God : "If you give me a clear victory over the Ammonites, then I'll give to God whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in one piece from among the Ammonites—I'll offer it up in a sacrificial burnt offering." 32Then Jephthah was off to fight the Ammonites. And God gave them to him. He beat them soundly, all the way from Aroer to the area around Minnith as far as Abel Keramim—twenty cities! A massacre! Ammonites brought to their knees by the People of Israel. 34Jephthah came home to Mizpah. His daughter ran from the house to welcome him home—dancing to tambourines! She was his only child. He had no son or daughter except her. When he realized who it was, he ripped his clothes, saying, "Ah, dearest daughter—I'm dirt. I'm despicable. My heart is torn to shreds. I made a vow to God and I can't take it back!" 36 She said, "Dear father, if you made a vow to God , do to me what you vowed; God did his part and saved you from your Ammonite enemies." 37 And then she said to her father, "But let this one thing be done for me. Give me two months to wander through the hills and lament my virginity since I will never marry, I and my dear friends." 38"Oh yes, go," he said. He sent her off for two months. She and her dear girlfriends went among the hills, lamenting that she would never marry. At the end of the two months, she came back to her father. He fulfilled the vow with her that he had made. She had never slept with a man. It became a custom in Israel that for four days every year the young women of Israel went out to mourn for the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite. 40 Jephthah the Gileadite was one tough warrior. He was the son of a whore, but Gilead was his father. Meanwhile Gilead's legal wife had given him other sons, and when they grew up, his wife's sons threw Jephthah out. They told him: "You're not getting any of our family inheritance—you're the son of another woman." So Jephthah fled from his brothers and went to live in the land of Tob. Some riffraff joined him and went around with him. Some time passed. And then the Ammonites started fighting Israel. With the Ammonites at war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. They said to Jephthah: "Come. Be our general and we'll fight the Ammonites." But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead: "But you hate me. You kicked me out of my family home. So why are you coming to me now? Because you are in trouble. Right?" The elders of Gilead replied, "That's it exactly. We've come to you to get you to go with us and fight the Ammonites. You'll be the head of all of us, all the Gileadites." Jephthah addressed the elders of Gilead, "So if you bring me back home to fight the Ammonites and God gives them to me, I'll be your head—is that right?" They said, " God is witness between us; whatever you say, we'll do." Jephthah went along with the elders of Gilead. The people made him their top man and general. And Jephthah repeated what he had said before God at Mizpah. Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with a message: "What's going on here that you have come into my country picking a fight?" The king of the Ammonites told Jephthah's messengers: "Because Israel took my land when they came up out of Egypt—from the Arnon all the way to the Jabbok and to the Jordan. Give it back peaceably and I'll go." Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with the message: "Jephthah's word: Israel took no Moabite land and no Ammonite land. When they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the desert as far as the Red Sea, arriving at Kadesh. There Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom saying, ‘Let us pass through your land, please.' But the king of Edom wouldn't let them. Israel also requested permission from the king of Moab, but he wouldn't let them cross either. They were stopped in their tracks at Kadesh. So they traveled across the desert and circled around the lands of Edom and Moab. They came out east of the land of Moab and set camp on the other side of the Arnon—they didn't set foot in Moabite territory, for Arnon was the Moabite border. Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites at Heshbon the capital. Israel asked, ‘Let us pass, please, through your land on the way to our country.' But Sihon didn't trust Israel to cut across his land; he got his entire army together, set up camp at Jahaz, and fought Israel. But God , the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his troops to Israel. Israel defeated them. Israel took all the Amorite land, all Amorite land from Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan. It was God , the God of Israel, who pushed out the Amorites in favor of Israel; so who do you think you are to try to take it over? Why don't you just be satisfied with what your god Chemosh gives you and we'll settle for what God , our God, gives us? Do you think you're going to come off better than Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab? Did he get anywhere in opposing Israel? Did he risk war? All this time—it's been three hundred years now!—that Israel has lived in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns along the Arnon, why didn't you try to snatch them away then? No, I haven't wronged you. But this is an evil thing that you are doing to me by starting a fight. Today God the Judge will decide between the People of Israel and the people of Ammon." But the king of the Ammonites refused to listen to a word that Jephthah had sent him. God 's Spirit came upon Jephthah. He went across Gilead and Manasseh, went through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there approached the Ammonites. Jephthah made a vow before God : "If you give me a clear victory over the Ammonites, then I'll give to God whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in one piece from among the Ammonites—I'll offer it up in a sacrificial burnt offering." Then Jephthah was off to fight the Ammonites. And God gave them to him. He beat them soundly, all the way from Aroer to the area around Minnith as far as Abel Keramim—twenty cities! A massacre! Ammonites brought to their knees by the People of Israel. Jephthah came home to Mizpah. His daughter ran from the house to welcome him home—dancing to tambourines! She was his only child. He had no son or daughter except her. When he realized who it was, he ripped his clothes, saying, "Ah, dearest daughter—I'm dirt. I'm despicable. My heart is torn to shreds. I made a vow to God and I can't take it back!" She said, "Dear father, if you made a vow to God , do to me what you vowed; God did his part and saved you from your Ammonite enemies." And then she said to her father, "But let this one thing be done for me. Give me two months to wander through the hills and lament my virginity since I will never marry, I and my dear friends." "Oh yes, go," he said. He sent her off for two months. She and her dear girlfriends went among the hills, lamenting that she would never marry. At the end of the two months, she came back to her father. He fulfilled the vow with her that he had made. She had never slept with a man. It became a custom in Israel that for four days every year the young women of Israel went out to mourn for the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
go up and down: Heb. go and go down
bewail: 1 Samuel 1:6, Luke 1:25
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And she said unto her father, let this thing be done for me,.... She had but one favour to ask of him, which she thought might be granted, without any breach of the vow:
let me alone two months she desired such a space of time might be allowed her before the vow took place; and the rather she might be encouraged to expect that her request would be granted, since no time was fixed by the vow for the accomplishment of it, and since the time she asked was not very long, and the end to be answered not unreasonable
that I may go up and down upon the mountains; or, "ascend upon the mountains" h; Jepthah's house in Mizpeh being higher than the mountains; or there might be, as Kimchi and Ben Melech note, a valley between that and the mountains, to which she descended in order to go up to the mountains; see Judges 9:25 these she chose to make her abode, and take her walks in, during the time she asked, as being most fit for retirement and solitude; where she might give up herself to meditation and prayer, and conversation with her fellow virgins she would take with her, and so be wrought up to a greater degree of resignation and submission to her father's will, and to the will of God in it, as she might suppose:
and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows; the virgins her companions; this she proposed to be the subject that she and her associates would dwell upon, during this time of solitude; and the rather, as this may be thought to be the thing contained in the vow, that as she was a virgin, so she should continue; by which means she would not be the happy instrument of increasing the number of the children of Israel, nor of being the progenitor of the Messiah; upon which accounts it was reckoned in those times to be very grievous and reproachful to live and die without issue, and so matter of lamentation and weeping.
h וירדתי על ההרים "et descendam super montes", Pagninus, Montanus; "descendamque ad montes", Tigurine version.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Bewail my virginity - To become a wife and a mother was the end of existence to an Israelite maiden. The premature death of Jephthah’s daughter was about to frustrate this end.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Judges 11:37. I and my fellows — Whether she meant the young women of her own acquaintance, or those who had been consecrated to God in the same way, though on different accounts, is not quite clear; but it is likely she means her own companions: and her going up and down upon the mountains may signify no more than her paying each of them a visit at their own houses, previously to her being shut up at the tabernacle; and this visiting of each at their own home might require the space of two months. This I am inclined to think is the meaning of this difficult clause.
