About a month later, King Nahash of Ammon led his army against the Israelite town of Jabesh gilead. But all the citizens of Jabesh asked for peace.“ Make a treaty with us, and we will be your servants,” they pleaded.

亚扪人的王拿辖上来，对着基列雅比安营。雅比众人对拿辖说：“你与我们立约，我们就服侍你。”

亚扪人拿辖上来，对着基列的雅比安营。雅比众人对拿辖说：“你与我们立约，我们就服事你。”

亚扪人拿辖上来，对着基列的雅比安营。雅比众人对拿辖说：“你与我们立约，我们就服事你。”

亚扪人拿辖率军上来围困基列·雅比，城内的居民对拿辖说：“你与我们立约吧！我们愿意服从你。”

亚扪人拿辖上来，安营攻击基列．雅比。所有的雅比人都对拿辖说：“你与我们立约，我们就服事你。”

亚扪人纳哈什上来，对着基列-雅比扎营。全体雅比人就对纳哈什说：“求你与我们立约，我们就服事你。”

亞捫人的王拿轄上來，對着基列‧雅比安營。雅比眾人對拿轄說：「你與我們立約，我們就服事你。」

亞捫人拿轄上來，對着基列的雅比安營。雅比眾人對拿轄說：「你與我們立約，我們就服事你。」

亞捫人拿轄上來，對着基列的雅比安營。雅比眾人對拿轄說：「你與我們立約，我們就服事你。」

亞捫人拿轄率軍上來圍困基列·雅比，城內的居民對拿轄說：「你與我們立約吧！我們願意服從你。」

亞捫人拿轄上來，安營攻擊基列．雅比。所有的雅比人都對拿轄說：“你與我們立約，我們就服事你。”

大約過了一個月，亞捫人拿轄上來，紮營圍困基列雅比；雅比人對拿轄說：『你和我們立約，我們就服事你。』

亞捫人納哈什上來，對著基列-雅比紮營。全體雅比人就對納哈什說：「求你與我們立約，我們就服事你。」

亞捫人拿轄上、建營以攻基列雅比、雅比人謂拿轄曰、與我立約、我則事爾、

亞捫王拿轄至基列之雅疋、建營攻之、雅疋人謂拿轄曰、與我結約、我服事爾。

亞捫王拿轄至基列之雅比、建營攻之、雅比人謂拿轄曰、爾與我立約、我欲事爾、

Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to him,“ Make a treaty with us, and we will be subject to you.”

Nahash was the king of Ammon. He and his army went up to Jabesh Gilead. They surrounded it and got ready to attack it. All the men of Jabesh spoke to Nahash. They said,“ Make a peace treaty with us. Then we’ll be under your control.”

Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash,“ Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”

Nahash the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to him,“ Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”

Now Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash,“ Make a covenant with us and we will serve you.”

Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash,“ Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.”

Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh- gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.

Nahash the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to him,“ Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”

Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabeshgilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.

Nahash the Ammonite marched against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash,“ Make a treaty with us and we will serve you.”

Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh Gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash,“ Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.”

“ But when you were afraid of Nahash, the king of Ammon, you came to me and said that you wanted a king to reign over you, even though the Lord your God was already your king.

They replied,“ We can plainly see that the Lord is with you. So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you. Let’s make a covenant.

So they asked,“ Who among the tribes of Israel did not join us at Mizpah when we assembled in the presence of the Lord?” And they discovered that no one from Jabesh gilead had attended the assembly.

Ben hadad told him,“ I will give back the towns my father took from your father, and you may establish places of trade in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” Then Ahab said,“ I will release you under these conditions.” So they made a new treaty, and Ben hadad was set free.

He made a treaty with a member of the royal family and forced him to take an oath of loyalty. He also exiled Israel’s most influential leaders,

Will it agree to work for you, to be your slave for life?

“ Make no treaties with them or their gods.

“ No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.

But when the people of Jabesh gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,all their mighty warriors traveled through the night to Beth shan and took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall. They brought them to Jabesh, where they burned the bodies.Then they took their bones and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.

“ Because we need you,” the elders replied.“ If you lead us in battle against the Ammonites, we will make you ruler over all the people of Gilead.”Jephthah said to the elders,“ Let me get this straight. If I come with you and if the Lord gives me victory over the Ammonites, will you really make me ruler over all the people?”“ The Lord is our witness,” the elders replied.“ We promise to do whatever you say.”So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their ruler and commander of the army. At Mizpah, in the presence of the Lord, Jephthah repeated what he had said to the elders.Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon, asking,“ Why have you come out to fight against my land?”The king of Ammon answered Jephthah’s messengers,“ When the Israelites came out of Egypt, they stole my land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River and all the way to the Jordan. Now then, give back the land peaceably.”Jephthah sent this message back to the Ammonite king:“ This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not steal any land from Moab or Ammon.When the people of Israel arrived at Kadesh on their journey from Egypt after crossing the Red Sea,they sent messengers to the king of Edom asking for permission to pass through his land. But their request was denied. Then they asked the king of Moab for similar permission, but he wouldn’t let them pass through either. So the people of Israel stayed in Kadesh.“ Finally, they went around Edom and Moab through the wilderness. They traveled along Moab’s eastern border and camped on the other side of the Arnon River. But they never once crossed the Arnon River into Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.“ Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, asking for permission to cross through his land to get to their destination.But King Sihon didn’t trust Israel to pass through his land. Instead, he mobilized his army at Jahaz and attacked them.But the Lord, the God of Israel, gave his people victory over King Sihon. So Israel took control of all the land of the Amorites, who lived in that region,from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and from the eastern wilderness to the Jordan.“ So you see, it was the Lord, the God of Israel, who took away the land from the Amorites and gave it to Israel. Why, then, should we give it back to you?You keep whatever your god Chemosh gives you, and we will keep whatever the Lord our God gives us.Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he try to make a case against Israel for disputed land? Did he go to war against them?“ Israel has been living here for 300 years, inhabiting Heshbon and its surrounding settlements, all the way to Aroer and its settlements, and in all the towns along the Arnon River. Why have you made no effort to recover it before now?Therefore, I have not sinned against you. Rather, you have wronged me by attacking me. Let the Lord, who is judge, decide today which of us is right— Israel or Ammon.”But the king of Ammon paid no attention to Jephthah’s message.At that time the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he led an army against the Ammonites.And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. He said,“ If you give me victory over the Ammonites,I will give to the Lord whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”So Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave him victory.He crushed the Ammonites, devastating about twenty towns from Aroer to an area near Minnith and as far away as Abel keramim. In this way Israel defeated the Ammonites.

“ Don’t listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me— open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well.

So the Lord burned with anger against Israel, and he turned them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites,

So the assembly sent 12,000 of their best warriors to Jabesh gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children.“ This is what you are to do,” they said.“ Completely destroy all the males and every woman who is not a virgin.”Among the residents of Jabesh gilead they found 400 young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.The Israelite assembly sent a peace delegation to the remaining people of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon.Then the men of Benjamin returned to their homes, and the 400 women of Jabesh gilead who had been spared were given to them as wives. But there were not enough women for all of them.The people felt sorry for Benjamin because the Lord had made this gap among the tribes of Israel.So the elders of the assembly asked,“ How can we find wives for the few who remain, since the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead?There must be heirs for the survivors so that an entire tribe of Israel is not wiped out.But we cannot give them our own daughters in marriage because we have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this will fall under God’s curse.”Then they thought of the annual festival of the Lord held in Shiloh, south of Lebonah and north of Bethel, along the east side of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem.They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives,“ Go and hide in the vineyards.When you see the young women of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out from the vineyards, and each of you can take one of them home to the land of Benjamin to be your wife!And when their fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we will tell them,‘ Please be sympathetic. Let them have your daughters, for we didn’t find wives for all of them when we destroyed Jabesh gilead. And you are not guilty of breaking the vow since you did not actually give your daughters to them in marriage.’”So the men of Benjamin did as they were told. Each man caught one of the women as she danced in the celebration and carried her off to be his wife. They returned to their own land, and they rebuilt their towns and lived in them.Then the people of Israel departed by tribes and families, and they returned to their own homes.In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.