Judges 11:31

²⁹ Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites.

³⁰ Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand,

then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

³² So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hand.

³³ With a great blow he devastated twenty cities from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
KJV: Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
WEB: then it shall be, that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”
ASV: then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be Jehovah`s, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering.
DARBY: then shall that which cometh forth from the door of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, be Jehovah's, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering.
BLB: Then it shall come to pass [that] whatever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it will be unto YHWH, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

ÅB: da skal den som går ut av døren til mitt hus og møter meg, når jeg kommer uskadd tilbake fra Ammons barn, da skal den høre Herren til; jeg skal ofre ham til brennoffer.
OTB: da skal det som kommer ut av dørene i mitt hus for å møte meg når jeg vender tilbake seirende fra ammonittene, tilhøre Herren, og jeg vil ofre det som et brennoffer.»
B1930: da skal den som går ut av døren til mitt hus og møter mig, når jeg kommer uskadd tilbake fra Ammons barn, da skal den høre Herren til; jeg skal ofre ham til brennoffer.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Psalms 66:13–14
I will enter Your house with burnt offerings; I will fulfill my vows to You—
Read in context
1 Samuel 1:28
I now dedicate the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there.
Read in context
1 Samuel 1:11
And she made a vow, pleading, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever come over his head.”
Read in context
Leviticus 27:28–29
Nothing that a man sets apart to the LORD from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.
Read in context
1 Samuel 14:44
And Saul declared, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if you, Jonathan, do not surely die!”
Read in context
Isaiah 66:3
Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.
Read in context
1 Samuel 2:18
Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod.
Read in context
Leviticus 27:11–12
But if the vow involves any of the unclean animals that may not be brought as an offering to the LORD, the animal must be presented before the priest.
Read in context