Judges 11:37
35 As soon as Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You have brought great misery upon me, for I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.”
36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me as you have said, for the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.”
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.”
38 “Go,” he said. And he sent her away for two months. So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity upon the mountains.
39 After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man. So it has become a custom in Israel
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
- 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.”
- KJV
- 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.
- WEB
- Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me. Leave me alone two months, that I may depart and go down on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.”
- ASV
- 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.
- DARBY
- 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.
- BLB
- And she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me. Leave me alone [for] two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and mourn for my virginity, I and my friends.”
- ÅB
- Så sa hun til sin far: Bare én ting vil jeg be deg om: La meg være fri to måneder, så jeg kan gå ned på fjellene og gråte over min jomfrustand sammen med mine venninner.
- OTB
- Hun sa da til sin far: «Gi meg denne anmodningen: la meg få to måneder til å vandre i fjellene og gråte med mine venner fordi jeg aldri vil gifte meg.»
- B1930
- Så sa hun til sin far: Bare én ting vil jeg be dig om: La mig være fri to måneder, så jeg kan gå ned på fjellene og gråte over min jomfrustand sammen med mine venninner.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Luke 1:25
“The Lord has done this for me. In these days He has shown me favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
Read in context1 Samuel 1:6
Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival would provoke her and taunt her viciously.
Read in context