Judg 11:4-33, 2Sa 10:1-14, 2Ch 20:1, Jer 49:1-6 | ESV | STEP | After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel .

4 After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. 5 And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of ^aTob. 6 And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.” 7 But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” 8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the Ammonites and ^bbe our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 9 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.” 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, ^c“The Lord will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people ^dmade him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words ^ebefore the Lord at ^fMizpah.

12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” 13 And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, ^g“Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the ^hArnon to the ⁱJabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.” 14 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites 15 and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: ^jIsrael did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, 16 but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness ^kto the Red Sea and ^lcame to Kadesh. 17 ^mIsrael then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ ⁿbut the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel ^oremained at Kadesh.

18 “Then they journeyed through the wilderness and ^pwent around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and ^qarrived on the east side of the land of Moab and ^rcamped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. 19 ^sIsrael then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our country,’ 20 but Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people together and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. 21 And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. 22 And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. 23 So then the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them? 24 Will you not possess what ^tChemosh your god gives you to possess? ^uAnd all that the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess. 25 Now are you any better than ^vBalak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them? 26 While Israel lived ^win Heshbon and its villages, and ^xin Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time? 27 I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. ^yThe Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.” 28 But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him.

Jephthah’s Tragic Vow

29 ^zThen the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah ^aamade a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever ^{▼▼Or whoever} comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites ^acshall be the Lord’s, and ^adI will offer it ^{▼▼Or him} up for a burnt offering.” 32 So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. 33 And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of ^afMinnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.

2 Samuel 10:1-14

David Defeats Ammon and Syria

1 ^agAfter this the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. 2 And David said, “I will deal loyally ^{▼▼Or kindly; twice in this verse} with Hanun the son of ^aiNahash, as his father dealt loyally with me.” So David sent by his servants to console him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the Ammonites. 3 But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think, because David has sent comforters to you, that he is honoring your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it?” 4 So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half the beard of each and cut off their garments in the middle, ^ajat their hips, and sent them away. 5 When it was told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return.”

6 When the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Syrians of ^akBeth-rehob, and ^althe Syrians of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of ^amMaacah with 1,000 men, and the men of ^anTob, 12,000 men. 7 And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of ^aothe mighty men. 8 And the Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate, and ^apthe Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob and ^aqthe men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country.

9 When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Syrians. 10 The rest of his men he put in the charge of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites. 11 And he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. 12 ^arBe of good courage, and ^aslet us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and ^atmay the Lord do what seems good to him.” 13 So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. 14 And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 20:1

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

1 After this ^authe Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, ^{▼▼Compare 26:7; Hebrew Ammonites} came against Jehoshaphat for battle.

Jeremiah 49:1-6

Judgment on Ammon

1 ^awConcerning the Ammonites.

Thus says the Lord:

“Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has ^axMilcom ^aydispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
declares the Lord,
when I will cause ^azthe battle cry to be heard
against ^baRabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate ^bbmound,
and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
says the Lord.
3 “Wail, O ^bcHeshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, O daughters of ^bdRabbah!
^bePut on sackcloth,
lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For ^bfMilcom shall go into exile,
^bgwith his priests and his officials.
4 Why do you boast of your valleys, ^{▼▼Hebrew boast of your valleys, your valley flows}
^biO faithless daughter,
^bjwho trusted in her treasures, saying,
‘Who will come against me?’
5 Behold, ^bkI will bring terror upon you,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
from all who are around you,
and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,
with none to gather the fugitives.
6 “But ^blafterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.”