cred offices, and if he came home in safety, to offer in sacrifice
what living creature soever should first meet him, [17] he joined battle
with the enemy, and gained a great victory, and in his pursuit slew the
enemies all along as far as the city of Minnith. He then passed over to
the land of the Ammonites, and overthrew many of their cities, and took
their prey, and freed his own people from that slavery which they
had undergone for eighteen years. But as he came back, he fell into a
calamity no way correspondent to the great actions he had done; for it
was his daughter that came to meet him; she was also an only child and
a virgin: upon this Jephtha heavily lamented the greatness of his
affliction, and blamed his daughter for being so forward in meeting him,
for he had vowed to sacrifice her to God. However, this action that
was to befall her was not ungrateful to her, since she should die
upon occasion of her father's victory, and the liberty of her fellow
citizens: she only desired her father to give her leave, for two months,
to bewail her youth with her fellow citizens; and then she agreed, that
at the forementioned thee he might do with her according to his vow.
Accordingly, when that time was over, he sacrificed his daughter as a
burnt-offering, offering such an oblation as was neither conformable to
the law nor acceptable to God, not weighing with himself what opinion
the hearers would have of such a practice.

11. Now the tribe of Ephraim fought against him, because he did not take
them along with him in his expedition against the Ammonites, but because
he alone had the prey, and the glory of what was done to himself. As to
which he said, first, that they were not ignorant how his kindred had
fought against him, and that when they were invited, they did not come
to his assistance, whereas they ought to have come quickly, even before
they were invited. And in the next place, that they were going to act
unjustly; for while they had not courage enough to fight their enemies,
they came hastily against their own kindred: and he threatened them
that, with God's assistance, he would inflict a punishment upon them,
unless they would grow wiser. But when he could not persuade them, he
fought with them with those forces which he sent for out of Gilead,
and he made a great slaughter among them; and when they were beaten, he
pursued them, and seized on the passages of Jordan by a part of his army
which he had sent before