Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

"So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against
them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands.

"And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even
twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards with a very great
slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children
of Israel.

"And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter
came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances; and she was his
only child: besides her he had neither son nor daughter.

"And it came to pass when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and
said, Alas, my daughter! thou has brought me very low, and thou art one
of them that trouble me; for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and
I cannot go back.

"And she said unto him, My father, if thou has opened thy mouth unto
the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy
mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine
enemies, even to the children of Ammon.

"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.

"And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months, and she went
with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.

"And it came to pass at the end of two months that she returned unto
her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed."

Is there in the history of the world a sadder story than this? Can a
god who would accept such a sacrifice be worthy of the worship of
civilized men? I believe in the rights of children. I plead for the
republic of home, for the democracy of the fireside, and for this I am
called a heathen and a devil by those who believe in the cheerful and
comforting doctrine of eternal damnation.

Read the book of Job; read that God met the devil and asked him where
he had been, and he said, "Walking up and down the country;" and the
Lord said to him, "Have you noticed my man Job over here, how good he
is?" And the devil said, "Of course he's good, you give him everything
he wants. Just take away his property and he'll curse you. You just try
it." And he did try it, and took away his goods, but Job still remained
good. The devil laughed and said that he had not been tried enough.
Then the Lord touched his flesh, but he was still