American Standard Version
Judges 11:35
35And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me; for I have opened my mouth unto Jehovah, and I cannot go back.
Judges 11:35 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast 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.
- New International Version (NIV)When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot go back on it.”
Context of Judges 11:35
33And he smote them from Aroer until thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto Abel-cheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. 34And Jephthah came to Mizpah 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 hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me; for I have opened my mouth unto Jehovah, and I cannot go back. 36And she said unto him, My father, thou hast opened thy mouth unto Jehovah; do unto me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth, forasmuch as Jehovah hath taken vengeance for thee on thine enemies, even on the children of Ammon. 37And 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.
Read all of Judges 11Judges 11:35 word by word
וַיְהִי֩ כִרְאוֹת֨וֹ אוֹתָ֜הּ וַיִּקְרַ֣ע אֶת־בְּגָדָ֗יו וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֲהָ֤הּ בִּתִּי֙ הַכְרֵ֣עַ הִכְרַעְתִּ֔נִי וְאַ֖תְּ הָיִ֣יתְ בְּעֹֽכְרָ֑י וְאָנֹכִ֗י פָּצִ֤יתִי־פִי֙ אֶל־יְהוָ֔ה וְלֹ֥א אוּכַ֖ל לָשֽׁוּב׃Read the interlinear
- sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- clothesבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Alasאֲהָהּ'ăhâhh · alas!H162
- daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
- broughtשׁוּבshûb · to return: turn backH7725
- lowכָּרַעkâra‛ · to bowH3766
- troubleעָכַר‛âkar · to troubleH5916
- openedפָּצָהpâtsâh · to openH6475
- mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310
- backשׁוּבshûb · to return: turn backH7725
Cross-references for Judges 11:35
- Genesis 37:29And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
- Genesis 42:36And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
- 2 Samuel 13:30And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that the tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king’s sons, and there is not one of them left.
- 2 Samuel 18:33And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!
- Job 1:20Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped;
- Leviticus 27:28Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto Jehovah of all that he hath, whether of man or beast, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto Jehovah.
- Numbers 30:2When a man voweth a vow unto Jehovah, or sweareth an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.
- Psalms 15:4In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honoreth them that fear Jehovah; He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not;
- Ecclesiastes 5:2Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
- Judges 21:1Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
- 1 Samuel 14:44And Saul said, God do so and more also; for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.
- Matthew 14:7Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she should ask.
- Acts 23:14And they came to the chief priests and the elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.
Commentaries on Judges 11:35
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 35Thou hast brought me very low - He was greatly distressed to think that his daughter, who was his only child, should be, in consequence of his vow, prevented from continuing his family in Israel; for it is evident that he had not any other child, for besides her, says the text, he had neither son nor daughter, Judges 11:34. He might, therefore, well be grieved that thus his family was to become extinct in Israel.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 35Jephthah was right in not being deterred from keeping his vow by the loss and sorrow to himself (compare the marginal references), just as Abraham was right in not withholding his son, his only son, from God, when commanded to offer him up as a burnt-offering. But Jephthah was wholly wrong in that conception of the character of God which led to his making the rash vow. And he would have done right not to slay his child, though the guilt of making and of…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 29-40Verses 29-40 Several important lessons are to be learned from Jephthah's vow. 1. There may be remainders of distrust and doubting, even in the hearts of true and great believers. 2. Our vows to God should not be as a purchase of the favour we desire, but to express gratitude to him. 3. We need to be very well-advised in making vows, lest we entangle ourselves. 4. What we have solemnly vowed to God, we must perform, if it be possible and lawful, though it…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 35Jephthah made a hasty promise and then blamed his daughter for the outcome. He did not consider the guidance of Scripture. Vows were usually unbreakable (Numbers 30:2), but the Old Testament allows exceptions for unwise vows (Numbers 30:6–8). Since the law forbade human sacrifice, he could have offered a substitute (Leviticus 27:1–8). Jephthah likely did not know these laws, possibly due to his upbringing far from Israel's main centers.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 34-4034-40. Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances--The return of the victors was hailed, as usual, by the joyous acclaim of a female band (1Sa 18:6), the leader of whom was Jephthah's daughter. The vow was full in his mind, and it is evident that it had not been communicated to anyone, otherwise precautions would doubtless have been taken to place another object at his door. The…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 11:35
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Judges 11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries