Judges 11:29-40

29Now 1the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon. 30And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If You will indeed hand over to me the sons of Ammon, 31then whatever comes out the doors of my house to meet me when I return 2safely from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” 32So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord handed them over to him. 33He 3inflicted a very great defeat on them from Aroer 4to the entrance of 5Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel.

34But Jephthah came to his house at 6Mizpah, and behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him 7with tambourines and with dancing. And she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. 35So when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Oh, my daughter! You have brought me disaster, and you are among those who trouble me; for I have 8given my word to the Lord, and 9I cannot take it back.” 36So she said to him, “My father, you have 10given your word to the Lord; 11do to me just as 12you have said, since the Lord has brought you vengeance on your enemies, the sons of Ammon.” 37And she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; allow me two months, so that I may 13go to the mountains and weep because of 14my virginity, I and my friends.” 38Then he said, “Go.” So he let her go for two months; and she left with her friends, and wept on the mountains because of her virginity. 39And at the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her 15what he had vowed; and she 16had no relations with a man. And it became a custom in Israel, 40that the 17daughters of Israel went annually to 18commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days in the year.