8. The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is the reason we come to you now. Please come with us and fight against the Ammonites! You will be the ruler over everyone who lives in Gilead.”
9. Then Jephthah answered, “Suppose you take me back to Gilead to fight the Ammonites. If the Lord helps me win, I will be your ruler.”
10. The elders of Gilead said to him, “The Lord is listening to everything we are saying. We promise to do all that you tell us to do.”
11. So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander of their army. Jephthah repeated all of his words in front of the Lord at Mizpah.
12. Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites. The messengers asked the king, “What have you got against Israel? Why have you come to attack our land?”
13. The king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah. He said, “We are fighting Israel because you took our land when you came up from Egypt. You took our land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River to the Jordan River. Now tell the people of Israel to give our land back to us in peace.”