Then Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him, dancing with a tambourine. She was his only child. Other than her, he had neither son nor daughter.
Then the virgin shall rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
Again I will build you and you will be built, O virgin of Israel. You will again be adorned with your tambourines and shall go forth in the dances of those who make merry.
And I will pour out on the house of David and over those dwelling in Jerusalem a spirit of favor and supplication so that they look to Me, whom they have pierced through. And they will mourn over him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly over him as a firstborn.
When He came near the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.
So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead. The people set him over them as ruler and leader. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.
All the Israelites from Dan to Beer-sheba, and also from the land of Gilead, went out and gathered together in an assembly as one man before the Lord at Mizpah.
Watch, and then when the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, come out from the vineyards, and have every man grab a wife for himself from among the daughters of Shiloh. Then go to the land of Benjamin.