23 “It was the Lord, the God of Israel, who forced out the Amorites ahead of the people of Israel. So do you think you can make the people of Israel leave this land?
24 Surely you can live in the land which your god Chemosh has given you. So we will live in the land the Lord our God has given us!
25 “Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor? He was the king of Moab. Did he ever quarrel or fight with the people of Israel?
26 For 300 years the Israelites have lived in Heshbon and Aroer and the towns around them. They have lived for 300 years in all the cities along the Arnon River. Why have you not taken these cities back in all that time?
27 I have not sinned against you. But you are sinning against me by making war on me! May the Lord, the Judge, decide whether the Israelites or Ammonites are right.”
28 But the king of the Ammonites ignored this message from Jephthah.
29 Then the Spirit of the Lord entered Jephthah. Jephthah passed through Gilead and Manasseh. He came to the city of Mizpah in Gilead. From there, Jephthah passed through to the land of the Ammonites.