Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Judges 11:31 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 31. 31Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse states the vow's unrestricted household greeter and burnt-offering terms.
Read It With
- Judges 11:29–33
Read Judges 11:29–33 together. This verse states the vow's unrestricted household greeter and burnt-offering terms. The Spirit's coming, Jephthah's route, conditional vow, battle, extensive defeat, and Ammon's subjugation form one victory sequence; verse 34 introduces the daughter and the vow's consequence.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The sequence prevents the vow from being credited as the cause of divine empowerment or victory and keeps Jephthah, not God, responsible for adding its lethal terms. Within that movement, states the vow's unrestricted household greeter and burnt-offering terms.
Read Judges 11:29–33 together
Why these verses belong together: The Spirit's coming, Jephthah's route, conditional vow, battle, extensive defeat, and Ammon's subjugation form one victory sequence; verse 34 introduces the daughter and the vow's consequence.
Verse 29. 29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.
Verse 30. 30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
Verse 31. 31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
Verse 32. 32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
Verse 33. 33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
Follow the Context
- The Spirit comes upon Jephthah before his advance.
- Jephthah independently makes a conditional vow with a dangerously unrestricted object and burnt-offering language.
- The LORD grants victory, and the narrator reports widespread defeat and subjugation without saying God requested or answered the vow.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
God did not command Jephthah to make this vow.
The Spirit's empowerment does not approve the vow or its fulfillment.
A promise to God must not be kept by abusing or killing another person.
What Remains True
States the vow's unrestricted household greeter and burnt-offering terms. Religious zeal does not justify making another person's body the price of one's success.
How It Can Shape Life
- Because Judges 11:31 states the vow's unrestricted household greeter and burnt-offering terms, refuse vows, bargains, or institutional promises that transfer risk to a child, dependent, partner, employee, or other nonconsenting person.
Teach It Back
Explain Judges 11:31's precise role in Judges 11:29–33. Include the scene's ancient covenant setting, one material uncertainty, the affected people, and one conclusion or violent imitation the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Judges 11:29–33 — The Spirit comes before Jephthah's unanswered vowSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The conjunction, intended object, and relation between vow and fulfillment remain debated. The sequence and lack of divine demand give high confidence that the vow was not required for victory.
A minority reads the vow as allowing dedication rather than death, especially from the later virginity language. Most critical readings take actual sacrifice as the story's tragic sense; the next unit must keep the alternative visible without pretending equal support.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Judges 11:29–33, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Judges
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clause relationships, repeated terms, wordplays, and translation control.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Judg.xml, 11:29–33
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Judges with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, poetic, geographical, social, and uncertainty notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Judges PDF, printed pp. 471-474, translation and notes on 11:29–33
Open source ↗