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Judges 1

The Israelites take the land of Canaan

1 After Joshua had died, the Israelites asked the Lord , ‘Which of our tribes should be the first to attack the Canaanites?’ 2 The Lord replied, ‘Judah should attack first. I will give the land to them, to take for themselves.’ [ a ]

3 The men of Judah's tribe said to their cousins, the men of Simeon's tribe, ‘Join with us to fight against the Canaanites. Help us to take the land that God has given to our tribe. Then we will help you to take the land that belongs to your tribe.’ So the men of Simeon's tribe joined with the men of Judah's tribe.

4 They attacked the Canaanites and the Perizzites at Bezek. The Lord helped them to win against 10,000 Canaanite and Perizzite fighters. 5 In the battle, they found King Adoni-Bezek and they attacked him there. 6 The king ran away, but the Israelites caught him. They cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

7 King Adoni-Bezek said, ‘God has punished me because I did the same thing to 70 other kings. I cut off their thumbs and big toes. I made them pick up bits of food to eat under my table.’ The Israelites took King Adoni-Bezek back to Jerusalem. He died there.

8 Judah's army then attacked Jerusalem. They took the city for themselves. They killed the people who lived there and they burnt down the buildings.

9 Then they went to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negev and in the low hills in the west. 10 They attacked the people who lived in Hebron. They won the fight against the clans of Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. Hebron was called Kiriath Arba at that time.

11 Then they went to attack the people who lived in Debir. It was called Kiriath Sepher at that time. 12 Caleb said, ‘If a brave man attacks and takes Kiriath Sepher, he can marry my daughter, Acsah.’ 13 Othniel attacked the city and he took it. He was the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz. So Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to Othniel, to be his wife.

14 After this, Acsah told Othniel that they should ask her father to give them some land. She went to see her father, Caleb. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, ‘What would you like me to do for you?’

15 She replied, ‘Please be kind and give me a special gift. You have given me some land in the Negev desert. Now please give me a place with springs so that I have water for the land.’ So Caleb gave her some land with springs, on high land and on low land.

16 The Kenites were descendants of Moses' wife's father. They left Jericho with Judah's people to live in the region of Arad, in the Negev desert.

17 Then Judah's men joined with their cousins, Simeon's men, to attack the Canaanites who lived in Zephath. They completely destroyed the city. They gave it a new name, ‘Hormah’. [ b ] 18 Judah's men also took for themselves the cities of Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron, as well as the land around those cities.

19 The Lord helped the men of Judah so that they took the towns in the hill country for themselves. But they could not win against the people who lived on the lower land near the sea. Those people had iron chariots to help them fight.

20 Caleb received Hebron for his family, as Moses had promised him. [ c ] Caleb had chased out the three clans of Anak who lived there.

21 The men of Benjamin's tribe could not chase out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. As a result, the Jebusites continue to live in Jerusalem with the people of Benjamin.

22 The men of Joseph's tribes attacked Bethel. [ d ] The Lord helped them to do this. 23 Bethel had been called Luz. They sent some men to look secretly at the city. 24 Those men saw a man who was leaving the city. They said to him, ‘If you show us how our soldiers can get into the city, we will keep you safe.’ 25 So the man showed them a secret entrance to the city.

The men of Joseph's tribes killed all the people in the city. But they kept the man and his family safe. 26 He went to the land of the Hittites. He built a city there. He called it Luz, and that is still its name.

27 But the men of Manasseh's tribe could not chase out the people of these five cities: Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam and Megiddo. The Canaanites who lived there were strong. So they continued to live in those cities and the regions around them. 28 When the Israelites had a strong army, they made the Canaanites do hard work for them. But they could never chase the Canaanites away completely.

29 The men of Ephraim's tribe could not chase out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. Those Canaanites continued to live among the people of Ephraim in Gezer.

30 The men of Zebulun's tribe could not chase away the people who lived in Kitron and Nahalol. But they made the Canaanites who lived among them do hard work for them.

31 The men of Asher's tribe could not chase out the Canaanites who lived in Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek and Rehob. 32 Because of this, Asher's people continued to live among the Canaanites.

33 The men of Naphtali's tribe could not chase out the Canaanites who lived in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath. They too continued to live among the Canaanites in the land. But the Canaanites who lived in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath had to do hard work for the Israelites.

34 The Amorites were too strong for the men of Dan's tribe. So Dan's people had to live in the hill country. The Amorites would not let them live in the low land. 35 The Amorites were also strong enough to keep Mount Heres, Aijalon and Shaalbim for themselves. But when the Israelite army became stronger, they made the Amorites do hard work for them. 36 The border of the Amorites' land went from Scorpion Hill and it continued beyond Sela.

Footnotes

  1. 1:2 When we write Lord like this, it is a special name for God. Sometimes people write it as ‘Yahweh’, or as ‘Jehovah’. It is his own name that he told Moses. See Exodus 3:14 . It means ‘I am who I am’. This shows that God has always been there and he always will be there.
  2. 1:17 ‘Hormah’ means ‘completely destroyed’.
  3. 1:20 God chose Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and take them to Canaan. Caleb and Joshua were the two men who trusted God to give them the land that he had promised to the Israelites. They were the only two men still alive who had left Egypt when they were old enough to fight. See Joshua 15:13-14 .
  4. 1:22 Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, each had their own tribes.

Judah Fights the Canaanites

1 After Joshua died, the Israelites prayed to the Lord , “Which of our tribes should be the first to go and fight for us against the Canaanites?”

2 The Lord said to the Israelites, “The tribe of Judah will go. I will let them take this land.”

3 The men of Judah went to their relatives from the tribe of Simeon and asked for help. They said, “Brothers, if you will come and help us fight for the land God gave us, we will go and help you fight for your land.” The men of Simeon agreed and went with them.

4 The Lord helped the men of Judah defeat the Canaanites and the Perizzites. They killed 10,000 men at the city of Bezek. 5 In the city of Bezek, they found the ruler of Bezek [ a ] and fought him, and they defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

6 The ruler of Bezek tried to escape, but the men of Judah chased him and caught him. When they caught him, they cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 Then the ruler of Bezek said, “I cut off the thumbs and big toes of 70 kings. And they had to eat pieces of food that fell from my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them.” The men of Judah took the ruler of Bezek to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 The men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They used their swords to kill the people of Jerusalem. Then they burned the city. 9 Later, they went down to fight against some more Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the western foothills.

10 Then the men of Judah went to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the city of Hebron. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba.) They defeated the men named Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. [ b ]

Caleb and His Daughter

11 The men of Judah left that place. They went to the city of Debir to fight against the people there. (In the past, Debir was called Kiriath Sepher.) 12 Before they started to fight, Caleb made a promise to the men. He said, “I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to whoever attacks and conquers Kiriath Sepher.”

13 Caleb had a younger brother named Kenaz. Kenaz had a son named Othniel. Othniel captured the city of Kiriath Sepher. So Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to Othniel to be his wife.

14 Acsah went to live with Othniel. Othniel told Acsah [ c ] to ask her father for some land. She went to her father. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What is wrong?”

15 Acsah answered him, “Give me a blessing. [ d ] You gave me dry desert land in the Negev. Please give me some land with water on it.” So Caleb gave her what she wanted. He gave her the upper and lower pools of water in that land.

16 The Kenites left the City of Palm Trees [ e ] and went with the men of Judah. They went to the desert of Judah to live with the people there. This was in the Negev near the city Arad. (The Kenites were from the family of Moses’ father-in-law.)

17 Some Canaanites lived in the city of Zephath. The men of Judah and men from the tribe of Simeon attacked them and completely destroyed the city. So they named the city Hormah. [ f ]

18 The men of Judah also captured the cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron and all the small towns around them.

19 The Lord was on the side of the men of Judah when they fought. They took the land in the hill country, but they failed to take the land in the valleys, because the people living there had iron chariots.

20 Moses had promised to give the land near Hebron to Caleb, so that land was given to Caleb’s family. The men of Caleb forced the three sons of Anak [ g ] to leave that place.

21 The tribe of Benjamin could not force the Jebusites to leave Jerusalem. So even today, [ h ] the Jebusites live with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem.

Joseph’s Descendants Capture Bethel

22 The descendants of Joseph went to fight against the city of Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 They sent some spies to the city of Bethel (which was then called Luz). 24 While the spies were watching, they saw a man come out of the city. They said to the man, “Show us a secret way into the city. If you help us, we will not hurt you.”

25 The man showed the spies the secret way into the city. The men of Joseph used their swords to kill the people of Bethel. But they did not hurt the man who helped them or anyone in his family. The man and his family were allowed to go free. 26 He went to the land where the Hittites lived and built a city. He named it Luz, and that city is still called Luz today.

Other Tribes Fight the Canaanites

27 There were Canaanites living in the cities of Beth Shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and the small towns around the cities. The people from the tribe of Manasseh could not force those people to leave their towns. So the Canaanites stayed. They refused to leave their homes. 28 Later, the Israelites grew stronger and forced the Canaanites to work as slaves for them. But the Israelites could not force all the Canaanites to leave their land.

29 There were Canaanites living in Gezer. And the Ephraimites did not make all the Canaanites leave their land. So they continued to live in Gezer with the Ephraimites.

30 Some Canaanites lived in the cities of Kitron and Nahalol. The people of Zebulun did not force those people to leave their land. They stayed and lived with the people of Zebulun. But the people of Zebulun made them work as slaves.

31 The people of Asher did not force the other people to leave the cities of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek, and Rehob. 32 The people of Asher did not force those Canaanites to leave their land, so the Canaanites continued to live with them.

33 The people of Naphtali did not force the people to leave the cities of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath, so the people of Naphtali continued to live with the people in those cities. Those Canaanites worked as slaves for the people of Naphtali.

34 The Amorites forced the tribe of Dan to live in the hill country. They had to stay in the hills because the Amorites would not let them come down to live in the valleys. 35 The Amorites decided to stay in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. Later, when the descendants of Joseph grew stronger, they made the Amorites work as slaves for them. 36 The land of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass to Sela and up into the hill country past Sela.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:5 ruler of Bezek Or “Adoni Bezek.”
  2. Judges 1:10 Sheshai, Ahiman, Talmai Three sons of a man named Anak. They were giants. See Num. 13:22.
  3. Judges 1:14 Othniel told Acsah Or “Acsah told Othniel.”
  4. Judges 1:15 Give me a blessing Or “Please welcome me” or “Give me a stream of water.”
  5. Judges 1:16 City of Palm Trees Another name for Jericho.
  6. Judges 1:17 Hormah This name means “completely destroyed” or “a gift given totally to God.” See Lev. 27:28-29.
  7. Judges 1:20 three sons of Anak Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, mentioned above in verse 10.
  8. Judges 1:21 even today That is, at the time the book was written.

1 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the Lord , saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?

2 And the Lord said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

3 And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.

4 And Judah went up; and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.

5 And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

6 But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

7 And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

8 Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

9 And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.

10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

11 And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher:

12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

14 And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?

15 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.

16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.

18 Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.

19 And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.

21 And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.

22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the Lord was with them.

23 And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)

24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.

25 And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.

26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.

27 Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.

29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.

31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:

32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.

33 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.

34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley:

35 But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.

36 And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

Jerusalem Is Captured

1 Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel ( A ) inquired of the Lord , saying, “Who shall go up first for us ( B ) against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The Lord said, “ ( C ) Judah shall go up; behold, I have handed the land over to him.” 3 Then Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Go up with me into [ a ] the territory allotted me, and let’s fight the Canaanites; and [ b ] I in turn will go with you into [ c ] the territory allotted you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Judah went up, and ( D ) the Lord handed over to them the Canaanites and the Perizzites, and they [ d ] defeated ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they [ e ] defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and caught him, and cut off his [ f ] thumbs and big toes. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to gather up scraps under my table; ( E ) as I have done, so God has repaid me.” So they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 Then the sons of Judah fought against ( F ) Jerusalem and captured it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire. 9 Afterward, the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, and in the [ g ] Negev, and in the lowland. 10 ( G ) So Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (the name of Hebron was previously Kiriath-arba); and they struck Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

Capture of Other Cities

11 Then ( H ) from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir (the name of Debir was previously Kiriath-sepher). 12 And Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him my daughter Achsah as a wife.” 13 Now ( I ) Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. 14 Then ( J ) it happened that when she came to him , she incited him to ask her father for a field. Then later , she dismounted from [ h ] her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What [ i ] do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing: since you have given me the land of the [ j ] Negev, give me springs of water also.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 Now the [ k ] descendants of ( K ) the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the ( L ) city of palms with the sons of Judah, to the wilderness of Judah which is in the south of ( M ) Arad; and they went and lived with the people. 17 Then Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they struck the Canaanites living in Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called ( N ) Hormah. 18 And Judah took ( O ) Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 Now the Lord was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not [ l ] drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had ( P ) iron chariots. 20 Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, ( Q ) as Moses had [ m ] promised; and he drove out from there ( R ) the three sons of Anak. 21 ( S ) But the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the ( T ) Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 Likewise the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 The house of Joseph had men spy out Bethel ( ( U ) the name of the city previously was Luz). 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and ( V ) we will treat you kindly.” 25 So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, ( W ) but they let the man and all his family go free. 26 Then the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city, and named it Luz, [ n ] which is its name to this day.

Places Not Conquered

27 ( X ) But Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; so ( Y ) the Canaanites persisted in living in this land. 28 And it came about, when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor; but they did not drive them out completely.

29 And ( Z ) Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer; so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of [ o ] Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.

31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or of Rehob. 32 So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.

33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.

34 Then the Amorites [ p ] forced the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley; 35 yet the Amorites persisted in living on Mount Heres, in Aijalon and Shaalbim; but when the [ q ] power of the house of Joseph [ r ] grew strong, they became forced labor. 36 The border of the Amorites ran from the ( AA ) ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:3 Lit my lot
  2. Judges 1:3 Lit I, even I
  3. Judges 1:3 Lit your lot
  4. Judges 1:4 Lit struck them
  5. Judges 1:5 Lit struck
  6. Judges 1:6 Lit thumbs of his hands and his feet
  7. Judges 1:9 I.e., South country
  8. Judges 1:14 Lit the
  9. Judges 1:14 Lit to you , an ancient idiom
  10. Judges 1:15 I.e., South country
  11. Judges 1:16 Lit sons
  12. Judges 1:19 Or dispossess
  13. Judges 1:20 Lit spoken
  14. Judges 1:26 Lit it
  15. Judges 1:30 Perhaps same as Nahalal
  16. Judges 1:34 Lit pushed
  17. Judges 1:35 Lit hand
  18. Judges 1:35 Lit was heavy

Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites ( A )

1 After the death ( B ) of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord , “Who of us is to go up first ( C ) to fight against the Canaanites? ( D ) ”

2 The Lord answered, “Judah ( E ) shall go up; I have given the land into their hands. ( F ) ”

3 The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, “Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.” So the Simeonites ( G ) went with them.

4 When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites ( H ) into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek. ( I ) 5 It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek ( J ) and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6 Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

7 Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back ( K ) for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem, ( L ) and he died there.

8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem ( M ) also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.

9 After that, Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, ( N ) the Negev ( O ) and the western foothills. 10 They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron ( P ) (formerly called Kiriath Arba ( Q ) ) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. ( R ) 11 From there they advanced against the people living in Debir ( S ) (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).

12 And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.

14 One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him [ a ] to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”

15 She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs. ( T )

16 The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, ( U ) the Kenite, ( V ) went up from the City of Palms [ b ] ( W ) with the people of Judah to live among the inhabitants of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad. ( X )

17 Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites ( Y ) their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed [ c ] the city. Therefore it was called Hormah. [ d ] ( Z ) 18 Judah also took [ e ] Gaza, ( AA ) Ashkelon ( AB ) and Ekron—each city with its territory.

19 The Lord was with ( AC ) the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, ( AD ) but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron. ( AE ) 20 As Moses had promised, Hebron ( AF ) was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak. ( AG ) 21 The Benjamites, however, did not drive out ( AH ) the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; ( AI ) to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.

22 Now the tribes of Joseph ( AJ ) attacked Bethel, ( AK ) and the Lord was with them. 23 When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz), ( AL ) 24 the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well. ( AM ) ” 25 So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword but spared ( AN ) the man and his whole family. 26 He then went to the land of the Hittites, ( AO ) where he built a city and called it Luz, ( AP ) which is its name to this day.

27 But Manasseh did not ( AQ ) drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor ( AR ) or Ibleam ( AS ) or Megiddo ( AT ) and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites ( AU ) were determined to live in that land. 28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely. ( AV ) 29 Nor did Ephraim ( AW ) drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, ( AX ) but the Canaanites continued to live there among them. ( AY ) 30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them, but Zebulun did subject them to forced labor. 31 Nor did Asher ( AZ ) drive out those living in Akko or Sidon ( BA ) or Ahlab or Akzib ( BB ) or Helbah or Aphek ( BC ) or Rehob. ( BD ) 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh ( BE ) or Beth Anath ( BF ) ; but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. 34 The Amorites ( BG ) confined the Danites ( BH ) to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain. ( BI ) 35 And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres, ( BJ ) Aijalon ( BK ) and Shaalbim, ( BL ) but when the power of the tribes of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. 36 The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass ( BM ) to Sela ( BN ) and beyond. ( BO )

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:14 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate Othniel, he urged her
  2. Judges 1:16 That is, Jericho
  3. Judges 1:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord , often by totally destroying them.
  4. Judges 1:17 Hormah means destruction.
  5. Judges 1:18 Hebrew; Septuagint Judah did not take
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