Judges 1

1 After the death of Joshua, the sons of Israel consulted the Lord, saying, “Who will ascend before us, against the Canaanite, and who will be the commander of the war?”

After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel asked Yahweh, saying, “Who first will attack the Canaanites for us, to fight against them?”

2 And the Lord said: “Judah shall ascend. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hands.”

Yahweh said, “Judah will attack. See, I have given them control of this land.”

3 And Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Go up with me to my lot, and fight against the Canaanite, so that I also may go forth with you to your lot.” And Simeon went with him.

The men of Judah said to men of Simeon, their brothers, “Come up with us into our territory that was assigned to us that together we may fight against the Canaanites. We will likewise go with you to the territory that was assigned to you.” So the tribe of Simeon went with them.

4 And Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanite, as well as the Perizzite, into their hands. And they struck down ten thousand of the men at Bezek.

The men of Judah attacked, and Yahweh gave them victory over the Canaanites and the Perizzites. They killed ten thousand of them at Bezek.

5 And they found Adonibezek at Bezek, and they fought against him, and they struck down the Canaanite and the Perizzite.

They found Adoni-Bezek at Bezek, and they fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

6 Then Adonibezek fled. And they pursued him and captured him, and they cut off the ends of his hands and feet.

But Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him, and they cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

7 And Adonibezek said: “Seventy kings, with the ends of their hands and feet amputated, have been gathering the remnants of food under my table. Just as I have done, so has God repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, who had their thumbs and their big toes cut off, gathered their food from under my table. As I have done, even so God has done to me.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 Then the sons of Judah, besieging Jerusalem, seized it. And they struck it with edge of the sword, delivering the entire city to be burned.

The men of Judah fought against the city of Jerusalem and took it. They attacked it with the edge of the sword and they set the city on fire.

9 And afterward, descending, they fought against the Canaanites who were living in the mountains, and in the south, and in the plains.

After that, the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negev, and the western foothills.

10 And Judah, going forth against the Canaanites who were living at Hebron, (the name of which from antiquity was Kiriath-Arba) struck down Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

Judah advanced against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (the name of Hebron was previously Kiriath Arba), and they defeated Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

11 And continuing on from there, he went to the inhabitants of Debir, the old name of which was Kiriath-Sepher, that is, the City of Letters.

From there the men of Judah advanced against the inhabitants of Debir (the name of Debir was previously Kiriath Sepher).

12 And Caleb said, “Whoever will strike Kiriath-Sepher, and will lay waste to it, I will give to him my daughter Achsah as wife.”

Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and takes it, I will give him Aksah, my daughter, to be his wife.”

13 And when Othniel, the son of Kenaz, a younger brother of Caleb, had seized it, he gave his daughter Achsah to him in marriage.

Othniel, son of Kenaz (Caleb's younger brother) captured Debir, so Caleb gave him Aksah, his daughter, to be his wife.

14 And as she was traveling on a journey, her husband admonished her, so that she would request a field from her father. And since she had sighed while sitting on her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What is it?”

Soon Aksah came to Othniel, and she urged him to ask her father to give her a field. As she was getting off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”

15 But she responded: “Give a blessing to me. For you have given me a dry land. Also give a watered land.” Therefore, Caleb gave to her the upper watered land and the lower watered land.

She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negev, also give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 Now the sons of the Kenite, the relative of Moses, ascended from the City of Palms, with the sons of Judah, into the wilderness of his lot, which is toward the south of Arad. And they lived with him.

The descendants of Moses' father-in-law the Kenite went up from the City of Palms with the people of Judah, into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the Negev, to live with the people of Judah near Arad.

17 Then Judah went out with his brother Simeon, and together they struck the Canaanites who were living at Zephath, and they put them to death. And the name of the city was called Hormah, that is, Anathema.

The men of Judah went with the men of Simeon their brothers and they attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and they completely destroyed it. The name of the city was called Hormah.

18 And Judah seized Gaza, with its parts, and Ashkelon as well as Ekron, with their borders.

The people of Judah also captured Gaza and the land around it, Ashkelon and the land around it, and Ekron and the land around it.

19 And the Lord was with Judah, and he possessed the mountains. But he was not able to wipe out the inhabitants of the valley. For they abounded with chariots armed with scythes.

Yahweh was with the people of Judah and they took possession of the hill country, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the plains because they had iron chariots.

20 And just as Moses had said, they gave Hebron to Caleb, who destroyed out of it the three sons of Anak.

Hebron was given to Caleb (like Moses had said), and he drove out from there the three sons of Anak.

21 But the sons of Benjamin did not wipe out the Jebusite inhabitants of Jerusalem. And the Jebusite has lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem, even to the present day.

But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem. So the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 The house of Joseph also ascended against Bethel, and the Lord was with them.

The house of Joseph prepared to attack Bethel, and Yahweh was with them.

23 For when they were besieging the city, which was previously called Luz,

They sent out men to spy on Bethel (the city that was formerly called Luz).

24 they saw a man departing from the city, and they said to him, “Reveal to us the entrance to the city, and we will act with mercy toward you.”

The spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Show us, please, how to get into the city, and we will be kind to you.”

25 And when he had revealed it to them, they struck the city with the edge of the sword. But that man, and all his relatives, they released.

He showed them a way into the city, and so they attacked the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family get away.

26 And having been sent away, he went out to the land of the Hittites, and he built a city there, and he called it Luz. And so it is called, even to the present day.

Then the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called it Luz, which is its name to this day.

27 Likewise, Manasseh did not destroy Bethshean and Taanach, with their villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor and Ibleam and Megiddo, with their villages. And the Canaanite began to live with them.

The people of Manasseh did not drive out the people living in the cities of Beth Shan and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or those who lived in Dor and its villages, or those who lived in Ibleam and its villages, or those who lived in Megiddo and its villages, because the Canaanites were determined to live in that land.

28 Then, after Israel had grown strong, he made them tributaries, but he was not willing to destroy them.

When Israel became strong, they forced the Canaanites to serve them with hard labor, but they never drove them out completely.

29 And now Ephraim did not put to death the Canaanite, who was living at Gezer; instead, he lived with him.

Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites continued to live in Gezer among them.

30 Zebulun did not wipe out the inhabitants of Kitron and of Nahalal. Instead, the Canaanite lived in their midst and became their tributary.

Zebulun did not drive out the people living in Kitron, or the people living in Nahalol, and so the Canaanites continued to live among them, but Zebulun forced the Canaanites to serve them with hard labor.

31 Likewise, Asher did not destroy the inhabitants of Acco and Sidon, Ahlab and Achzib, and Helbah, and Aphik, and Rehob.

Asher did not drive out the people living in Akko, or the people living in Sidon, or those living in Ahlab, Akzib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob.

32 And he lived in the midst of the Canaanites, the inhabitants of that land, for he did not put them to death.

So the tribe of Asher lived among the Canaanites (those who lived in the land), because they did not drive them out.

33 Naphtali also did not wipe out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Bethanath. And he lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. And the Beth-shemeshites and Bethanathites were tributaries to him.

The tribe of Naphtali did not drive out those who were living in Beth Shemesh, or those living in Beth Anath. So the tribe of Naphtali lived among the Canaanites (the people who were living in that land). However, the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced into hard labor for Naphthali.

34 And the Amorite hemmed in the sons of Dan on the mountain, and did not give them a place, so that they might descend to the flatlands.

The Amorites forced the tribe of Dan to live in the hill country, not allowing them to come down to the plain.

35 And he lived on the mountain at Har-heres, which is translated as ‘resembling brick,’ and at Aijalon and Sha-alabbin. But the hand of the house of Joseph was very heavy, and he became a tributary to him.

So the Amorites lived at Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the military might of the house of Joseph conquered them, and they were forced to serve them with hard labor.

36 Now the border of the Amorite was from the Ascent of the Scorpion, to the Rock and the higher places.

The border of the Amorites ran from the hill of Akrabbim at Sela up into the hill country.