Judges 1
1
Judah Fights the Canaanites
1After Joshua died, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who will be first to go and fight for us against the Canaanites?”
2The Lord said to them, “The tribe of Judah will go. I have handed the land over to them.”
3The men of Judah said to the men of Simeon, their relatives, “Come and help us fight the Canaanites for our land. If you do, we will go and help you fight for your land.” So the men of Simeon went with them.
4When Judah attacked, the Lord handed over the Canaanites and the Perizzites to them, and they defeated ten thousand men at the city of Bezek. 5There they found Adoni-Bezek, the ruler of the city, and fought him. The men of Judah defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites, 6but Adoni-Bezek ran away. The men of Judah chased him, and when they caught him, they cut off his thumbs and big toes.
7Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings whose thumbs and big toes had been cut off used to eat scraps that fell from my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them.” The men of Judah took Adoni-Bezek to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They attacked with their swords and burned the city.
9Later, they went down to fight the Canaanites who lived in the mountains, in the dry country to the south, and in the western hills. 10The men of Judah went to fight against the Canaanites in the city of Hebron (which used to be called Kiriath Arba). And they defeated Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
Caleb and His Daughter
11Then they left there and went to fight against the people living in Debir. (In the past Debir had been called Kiriath Sepher.) 12Before attacking the city, Caleb said, “I will give Acsah, my daughter, as a wife to the man who attacks and captures the city of Kiriath Sepher.” 13Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured the city, so Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to Othniel to be his wife. 14When Acsah came to Othniel, she told him to ask her father for a field. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?”
15Acsah answered him, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in southern Canaan, also give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
Fights with the Canaanites
16The Kenite people, who were from the family of Moses’ father-in-law, left Jericho, the city of palm trees. They went with the men of Judah to the Desert of Judah to live with them there in southern Judah near the city of Arad.
17The men of Judah and the men of Simeon, their relatives, defeated the Canaanites who lived in Zephath. They completely destroyed the city, so they called it Hormah. 18The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the lands around them.
19The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took the land in the mountains, but they could not force out the people living on the plain, because they had iron chariots. 20As Moses had promised, Hebron was given to Caleb, and Caleb forced out the three sons of Anak. 21But the people of Benjamin could not make the Jebusite people leave Jerusalem. Since that time the Jebusites have lived with the Benjaminites in Jerusalem.
22The men of Joseph went to fight against the city of Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23They sent some spies to Bethel (which used to be called Luz). 24The spies saw a man coming out of the city and said to him, “Show us a way into the city, and we will be kind to you.” 25So the man showed them the way into the city. The men of Joseph attacked with swords the people in Bethel, but they let the man and his family go free. 26He went to the land where the Hittites lived and built a city. He named it Luz, which it is called even today.
27There were Canaanites living in the cities of Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and the small towns around them. The people of Manasseh did not force those people out of their towns, because the Canaanites were determined to stay there. 28Later, the Israelites grew strong and forced the Canaanites to work as slaves, but they did not make all the Canaanites leave their land. 29The people of Ephraim did not force out all of the Canaanites living in Gezer. So the Canaanites continued to live in Gezer with the people of Ephraim. 30The people of Zebulun did not force out the Canaanites living in the cities of Kitron and Nahalol. They stayed and lived with the people of Zebulun, but Zebulun made them work as slaves.
31The people of Asher did not force the Canaanites from the cities of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek, and Rehob. 32Since the people of Asher did not force them out, the Canaanites continued to live with them. 33The people of Naphtali did not force out the people of the cities of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath. So they continued to live with the Canaanites in those cities, and the Canaanites worked as slaves. 34The Amorites forced the Danites back into the mountains and would not let them come down to live in the plain. 35The Amorites were determined to stay in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the Israelites grew stronger, they made the Amorites work as slaves. 36The land of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass to Sela and beyond.
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Judges 1: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Judges 1
1
The Israelites Fight Against the Remaining Canaanites
1Joshua died. After that, the Israelites spoke to the Lord. They asked him, “Who of us will go up first and fight against the Canaanites?”
2The Lord answered, “The tribe of Judah will go up. I have handed the land over to them.”
3Then the men of Judah spoke to their fellow Israelites, the men of Simeon. They said, “Come up with us. Come into the territory Joshua gave us. Help us fight against the Canaanites. Then we’ll go with you into your territory.” So the men of Simeon went with them.
4When the men of Judah attacked, the Lord helped them. He handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They struck down 10,000 men at Bezek. 5The men of Judah found Adoni-Bezek there. They fought against him. They struck down the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6But Adoni-Bezek ran away. The men of Judah chased him and caught him. Then they cut off his thumbs and big toes.
7Adoni-Bezek said, “I cut off the thumbs and big toes of 70 kings. I made them pick up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them.” The men of Judah brought Adoni-Bezek to Jerusalem. That’s where he died.
8The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They set the city on fire. They killed its people with their swords.
9After that, the men of Judah went down to fight against some Canaanites. Those Canaanites were living in the central hill country. They also fought against those living in the Negev Desert and the western hills. 10Then the men of Judah marched out against the Canaanites living in Hebron. Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba. The men of Judah won the battle over Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. 11From Hebron they marched out against the people living in Debir. It used to be called Kiriath Sepher.
12Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah to be married. I’ll give her to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” 13Othniel captured it. So Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him to be his wife. Othniel was the son of Kenaz. He was Caleb’s younger brother.
14One day Aksah came to Othniel. She begged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”
15She replied, “Do me a special favor. You have given me some land in the Negev Desert. Give me springs of water also.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
16Moses’ father-in-law was a Kenite. His family went up from Jericho. Jericho was also known as the City of Palm Trees. His family went up with the people of Judah to the Desert of Judah. They went there to live among its people. Those people were living in the Negev Desert near Arad.
17The men of Judah marched out with their fellow Israelites, the men of Simeon. They attacked the people of Canaan living in Zephath. They set the city apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. That’s why the city was called Hormah. 18The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron. They also captured the territory around each of those cities.
19The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took over the central hill country. But they weren’t able to drive the people out of the plains. That’s because those people used chariots that had some iron parts. 20Moses had promised to give Hebron to Caleb. So Hebron was given to Caleb. He drove the three sons of Anak out of it. 21But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day they live there with the people of Benjamin.
22The tribes of Joseph attacked Bethel. The Lord was with them. 23They sent men to Bethel to check it out. It used to be called Luz. 24Those who were sent saw a man coming out of the city. They said to him, “Show us how to get into the city. If you do, we’ll see that you are treated well.” 25So he showed them how to get in. The men of Joseph killed the people in the city with their swords. But they spared the man from Bethel. They also spared his whole family. 26Then he went to the land of the Hittites. He built a city there. He called it Luz. That’s still its name to this day.
27But the tribe of Manasseh didn’t drive out the people of Beth Shan. They didn’t drive out the people of Taanach, Dor, Ibleam and Megiddo. And they didn’t drive out the people of the settlements that are around those cities either. That’s because the Canaanites had made up their minds to continue living in that land. 28Later, Israel became stronger. Then they forced the Canaanites to work hard for them. But Israel never drove them out completely. 29The tribe of Ephraim didn’t drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer. So the Canaanites continued to live there among them. 30The tribe of Zebulun didn’t drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron and Nahalol. So these Canaanites lived among them. But the people of Zebulun forced the Canaanites to work hard for them. 31The tribe of Asher didn’t drive out the people living in Akko and Sidon. They didn’t drive out the people of Ahlab, Akzib, Helbah, Aphek and Rehob. 32So the people of Asher lived among the Canaanites who were in the land. 33The tribe of Naphtali didn’t drive out the people living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath. So the people of Naphtali lived among the Canaanites who were in the land. The people of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced to work hard for them. 34The Amorites made the people of Dan stay in the central hill country. They didn’t let them come down into the plain. 35The Amorites made up their minds to stay in Mount Heres. They also stayed in Aijalon and Shaalbim. But the power of the tribes of Joseph grew. Then the Amorites were forced to work hard for them. 36The border of the Amorites started at Scorpion Pass. It went to Sela and even past it.
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