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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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Judges 1
1
The Tribes of Judah and Simeon Capture Adonibezek
1After Joshua's death the people of Israel asked the LORD, “Which of our tribes should be the first to go and attack the Canaanites?”
2The LORD answered, “The tribe of Judah will go first. I am giving them control of the land.”
3The people of Judah said to the people of Simeon, “Go with us into the territory assigned to us, and we will fight the Canaanites together. Then we will go with you into the territory assigned to you.” So the tribes of Simeon 4and Judah went into battle together. The LORD gave them victory over the Canaanites and the Perizzites, and they defeated 10,000 men at Bezek. 5They found Adonibezek there and fought against him. 6He ran away, but they chased him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7Adonibezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. God has now done to me what I did to them.” He was taken to Jerusalem, where he died.
The Tribe of Judah Conquers Jerusalem and Hebron
8The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They killed its people and set fire to the city. 9After this they went on to fight the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the foothills, and in the dry country to the south. 10They marched against the Canaanites living in the city of Hebron, which used to be called Kiriath Arba. There they defeated the clans of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
Othniel Conquers the City of Debir
(Josh 15.13–19)
11From there the men of Judah marched against the city of Debir, at that time called Kiriath Sepher. 12One of them, called Caleb, said, “I will give my daughter Achsah in marriage to the man who succeeds in capturing Kiriath Sepher.” 13Othniel, the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz, captured the city, so Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage. 14On the wedding day Othniel urged her#1.14 Some ancient translations Othniel urged her; Hebrew she urged Othniel. to ask her father for a field. She got down from her donkey, and Caleb asked her what she wanted. 15She answered, “I want some pools of water. The land you have given me is in the dry country.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
The Victories of the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin
16The descendants of Moses' father-in-law, the Kenite, went on with the people of Judah from Jericho, the city of palm trees, into the barren country south of Arad in Judah. There they settled among the Amalekites.#1.16 Some ancient translations Amalekites; Hebrew people. 17The people of Judah went with the people of Simeon, and together they defeated the Canaanites who lived in the city of Zephath. They put a curse on the city, destroyed it, and named it Hormah.#1.17 Hormah: This name in Hebrew means “destruction”. 18-19The LORD helped the people of Judah, and they took possession of the hill country. But they did not capture#1.18–19 One ancient translation But they did not capture; Hebrew And they captured. Gaza, Ashkelon, or Ekron, with their surrounding territories. These people living along the coast had iron chariots, and so the people of Judah were not able to drive them out. 20As Moses had commanded, Hebron was given to Caleb, who drove out of the city the three clans descended from Anak. 21#Josh 15.63; 2 Sam 5.6; 1 Chr 11.4But the people of the tribe of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem, and the Jebusites have continued to live there with the people of Benjamin ever since.
The Tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh Conquer Bethel
22-23The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh went to attack the city of Bethel, at that time called Luz. The LORD helped them. They sent spies to the city, 24who saw a man leaving and said to him, “Show us how to get into the city, and we won't hurt you.” 25So he showed them, and the people of Ephraim and Manasseh killed everyone in the city, except this man and his family. 26He later went to the land of the Hittites, built a city there, and named it Luz, which is still its name.
People who were not Driven Out by the Israelites
27 #
Josh 17.11–13
The tribe of Manasseh did not drive out the people living in the cities of Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and the nearby towns; the Canaanites continued to live there. 28When the Israelites became stronger, they forced the Canaanites to work for them, but still they did not drive them all out.
29 #
Josh 16.10
The tribe of Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites living in the city of Gezer, and so the Canaanites continued to live there with them.
30The tribe of Zebulun did not drive out the people living in the cities of Kitron and Nahalal, and so the Canaanites continued to live there with them and were forced to work for them.
31The tribe of Asher did not drive out the people living in the cities of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphek, and Rehob. 32The people of Asher lived with the local Canaanites, since they did not drive them out.
33The tribe of Naphtali did not drive out the people living in the cities of Beth Shemesh and Bethanath. The people of Naphtali lived with the local Canaanites, but forced them to work for them.
34The Amorites forced the people of the tribe of Dan into the hill country and did not let them come down to the plain. 35The Amorites continued to live at Aijalon, Shaalbim, and Mount Heres, but the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh kept them under their rule and forced them to work for them.
36North of Sela, the Edomite#1.36 One ancient translation Edomite; Hebrew Amorite. border ran through Akrabbim Pass.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.