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The Book of Judges

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- Chapter 1 -

(Joshua 13:1–7)
1
After Joshua died, the Israelite people asked Yahweh, “Which of our tribes should attack the Canaanites first?”
2
Yahweh replied, “The men of the tribe of Judah must attack first. I will enable the tribe of Judah to defeat the Canaanites.”
3
The men of Judah went to their fellow Israelites, the men from the tribe of Simeon, and said to them, “Come and help us to fight the Canaanites in order that we can take from them the land that Yahweh allotted to us. If you do that, we will go with you and help you conquer the people in the land that Yahweh promised to give to you.” So the men from the tribe of Simeon went with the men of the tribe of Judah.
4
When the men of those two tribes attacked, Yahweh enabled them to defeat ten thousand men of the Canaanites and the Perizzites at the city of Bezek.
5
During the battle they found Adoni-Bezek, the leader of the city.
6
Adoni-Bezek tried to run away. The Israelites pursued him and caught him. Then they cut off his thumbs and his big toes.
7
Adoni-Bezek said, “My army captured seventy kings. We cut off their thumbs and big toes. After that, we forced those kings to eat scraps that fell from our table. Now God has paid me back for what I did.” Then the men of Judah took Adoni-Bezek to Jerusalem, and he died there.

The Capture of Jerusalem and Hebron

(Joshua 15:13–19)
8
The army of Judah fought against the men of Jerusalem, and they captured the city. With their swords they killed the people who lived there and they burned the houses in the city.
9
Later, the men of Judah went down to fight the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the southern Judean wilderness, and in the foothills to the west.
10
The men of Judah also went to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the city of Hebron (which used to be named Kiriath Arba). They defeated the armies of kings Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
11
Then they left that area and went to fight against the people living in the city of Debir, which was previously named Kiriath Sepher.
12
Before they attacked the city, Caleb said to them, “The person who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher, I will allow him to marry my daughter.”
13
Othniel, who was the son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz, captured the city. So Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him, to become his wife.
14
After Aksah married Othniel, she asked him to request her father to give him a field. Then she rode back to her father Caleb’s house on her donkey. When she got off the donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?”
15
She replied, “I want you to do a favor for me. You have given me the land of the southern Judean wilderness, but it is very dry there. So please also give me some land that has springs of water.” So Caleb gave her some land on higher ground that had a spring, and some land on lower ground that had a spring in it.
16
The Kenites who were descendants of Moses’ father-in-law left Jericho, which was called “The City of Palm Trees.” They went with some of the men of Judah to live with them in the southern Judean wilderness, near the city of Arad.
17
The men of Judah and their fellow Israelites from the tribe of Simeon defeated the Canaanites who lived in the city of Zephath. They completely destroyed the city and gave it a new name, Hormah, which means “complete destruction.”
18
The men of Judah also captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron cities and all the land that is near those cities.
19
Yahweh helped the men of Judah to capture the hill country, but they could not force the people who were living in the plains to leave, because they had better weapons, they had iron chariots.
20
The city of Hebron was given to Caleb because Moses had promised him that he could have that city. And Caleb forced the three clans descended from Anak to leave that area.
21
But the tribe of Benjamin could not force the Jebusites to leave Jerusalem. So, since that time the Jebusites have lived in Jerusalem with of the tribe of Benjamin.
22
The men of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh went to fight against the men of the city of Bethel, and Yahweh helped them.
23
They sent some spies to find out everything that they could find out about Bethel, which was previously called Luz.
24
The spies saw a man who was coming out of the city. They said to him, “If you show us a way to get into the city, we will be kind to you and we will not kill you.”
25
So the man showed them a way to enter the city. The men of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh entered the city and killed all the people with their swords, but they did not kill the man who showed them how to get into the city, and they did not kill his family.
26
That man went to the area where the descendants of the Hittites lived, and he built a city. He named the city Luz, and that is still the name of that city.

The Failure to Complete the Conquest

27
There were Canaanites who lived in Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo cities and in the surrounding villages. The men of the tribe of Manasseh did not force them to leave those towns, because the Canaanites were determined to stay there.
28
Later, the Israelites became stronger, and they forced the Canaanites to work for them as their slaves, but they did not force all the Canaanites to leave their land.
29
The men of the tribe of Ephraim did not force the Canaanites to leave the city of Gezer. So the Canaanites continued to live with the tribe of Ephraim.
30
The men of the tribe of Zebulun did not force the Canaanites who were living in the cities of Kitron and Nahalol to leave. They stayed there and lived with the tribe of Zebulun, but the people of Zebulun forced them to work for them as their slaves.
31
The men of the tribe of Asher did not force the Canaanites who lived in Akko, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek and Rehob cities to leave.
32
So the tribe of Asher lived with the Canaanites (those who were still there), and did not make them leave.
33
The men of the tribe of Naphtali did not compel the people who lived in the cities of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath to leave, so they continued to live with the Canaanites in those cities, but the Canaanites were forced to work as the slaves of Naphtali.
34
The Amorites forced the tribe of Dan to live in the hills. They did not allow them to come down and live on the plain.
35
The Amorites were determined to stay at Mount Heres and in the cities of Aijalon and Shaalbim. But when the Israelites became stronger, they forced the Amorites to work as their slaves.
36
The land where the Amorites lived extended from Scorpion Pass toward the west beyond Sela, up into the hill country.
(Joshua 13:1–7)
1
After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of the LORD,(a) saying, “Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”
2
The LORD said, “Judah shall go up. Behold,(b) I have delivered the land into his hand.”
3
Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your lot.” So Simeon went with him.
4
Judah went up, and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand. They struck ten thousand men in Bezek.
5
They found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and they fought against him. They struck the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6
But Adoni-Bezek fled. They pursued him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.
7
Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their big toes cut off, scavenged under my table. As I have done, so God (c) has done to me.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

The Capture of Jerusalem and Hebron

(Joshua 15:13–19)
8
The children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, took it, struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
9
After that, the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, and in the South, and in the lowland.
10
Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron. (The name of Hebron before that was Kiriath Arba.) They struck Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
11
From there he went against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debir before that was Kiriath Sepher.)
12
Caleb said, “I will give Achsah my daughter as wife to the man who strikes Kiriath Sepher, and takes it.”
13
Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it, so he gave him Achsah his daughter as his wife.
14
When she came, she got him to ask her father for a field. She got off her donkey; and Caleb said to her, “What would you like?”
15
She said to him, “Give me a blessing; because you have set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water.” Then Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
16
The children of the Kenite, Moses’ brother-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and lived with the people.
17
Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. The name of the city was called Hormah.
18
Also Judah took Gaza with its border, and Ashkelon with its border, and Ekron with its border.
19
The LORD was with Judah, and drove out the inhabitants of the hill country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
20
They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said, and he drove the three sons of Anak out of there.
21
The children of Benjamin didn’t drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem, but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
22
The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them.
23
The house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city before that was Luz.)
24
The watchers saw a man come out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.”
25
He showed them the entrance into the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his family go.
26
The man went into the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.

The Failure to Complete the Conquest

27
Manasseh didn’t drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its towns, nor Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
28
When Israel had grown strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and didn’t utterly drive them out.
29
Ephraim didn’t drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, but the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.
30
Zebulun didn’t drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites lived among them, and became subject to forced labor.
31
Asher didn’t drive out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob;
32
but the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they didn’t drive them out.
33
Naphtali didn’t drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but he lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and of Beth Anath became subject to forced labor.
34
The Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill country, for they would not allow 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 subject to forced labor.
36
The border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

Footnotes

(a)1:1 When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “LORD” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name.
(b)1:2 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.
(c)1:7 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).