Judges - Chapter 1

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¹ Now after Joshua's death, the Israelites consulted Yahweh, asking, 'Which of us is to march on the Canaanites first, to make war on them?'

² And Yahweh replied, 'Judah is to march on them first; I am delivering the country into his hands.'

³ Judah then said to his brother Simeon, 'March with me into the territory allotted to me; we shall make war on the Canaanites, and then I in my turn shall march into your territory with you.' And Simeon marched with him.

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⁴ So Judah marched on them, and Yahweh delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they defeated them at Bezek-ten thousand of them!

⁵ At Bezek they came upon Adoni-Bezek; they joined battle with him and defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites.

⁶ Adoni-Bezek took to flight, but they chased and captured him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

⁷ Adoni-Bezek said, 'Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up the crumbs under my table. As I did, God does to me.' He was taken to Jerusalem, and there he died.

⁸ (The sons of Judah attacked Jerusalem and took it: they put its people to the sword and set fire to the city.)

⁹ After this the sons of Judah went down to make war on the Canaanites who were living in the highlands, the Negeb and the lowlands.

¹⁰ Judah next marched on the Canaanites living in Hebron -- the name of Hebron in olden days was Kiriath-Arba -- and beat Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.

¹¹ From there, he marched on the inhabitants of Debir -- the name of Debir in olden days was Kiriath-Sepher.

¹² Caleb said, 'To the man who conquers and captures Kiriath-Sepher, I shall give my daughter Achsah as wife.'

¹³ The man who captured it was Othniel son of Kenaz, younger brother of Caleb, who gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.

¹⁴ When she arrived, he urged her to ask her father for arable land, but when she alighted from the donkey and Caleb asked her, 'What is the matter?'

¹⁵ she said to him, 'Grant me a blessing! As the land you have given me is the Negeb, give me springs of water, too!' So Caleb gave her what she wanted: the upper springs and the lower springs.

¹⁶ The sons of Hobab the Kenite, father-in-law of Moses, marched up with the sons of Judah from the City of Palm Trees into the desert of Judah lying in the Negeb of Arad, where they went and settled among the people.

¹⁷ Judah then set out with his brother Simeon. They beat the Canaanites who lived in Zephath and delivered it over to the curse of destruction; hence the town was given the name of Hormah.

¹⁸ Judah then captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, Ekron and its territory.And Yahweh was with Judah, who made himself master of the highlands;

¹⁹ he could not, however, dispossess the inhabitants of the plain, since they had iron chariots.

²⁰ As Moses had directed, Hebron was given to Caleb, and he drove the three sons of Anak out of it.

²¹ As regards the Jebusites living in Jerusalem, the sons of Benjamin did not dispossess them, and the Jebusites have been living in Jerusalem with the sons of Benjamin ever since.

²² Similarly, the House of Joseph marched on Bethel, and Yahweh was with them.

²³ The House of Joseph made a reconnaissance of Bethel. (In olden days, the name of the town was Luz.)

²⁴ The scouts saw a man coming out of the town and said to him, 'Show us how to get into the town and we shall show you faithful love.'

²⁵ And when he had shown them a way into the town, they put the town to the sword but let the man and his whole clan go.

²⁶ The man went off to the country of the Hittites and built a town which he called Luz; and that has been its name ever since.

²⁷ Manasseh did not dispossess Beth-Shean and its dependencies, nor Taanach and its dependencies, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its dependencies, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its dependencies, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its dependencies; in those parts the Canaanites held their ground.

²⁸ But when the Israelites became stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labour, although they did not dispossess them.

²⁹ Nor did Ephraim dispossess the Canaanites living in Gezer; thus, the Canaanites went on living in Gezer with him.

³⁰ Zebulun did not dispossess the inhabitants of Kitron or of Nahalol. The Canaanites lived on with Zebulun but were subjected to forced labour.

³¹ Asher did not dispossess the inhabitants of Acco, nor those of Sidon, of Mahalab, of Achzib, of Helbah, of Aphek or of Rehob.

³² So the Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the country, not having dispossessed them.

³³ Naphtali did not dispossess the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh or of Beth-Anath; they settled among the Canaanite inhabitants of the country, but the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh and of Beth-Anath were subjected to forced labour for them.

³⁴ The Amorites drove the Danites back into the highlands and would not let them come down into the plain.

³⁵ The Amorites held their ground at Har -- Heres and Shaalbim, but when the hand of the House of Joseph grew heavier, they were subjected to forced labour. (

³⁶ The territory of the Edomites begins at the Ascent of Scorpions, runs to the Rock and continues on upwards.)