Judges 1

1 And it came to pass after the death of Joshua, that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites at the first, to fight against them?

After Joshua died, the Israeli people asked Yahweh, “Which [of our tribes] should attack the Canaan people-group first?”

2 And the Lord said, Judah shall go up; behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

Yahweh replied, “I will enable the tribe of Judah to defeat [IDM] the Canaan people-group.”

3 And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, and we will fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.

The men of Judah went to their fellow Israelis, [the men] from the tribe of Simeon, and said to them, “Come and help us to fight the Canaan people-group [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 And Judah went up; and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they smote [of] them in Bezek ten thousand men.

When the men of those two tribes attacked, Yahweh enabled them to defeat 10,000 men of the Canaan people-group and the Periz people-group [DOU] at Bezek [city].

5 And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek; and they fought against him, and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

During the battle they found Adoni-Bezek, the leader of the city,

6 But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

but he [tried to] run away. The Israelis pursued him and caught him. Then they cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

7 And Adoni-bezek said, Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered food under my table: as I have done, so hath God requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

Adoni-Bezek said, “[My army captured] 70 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/done to me like) [what we did to them].” Then the men of Judah took Adoni-Bezek to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 And the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and captured it, and they smote it with the edge of the sword, and the city they set on fire.

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 And afterward did the children of Judah go down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the lowlands.

Later, the men of Judah went down to fight the Canaan people-group who lived in the hilly area, in the desert to the south, and in the foothills [to the west].

10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron; [now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiryath-arba'; ] and they smote Sheshai, and Achiman, and Talmai.

The men of Judah also went to fight against the Canaan people-group who lived in Hebron [city], which at that time was named Kiriath-Arba. They defeated [the armies of kings] Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

11 And he went from there against the inhabitants of Debir; and the name of Debir was formerly Kiryath-sepher:

Then they left that area and went to fight against the people living in Debir [city], which was previously named Kiriath-Sepher.

12 And Caleb said, He that will smite Kiryath-sepher, and capture it, to him will I give 'Achsah my daughter for wife.

[Before they attacked the city], Caleb said to them, “If one of you attacks and captures Kiriath-Sepher, I will allow him to marry my daughter.”

13 And 'Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it: and he gave him 'Achsah his daughter for wife.

Othniel, who was the son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz, captured the city. So Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him, to become his wife.

14 And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she persuaded him to ask of her father a field: and she alighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What aileth thee?

When Acsah married Othniel, she told him to ask her father to give him a field. [But she decided to ask him herself. She rode to Caleb’s house on her donkey], and when she got off the donkey, Caleb [could see that something was troubling her. So he] asked her, “What do you want?”

15 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a dry land: give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.

She replied, “I want you to do a favor for me. You have given me some land in the southern desert, [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 also had a spring.

16 And the children of the Kenite, the father-in-law of Moses, went up out of the city of palm-trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is at the south of 'Arad; and they went and dwelt with the people.

The people of the Ken people-group 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 desert area, near Arad [city].

17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they smote the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and devoted it. And the name of the city was called Chormah.

The men of Judah and their fellow Israelis from the tribe of Simeon defeated the people of the Canaan people-group who lived in Zephath [city]. They completely destroyed the city and gave it a new name, Hormah, [which means ‘complete destruction’].

18 And Judah captured Gazzah with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and 'Ekron with its territory.

The men of Judah also captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron [cities] and all the land that is near those cities.

19 And the Lord was with Judah; and he took possession of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

Yahweh helped the men of Judah to capture the hilly area, but they could not force the people who were living in the plains to leave, because [those people had better weapons—] had iron chariots.

20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses had spoken; and he drove out thence the three sons of 'Anak.

Hebron [city] 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 And the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem, the children of Benjamin did not drive out; but the Jebusites dwelt with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem until this day.

But the people of the tribe of Benjamin could not force the people of the Jebus people-group to leave Jerusalem. So, since that time the people of the Jebus people-group have lived in Jerusalem with the people of the tribe of Benjamin.

22 And the house of Joseph, these also, went up against Beth-el; and the Lord was with them.

The men of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh went to fight against [the men of] Bethel [city], and Yahweh helped them.

23 And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Beth-el: now the name of the city formerly was Luz.

They sent some spies to [find out everything that they could find out about] Bethel, which was previously called Luz.

24 And the watchers saw a man coming forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will show thee kindness.

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 And he showed them the entrance into the city, and they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but the man and all his family they let go free.

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 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called its name Luz: this is its name unto this day.

That man went to the area where the descendants of Heth lived, and built a city. He named the city Luz, and that is still the name of that city.

27 Neither did Menasseh drive out [the inhabitants of] Beth-shean and its towns, nor Ta'anach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Yible'am and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites succeeded to remain in this land.

There were people of the Canaan people-group 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 those people to leave those towns, because the people of the Canaan people-group were determined to stay there.

28 And it came to pass, when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but they did not drive them out entirely.

Later, the Israelis became (stronger/more numerous), and they forced the people of the Canaan people-group to work for them [as their slaves], but they did not force all the people of the Canaan people-group to leave their land.

29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; and the Canaanites dwelt in the midst of them at Gezer.

[The men of] the tribe of Ephraim did not force the people of the Canaan people-group to leave Gezer [city]. So the people of the Canaan people-group continued to live with the people of the tribe of Ephraim.

30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; and the Canaanites dwelt in the midst of them, and became tributary.

[The men of] the tribe of Zebulun did nor compel the people of the Canaan people-group who were living in Kitron and Nahalol [cities] to leave. They stayed there and lived among the people of the tribe of Zebulun, but the people of Zebulun forced them to work for them as their slaves.

31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of 'Akko, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Achlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Chelbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rechob;

[The men of] the tribe of Asher did not force the people of the Canaan people-group who lived in Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek and Rehob [cities] to leave.

32 And the Asherites dwelt in the midst of the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.

So the people of the tribe of Asher lived among them.

33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-'anath; and he dwelt in the midst of the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributary unto them.

[The men of] the tribe of Naphtali did not compel the people who lived in Beth-Shemesh and Beth-Anath [cities] to leave, so the people in those two cities continued to live there, but the people of the Canaan people-group were forced to work as the slaves of the people of the tribe of Naphtali.

34 And the Emorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain; for they would not suffer them to come down into the valley;

The people of the Amor people-group forced the people of the tribe of Dan to live in the hills. They did not allow them to come down [and live] on the plain.

35 And the Emorites succeeded to remain on mount Cheres, in Ayalon, and in Sha'albim; but when the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, they became tributary.

The people of the Amor people-group were determined to stay in Heres Mountain and in Aijalon and Shaalbim [cities]. But when the Israelis became (stronger/more numerous), they forced the people of the Amor people-group to work as their slaves.

36 And the territory of the Emorites was from the ascent of 'Akrabbim, from the Rock upward.

The land where the Amor people-group lived extended from Scorpion Pass [toward the west] beyond Sela [town], up into the hilly area.