Judges 1

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

After the death of Joshua, the sons of Israel consulted the Lord, saying, “Who will ascend before us, against the Canaanite, and who will be the commander of the war?”

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

And the Lord said: “Judah shall ascend. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hands.”

3 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.

And Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Go up with me to my lot, and fight against the Canaanite, so that I also may go forth with you to your lot.” And Simeon went with him.

4 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].

And Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanite, as well as the Perizzite, into their hands. And they struck down ten thousand of the men at Bezek.

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

And they found Adonibezek at Bezek, and they fought against him, and they struck down the Canaanite and the Perizzite.

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

Then Adonibezek fled. And they pursued him and captured him, and they cut off the ends of his hands and feet.

7 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.

And Adonibezek said: “Seventy kings, with the ends of their hands and feet amputated, have been gathering the remnants of food under my table. Just as I have done, so has God repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

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.

Then the sons of Judah, besieging Jerusalem, seized it. And they struck it with edge of the sword, delivering the entire city to be burned.

9 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].

And afterward, descending, they fought against the Canaanites who were living in the mountains, and in the south, and in the plains.

10 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.

And Judah, going forth against the Canaanites who were living at Hebron, (the name of which from antiquity was Kiriath-Arba) struck down Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

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

And continuing on from there, he went to the inhabitants of Debir, the old name of which was Kiriath-Sepher, that is, the City of Letters.

12 [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.”

And Caleb said, “Whoever will strike Kiriath-Sepher, and will lay waste to it, I will give to him my daughter Achsah as wife.”

13 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.

And when Othniel, the son of Kenaz, a younger brother of Caleb, had seized it, he gave his daughter Achsah to him in marriage.

14 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?”

And as she was traveling on a journey, her husband admonished her, so that she would request a field from her father. And since she had sighed while sitting on her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What is it?”

15 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.

But she responded: “Give a blessing to me. For you have given me a dry land. Also give a watered land.” Therefore, Caleb gave to her the upper watered land and the lower watered land.

16 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].

Now the sons of the Kenite, the relative of Moses, ascended from the City of Palms, with the sons of Judah, into the wilderness of his lot, which is toward the south of Arad. And they lived with him.

17 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’].

Then Judah went out with his brother Simeon, and together they struck the Canaanites who were living at Zephath, and they put them to death. And the name of the city was called Hormah, that is, Anathema.

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

And Judah seized Gaza, with its parts, and Ashkelon as well as Ekron, with their borders.

19 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.

And the Lord was with Judah, and he possessed the mountains. But he was not able to wipe out the inhabitants of the valley. For they abounded with chariots armed with scythes.

20 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.

And just as Moses had said, they gave Hebron to Caleb, who destroyed out of it the three sons of Anak.

21 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.

But the sons of Benjamin did not wipe out the Jebusite inhabitants of Jerusalem. And the Jebusite has lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem, even to the present day.

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

The house of Joseph also ascended against Bethel, and the Lord was with them.

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

For when they were besieging the city, 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].”

they saw a man departing from the city, and they said to him, “Reveal to us the entrance to the city, and we will act with mercy toward 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.

And when he had revealed it to them, they struck the city with the edge of the sword. But that man, and all his relatives, they released.

26 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.

And having been sent away, he went out to the land of the Hittites, and he built a city there, and he called it Luz. And so it is called, even to the present day.

27 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.

Likewise, Manasseh did not destroy Bethshean and Taanach, with their villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor and Ibleam and Megiddo, with their villages. And the Canaanite began to live with them.

28 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.

Then, after Israel had grown strong, he made them tributaries, but he was not willing to destroy them.

29 [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.

And now Ephraim did not put to death the Canaanite, who was living at Gezer; instead, he lived with him.

30 [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.

Zebulun did not wipe out the inhabitants of Kitron and of Nahalal. Instead, the Canaanite lived in their midst and became their tributary.

31 [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.

Likewise, Asher did not destroy the inhabitants of Acco and Sidon, Ahlab and Achzib, and Helbah, and Aphik, and Rehob.

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

And he lived in the midst of the Canaanites, the inhabitants of that land, for he did not put them to death.

33 [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.

Naphtali also did not wipe out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Bethanath. And he lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. And the Beth-shemeshites and Bethanathites were tributaries to him.

34 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.

And the Amorite hemmed in the sons of Dan on the mountain, and did not give them a place, so that they might descend to the flatlands.

35 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.

And he lived on the mountain at Har-heres, which is translated as ‘resembling brick,’ and at Aijalon and Sha-alabbin. But the hand of the house of Joseph was very heavy, and he became a tributary to him.

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

Now the border of the Amorite was from the Ascent of the Scorpion, to the Rock and the higher places.