Judges 1:1-10
New King James Version
The Continuing Conquest of Canaan(A)
1 Now after the (B)death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel (C)asked the Lord, saying, “Who shall be first to go up for us against the (D)Canaanites to fight against them?”
2 And the Lord said, (E)“Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.”
3 So Judah said to (F)Simeon his brother, “Come up with me to my allotted territory, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and (G)I will likewise go with you to your allotted territory.” And Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they killed ten thousand men at (H)Bezek. 5 And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him; and they defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Then Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 And Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather scraps under my table; (I)as I have done, so God has repaid me.” Then they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
8 Now (J)the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it; they struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 (K)And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, in the [a]South, and in the lowland. 10 Then Judah [b]went against the Canaanites who dwelt in (L)Hebron. (Now the name of Hebron was formerly (M)Kirjath Arba.) And they killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
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- Judges 1:9 Heb. Negev, and so throughout the book
- Judges 1:10 attacked
Joshua 15:14
New King James Version
14 Caleb drove out (A)the three sons of Anak from there: (B)Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.
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Judges 1:11-26
New King James Version
11 (A)From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debir was formerly Kirjath Sepher.)
12 (B)Then Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, (C)Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife. 14 (D)Now it happened, when she came to him, that [a]she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” 15 So she said to him, (E)“Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.”
And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
16 (F)Now the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up (G)from the City of Palms with the children of Judah into the Wilderness of Judah, which lies in the South near (H)Arad; (I)and they went and dwelt among the people. 17 (J)And Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called (K)Hormah. 18 Also Judah took (L)Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 So the Lord was with Judah. And they drove out the mountaineers, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had (M)chariots of iron. 20 (N)And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. Then he [b]expelled from there the (O)three sons of Anak. 21 (P)But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
22 And the [c]house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, (Q)and the Lord was with them. 23 So the [d]house of Joseph (R)sent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city was formerly (S)Luz.) 24 And when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and (T)we will show you mercy.” 25 So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.
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- Judges 1:14 LXX, Vg. he urged her
- Judges 1:20 drove out from there
- Judges 1:22 family
- Judges 1:23 family
Joshua 13:13
New King James Version
13 Nevertheless the children of Israel (A)did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maachathites, but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day.
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Joshua 15:63
New King James Version
63 As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, (A)the children of Judah could not drive them out; (B)but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.
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Judges 1:19
New King James Version
19 So the Lord was with Judah. And they drove out the mountaineers, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had (A)chariots of iron.
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Judges 1:21
New King James Version
21 (A)But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
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Judges 1:27-36
New King James Version
Incomplete Conquest of the Land
27 (A)However, Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its villages, or (B)Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of (C)Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. 28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites [a]under tribute, but did not completely drive them out.
29 (D)Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
30 Nor did (E)Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and [b]were put under tribute.
31 (F)Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. 32 So the Asherites (G)dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.
33 (H)Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but they dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were put under tribute to them.
34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountains, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley; 35 and the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, (I)in Aijalon, and in [c]Shaalbim; yet when the strength of the house of Joseph became greater, they [d]were put under tribute.
36 Now the boundary of the Amorites was (J)from the Ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela, and upward.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 1:28 to forced labor
- Judges 1:30 became forced laborers
- Judges 1:35 Shaalabbin, Josh. 19:42
- Judges 1:35 became forced laborers
Judges 2:1-5
New King James Version
Israel’s Disobedience
2 Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: (A)“I led you up from Egypt and (B)brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and (C)I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. 2 And (D)you shall make no [a]covenant with the inhabitants of this land; (E)you shall tear down their altars.’ (F)But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? 3 Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be (G)thorns[b] in your side, and (H)their gods shall [c]be a (I)snare to you.’ ” 4 So it was, when the Angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept.
5 Then they called the name of that place [d]Bochim; and they sacrificed there to the Lord.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 2:2 treaty
- Judges 2:3 LXX, Tg., Vg. enemies to you
- Judges 2:3 entrap you
- Judges 2:5 Lit. Weeping
Judges 17
New King James Version
Micah’s Idolatry
17 Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was (A)Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you (B)put a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took it.”
And his mother said, (C)“May you be blessed by the Lord, my son!” 3 So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son, to (D)make a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you.” 4 Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother (E)took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a molded image; and they were in the house of Micah.
5 The man Micah had a (F)shrine, and made an (G)ephod and (H)household[a] idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 (I)In those days there was no king in Israel; (J)everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
7 Now there was a young man from (K)Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and (L)was staying there. 8 The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. 9 And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?”
So he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay.”
10 Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, (M)and be a (N)father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in. 11 Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 So Micah (O)consecrated[b] the Levite, and the young man (P)became his priest, and lived in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since I have a Levite as (Q)priest!”
Footnotes
- Judges 17:5 Heb. teraphim
- Judges 17:12 Lit. filled the hand of
Joshua 19:47
New King James Version
47 And the (A)border of the children of Dan went beyond these, because the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem and took it; and they struck it with the edge of the sword, took possession of it, and dwelt in it. They called Leshem, (B)Dan, after the name of Dan their father.
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Judges 18
New King James Version
The Danites Adopt Micah’s Idolatry
18 In (A)those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days (B)the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for itself to dwell in; for until that day their inheritance among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them. 2 So the children of Dan sent five men of their family from their territory, men of valor from (C)Zorah and Eshtaol, (D)to spy out the land and search it. They said to them, “Go, search the land.” So they went to the mountains of Ephraim, to the (E)house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 While they were at the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. They turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What do you have here?”
4 He said to them, “Thus and so Micah did for me. He has (F)hired me, and I have become his priest.”
5 So they said to him, “Please (G)inquire (H)of God, that we may know whether the journey on which we go will be prosperous.”
6 And the priest said to them, (I)“Go in peace. [a]The presence of the Lord be with you on your way.”
7 So the five men departed and went to (J)Laish. They saw the people who were there, (K)how they dwelt safely, in the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure. There were no rulers in the land who might put them to shame for anything. They were far from the (L)Sidonians, and they had no ties [b]with anyone.
8 Then the spies came back to their brethren at (M)Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren said to them, “What is your report?”
9 So they said, (N)“Arise, let us go up against them. For we have seen the land, and indeed it is very good. Would you (O)do nothing? Do not hesitate to go, and enter to possess the land. 10 When you go, you will come to a (P)secure people and a large land. For God has given it into your hands, (Q)a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”
11 And six hundred men of the family of the Danites went from there, from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war. 12 Then they went up and encamped in (R)Kirjath Jearim in Judah. (Therefore they call that place (S)Mahaneh Dan[c] to this day. There it is, west of Kirjath Jearim.) 13 And they passed from there to the mountains of Ephraim, and came to (T)the house of Micah.
14 (U)Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brethren, “Do you know that (V)there are in these houses an ephod, household idols, a carved image, and a molded image? Now therefore, consider what you should do.” 15 So they turned aside there, and came to the house of the young Levite man—to the house of Micah—and greeted him. 16 The (W)six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17 Then (X)the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up. Entering there, they took (Y)the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image. The priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were armed with weapons of war.
18 When these went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”
19 And they said to him, “Be quiet, (Z)put your hand over your mouth, and come with us; (AA)be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the household of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” 20 So the priest’s heart was glad; and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image, and took his place among the people.
21 Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones, the livestock, and the goods in front of them. 22 When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan. 23 And they called out to the children of Dan. So they turned around and said to Micah, (AB)“What ails you, that you have gathered such a company?”
24 So he said, “You have (AC)taken away my [d]gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. Now what more do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What ails you?’ ”
25 And the children of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest [e]angry men fall upon you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household!” 26 Then the children of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
Danites Settle in Laish
27 So they took the things Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged to him, and went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure; (AD)and they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28 There was no deliverer, because it was (AE)far from Sidon, and they had no ties with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs (AF)to Beth Rehob. So they rebuilt the city and dwelt there. 29 And (AG)they called the name of the city (AH)Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city formerly was Laish.
30 Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of [f]Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan (AI)until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image which he made, (AJ)all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
Footnotes
- Judges 18:6 Lit. The Lord is before the way in which you go
- Judges 18:7 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX with Syria
- Judges 18:12 Lit. Camp of Dan
- Judges 18:24 idols
- Judges 18:25 Lit. bitter of soul
- Judges 18:30 LXX, Vg. Moses
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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