Judges 1-2 (21st Century King James Version)

Judges 1

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

   
 ²And the LORD said, "Judah shall go up. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hand."

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

   
 ⁴And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.

   
 ⁵And they found Adonibezek in Bezek; and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

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

   
 ⁷And Adonibezek said, "Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table. As I have done, so God hath requited me." And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

   
 ⁸Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it and smitten it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

   
 ⁹And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountain and in the South and in the valley.

   
 ¹⁰And Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba), and they slew Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

   
 ¹¹And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir (and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher).

   
 ¹²And Caleb said, "He that smiteth Kirjathsepher and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter for a wife."

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

   
 ¹⁴And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field; and she alighted from her ass, and Caleb said unto her, "What wilt thou?"

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

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

   
 ¹⁷And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.

   
 ¹⁸Also Judah took Gaza with the regions thereof, and Ashkelon with the regions thereof, and Ekron with the region thereof.

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

   
 ²⁰And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said; and he expelled from thence the three sons of Anak.

   
 ²¹And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem, but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.

   
 ²²And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel; and the LORD was with them.

   
 ²³And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)

   
 ²⁴And the spies saw a man come 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 mercy."

   
 ²⁵And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.

   
 ²⁶And the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz, which is the name thereof unto this day.

   
 ²⁷Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

   
 ²⁸And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.

   
 ²⁹Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer, but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

   
 ³⁰Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron nor the inhabitants of Nahalol, but the Canaanites dwelt among them and became tributaries.

   
 ³¹Neither did Asher 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;

   
 ³²but the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

   
 ³³Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh nor the inhabitants of Bethanath, but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.

   
 ³⁴And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain, for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley.

   
 ³⁵But 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 tributaries.

   
 ³⁶And the border of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock and upward.

   

Judges 2

 ¹And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, "I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I swore unto your fathers; and I said, `I will never break My covenant with you.

   
 ²And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars.' But ye have not obeyed My voice. Why have ye done this?

   
 ³Therefore I also said, `I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.'"

   
 ⁴And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spoke these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice and wept.

   
 ⁵And they called the name of that place Bochim [that is, Weepers], and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.

   
 ⁶And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

   
 ⁷And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD that He did for Israel.

   
 ⁸And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being a hundred and ten years old.

   
 ⁹And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

   
 ¹⁰And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers, and there arose another generation after them who knew not the LORD nor yet the works which He had done for Israel.

   
 ¹¹And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baalim.

   
 ¹²And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, the gods of the people who were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

   
 ¹³And they forsook the LORD and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

   
 ¹⁴And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He delivered them into the hands of despoilers who despoiled them, and He sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

   
 ¹⁵Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them; and they were greatly distressed.

   
 ¹⁶Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, who delivered them out of the hand of those who despoiled them.

   
 ¹⁷And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them. They turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so.

   
 ¹⁸And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to repent because of their groanings by reason of those who oppressed them and vexed them.

   
 ¹⁹And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned and corrupted themselves more than their fathers in following other gods, to serve them and to bow down unto them. They ceased not from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.

   
 ²⁰And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He said, "Because this people hath transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto My voice,

   
 ²¹I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died,

   
 ²²that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not."

   
 ²³Therefore the LORD left those nations without driving them out hastily, neither delivered He them into the hand of Joshua.