Judges 1
Contemporary English Version
The Tribes of Judah and Simeon Fight the Canaanites
1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Which of our tribes should attack the Canaanites first?”
2 “Judah!” the Lord answered. “I'll help them take the land.”
3 The people of Judah went to their relatives, the Simeon tribe, and said, “Canaanites live in the land God gave us. Help us fight them, and we will help you.”
Troops from Simeon came to help Judah. 4-5 Together they attacked an army of 10,000 Canaanites and Perizzites at Bezek, and the Lord helped Judah defeat them. During the battle, Judah's army found out where the king of Bezek[a] was, and they attacked there. 6 The king tried to escape, but soldiers from Judah caught him. They cut off his thumbs and big toes, 7 and he said, “I've cut off the thumbs and big toes of 70 kings and made those kings crawl around under my table for scraps of food. Now God is paying me back.”
The army of Judah took the king of Bezek along with them to Jerusalem, where he died. 8 They attacked Jerusalem,[b] captured it, killed everyone who lived there, and then burned it to the ground.
9 Judah's army fought the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, the Southern Desert, and the foothills to the west. 10 After that, they attacked the Canaanites who lived at Hebron, defeating the three clans called[c] Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. At that time, Hebron was called Kiriath-Arba.
11 From Hebron, Judah's army went to attack Debir, which at that time was called Kiriath-Sepher. 12 Caleb[d] told his troops, “The man who captures Kiriath-Sepher can marry my daughter Achsah.”
13 Caleb's nephew Othniel captured Kiriath-Sepher, so Caleb let him marry Achsah. Othniel was the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz.[e] 14 Right after the wedding, Achsah started telling Othniel that he[f] ought to ask her father for a field. She went to see her father, and while she was getting down from[g] her donkey, Caleb asked, “What's bothering you?”
15 She answered, “I need your help. The land you gave me is in the Southern Desert, so please give me some spring-fed ponds for a water supply.”
Caleb gave her a couple of small ponds named Higher Pond and Lower Pond.[h]
16 The people who belonged to the Kenite clan were the descendants of the father-in-law of Moses. They left Jericho[i] with the people of Judah and settled near Arad in the Southern Desert of Judah not far from the Amalekites.[j]
17 Judah's army helped Simeon's army attack the Canaanites who lived at Zephath. They completely destroyed[k] the town and renamed it Hormah.[l]
18-19 The Lord helped the army of Judah capture Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the land near those towns. They also took the hill country. But the people who lived in the valleys had iron chariots, so Judah was not able to make them leave or to take their land.
20 (A) The tribe of Judah gave the town of Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had told them to do. Caleb defeated the three Anakim[m] clans[n] and took over the town.
The Benjamin Tribe Does Not Capture Jerusalem
21 (B) The Jebusites were living in Jerusalem, and the Benjamin tribe did not defeat them or capture the town. That's why Jebusites still live in Jerusalem along with the people of Benjamin.
The Ephraim and Manasseh Tribes Capture Bethel
22-23 The Ephraim and Manasseh tribes[o] were getting ready to attack Bethel, which at that time was called Luz. And the Lord helped them when they sent spies to find out as much as they could about Bethel. 24 While the spies were watching the town, a man came out, and they told him, “If you show us how our army can get into the town,[p] we will make sure that you aren't harmed.” 25 The man showed them, and the two Israelite tribes attacked Bethel, killing everyone except the man and his family. The two tribes made the man and his family leave, 26 so they went to the land of the Hittites,[q] where he built a town. He named the town Luz, and that is still its name.
Israel Does Not Get Rid of All the Canaanites
27-28 (C) Canaanites lived in the towns of Beth-Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and all the villages nearby. The Canaanites were determined to stay, and the Manasseh tribe never did get rid of them. But later on, when the Israelites grew more powerful, they made slaves of the Canaanites.
29 (D) The Ephraim tribe did not get rid of the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived there with Israelites all around them.
30 The Zebulun tribe did not get rid of the Canaanites who lived in Kitron and Nahalol, and the Canaanites stayed there with Israelites around them. But the people of Zebulun did force the Canaanites into slave labor.
31-32 The Asher tribe did not get rid of the Canaanites who lived in Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob, and the Asher tribe lived with Canaanites all around them.
33 The Naphtali tribe did not get rid of the Canaanites who lived in Beth-Shemesh and Beth-Anath, but they did force the Canaanites into slave labor. The Naphtali tribe lived with Canaanites around them.
34 The Amorites[r] were strong enough to keep the tribe of Dan from settling in the valleys, so Dan had to stay in the hill country.
35 The Amorites on Mount Heres and in Aijalon and Shaalbim were also determined to stay. Later on, as Ephraim and Manasseh grew more powerful, they forced those Amorites into slave labor.
The Amorite-Edomite Border
36 The old Amorite-Edomite border used to go from Sela through Scorpion Pass[s] into the hill country.[t]
Footnotes
- 1.4,5 king of Bezek: Or “Adoni-Bezek.”
- 1.8 Jerusalem: This probably refers to towns and villages belonging to Jerusalem but lying in Judah's territory south of the city wall. Jerusalem itself was just inside Benjamin's territory, but was not captured by Israel at this time (see verse 21; Joshua 15.5-9; 18.15-18).
- 1.10 clans called: Or “warriors.”
- 1.12 Caleb: One of the leaders of Judah; see Joshua 14.6-14 and Numbers 13.6,30; 14.6,10, 20-24. For verses 12-15, see Joshua 15.13-19.
- 1.13 Othniel was the son of … Kenaz: Or “Othniel and Caleb both belonged to the Kenaz clan, but Othniel was younger than Caleb.”
- 1.14 Achsah … Othniel … he: Hebrew; two ancient translations “Othniel … Achsah … she.”
- 1.14 getting down from: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 1.15 spring-fed ponds … small ponds … Higher Pond and Lower Pond: Or “wells … wells … Higher Well and Lower Well.”
- 1.16 Jericho: The Hebrew text has “Town of Palm Trees,” another name for Jericho.
- 1.16 not far … Amalekites: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 1.17 completely destroyed: The Hebrew word means that the town was given completely to the Lord, and since it could not be used for normal purposes anymore, it had to be destroyed.
- 1.17 Hormah: In Hebrew “Hormah” sounds like “completely destroyed.”
- 1.20 Anakim: Perhaps a group of very tall people that lived in Palestine before the Israelites (see Numbers 13.33 and Deuteronomy 2.10,11, 20,21).
- 1.20 clans: See the note at 1.10.
- 1.22,23 The Ephraim and Manasseh tribes: The Hebrew text has “The Joseph family,” which was divided into these two tribes named after Joseph's sons.
- 1.24 If you … town: Sometimes there were small doors in the town wall that could be opened from the inside even when the main town gates were shut and locked.
- 1.26 land of the Hittites: The Hittites had an empire centered in what is now Turkey. At one time their empire reached south into Syria, north of Israel.
- 1.34 Amorites: Used in the general sense of nations that lived in Canaan before the Israelites.
- 1.36 Scorpion Pass: Or “Akrabbim Pass.”
- 1.36 country: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 36.
Judges 1
Jubilee Bible 2000
1 ¶ Now after the death of Joshua, it came to pass that the sons of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first to fight against them?
2 And the LORD said, Judah shall go up; behold, I have delivered the land into his hands.
3 And Judah said unto Simeon, his brother, Come up with me into my lot that we may fight against the Canaanite; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.
4 And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanite and the Perizzite into their hands, and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.
5 And they found Adonibezek in Bezek, and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanite and the Perizzite.
6 But Adonibezek fled, and they pursued after him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
7 And Adonibezek said, Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered crumbs under my table; as I have done, so God has recompensed me. And they put him into Jerusalem, and there he died.
8 Now the sons 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.
9 ¶ And afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanite that dwelt in the mountains and in the Negev and in the plains.
10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba), and they slew Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
11 And from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir (and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher).
12 And Caleb said, He that smites Kirjathsepher and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.
13 And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
14 And it came to pass when he took her that he persuaded her to ask her father for land to cultivate. And she lighted from off her ass, and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?
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 lower springs.
16 And the sons of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the sons of Judah into the wilderness of Judah which is towards the Negev of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.
17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanite that inhabited Zephath and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.
18 Also Judah took Gaza with its border and Askelon with its border and Ekron with its border.
19 And the LORD was with Judah, who drove out the inhabitants of the mountains, but could not drive out the inhabitants of the plains, because they had chariots of iron.
20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb as Moses had said, and he expelled from there the three sons of Anak.
21 ¶ And the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; thus the Jebusites dwell with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
22 And also those of the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them.
23 And those of the house of Joseph put spies in Bethel (Now the name of the city before was Luz).
24 And 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.
25 And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man go and all his family.
26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and called the name of it Luz, which is its name unto this day.
27 Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and its towns nor Taanach and its towns nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanite desired to dwell in that land.
28 And it came to pass when Israel was strong that they put the Canaanites under tribute but did not utterly drive them out.
29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanite that dwelt in Gezer, but the Canaanite dwelt in Gezer among them.
30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron nor the inhabitants of Nahalol, but the Canaanite dwelt among them and became tributaries.
31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho nor the inhabitants of Zidon nor of Ahlab nor of Achzib nor of Helbah nor of Aphik nor of Rehob;
32 to the contrary Asher dwelt among the Canaanites that inhabited the land, for they did not drive them out.
33 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh nor the inhabitants of Bethanath, but he dwelt among the Canaanites that inhabited the land; nevertheless, the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.
34 And the Amorites forced the sons of Dan into the mountain, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley.
35 And the Amorites desired to dwell in Mount Heres in Aijalon and in Shaalbim; yet when the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, they made them tributaries.
36 And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent to Akrabbim from the rock and upward.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International