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Judges 1
New English Translation

Judah Takes the Lead

1 After Joshua died, the Israelites asked[a] the Lord, “Who should lead the invasion against the Canaanites and launch the attack?”[b] 2 The Lord said, “The men of Judah should take the lead.[c] Be sure of this! I am handing the land over to them.”[d] 3 The men of Judah said to their relatives, the men of Simeon,[e] “Invade our allotted land with us and help us attack the Canaanites.[f] Then we[g] will go with you into your allotted land.” So the men of Simeon went with them.

4 The men of Judah attacked,[h] and the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They killed 10,000 men at Bezek. 5 They met[i] Adoni-Bezek at Bezek and fought him. They defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6 When Adoni-Bezek ran away, they chased him and captured him. Then they cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up[j] food scraps[k] under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them.”[l] They brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. 8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They put the sword to it and set the city on fire.

9 Later the men of Judah went down to attack the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev,[m] and the foothills.[n] 10 The men of Judah attacked the Canaanites living in Hebron. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba.) They killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. 11 From there they attacked the people of Debir.[o] (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) 12 Caleb said, “To the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher I will give my daughter Achsah as a wife.” 13 When Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother,[p] captured it, Caleb[q] gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife.

14 One time Achsah[r] came and charmed her father[s] so she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What would you like?” 15 She answered, “Please give me a special present.[t] Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.[u]

16 Now the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of date palm trees[v] to Arad in the wilderness of Judah,[w] located in the Negev.[x] They went and lived with the people of Judah.[y]

17 The men of Judah went with their brothers the men of Simeon[z] and defeated the Canaanites living in Zephath. They wiped out Zephath.[aa] So people now call the city Hormah.[ab] 18 The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the territory surrounding each of these cities.[ac]

19 The Lord was with the men of Judah. They conquered[ad] the hill country, but they could not[ae] conquer the people living in the coastal plain, because they had chariots with iron-rimmed wheels.[af] 20 Caleb received[ag] Hebron, just as Moses had promised. He drove out the three Anakites. 21 The men of Benjamin, however, did not conquer the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites live with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this very day.[ah]

Partial Success

22 When the men[ai] of Joseph attacked[aj] Bethel, the Lord was with them. 23 When the men of Joseph spied out Bethel (it used to be called Luz), 24 the spies spotted[ak] a man leaving the city. They said to him, “If you show us a secret entrance into the city, we will reward you.” 25 He showed them a secret entrance into the city, and they put the city to the sword. But they let the man and his extended family leave safely. 26 He[al] moved to Hittite country and built a city. He named it Luz, and it has kept that name to this very day.

27 The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shean, Taanach, or their surrounding towns. Nor did they conquer the people living in Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo or their surrounding towns.[am] The Canaanites managed[an] to remain in those areas.[ao] 28 Whenever Israel was strong militarily, they forced the Canaanites to do hard labor, but they never totally conquered them.

29 The men of Ephraim did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites lived among them in Gezer.

30 The men of Zebulun did not conquer the people living in Kitron and Nahalol.[ap] The Canaanites lived among them and were forced to do hard labor.

31 The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco or Sidon, nor did they conquer Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob.[aq] 32 The people of Asher live among the Canaanites residing in the land because they did not conquer them.

33 The men of Naphtali did not conquer the people living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath.[ar] They live among the Canaanites residing in the land. The Canaanites[as] living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced to do hard labor for them.

34 The Amorites forced the people of Dan to live in the hill country. They did not allow them to live in[at] the coastal plain. 35 The Amorites managed[au] to remain in Har Heres,[av] Aijalon, and Shaalbim. Whenever the tribe of Joseph was strong militarily,[aw] the Amorites were forced to do hard labor. 36 The border of Amorite territory ran from the Scorpion Ascent[ax] to Sela and on up.[ay]

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:1 tn The Hebrew verb translated “asked” (שָׁאַל, shaʾal) refers here to consulting the Lord through a prophetic oracle; cf. NAB “consulted.”
  2. Judges 1:1 tn Heb “Who should first go up for us against the Canaanites to attack them?”
  3. Judges 1:2 tn Heb “Judah should go up.”
  4. Judges 1:2 tn The Hebrew exclamation הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally, “Behold”), translated “Be sure of this,” draws attention to the following statement. The verb form in the following statement (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”
  5. Judges 1:3 tn Heb “Judah said to Simeon, his brother.”
  6. Judges 1:3 tn Heb “Come up with me into our allotted land and let us attack the Canaanites.”
  7. Judges 1:3 tn Heb “I.” The Hebrew pronoun is singular, agreeing with the collective singular “Judah” earlier in the verse. English style requires a plural pronoun here, however.
  8. Judges 1:4 tn Heb “Judah went up.”
  9. Judges 1:5 tn Or “found.”
  10. Judges 1:7 tn Elsewhere this verb usually carries the sense of “to gather; to pick up; to glean,” but “lick up” seems best here in light of the peculiar circumstances described by Adoni-Bezek.
  11. Judges 1:7 tn The words “food scraps” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
  12. Judges 1:7 tn Heb “Just as I did, so God has repaid me.” Note that the phrase “to them” has been supplied in the translation to clarify what is meant.
  13. Judges 1:9 sn The Negev is the area of central, southern Judah, south of the hill country and Beer Sheba and west of the rift valley.
  14. Judges 1:9 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
  15. Judges 1:11 tn Heb “they went from there against the inhabitants of Debir.” The LXX reads the verb as “they went up,” which suggests that the Hebrew text translated by the LXX read וַיַּעַל (vayyaʿal) rather than the MT’s וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh). It is possible that this is the text to be preferred in v. 11. Cf. Josh 15:15.
  16. Judges 1:13 tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel was Caleb’s nephew; so CEV).
  17. Judges 1:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Caleb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  18. Judges 1:14 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Achsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  19. Judges 1:14 tn Heb “him.” The pronoun could refer to Othniel, in which case one would translate, “she incited him [Othniel] to ask her father for a field.” This is problematic, however, for Achsah, not Othniel, makes the request in v. 15. The LXX has “he [Othniel] urged her to ask her father for a field.” This appears to be an attempt to reconcile the apparent inconsistency and probably does not reflect the original text. If Caleb is understood as the referent of the pronoun, the problem disappears. For a fuller discussion of the issue, see P. G. Mosca, “Who Seduced Whom? A Note on Joshua 15:18 // Judges 1:14, ” CBQ 46 (1984): 18-22. The translation takes Caleb to be the referent, specified as “her father.”
  20. Judges 1:15 tn Elsewhere the Hebrew word בְרָכָה (verakhah) is often translated “blessing,” but here it refers to a gift (as in Gen 33:11; 1 Sam 25:27; 30:26; 2 Kgs 5:15).
  21. Judges 1:15 tn Some translations regard the expressions “springs of water” (גֻּלֹּת מָיִם, gullot mayim) and “springs” (גֻּלֹּת) as place names here (cf. NRSV).
  22. Judges 1:16 sn The city of date palm trees refers to Jericho. See Deut 34:3.
  23. Judges 1:16 tc Part of the Greek ms tradition lacks the words “of Judah.”
  24. Judges 1:16 tn Heb “[to] the wilderness of Judah in the Negev, Arad.”
  25. Judges 1:16 tn The phrase “of Judah” is supplied here in the translation. Some ancient textual witnesses read, “They went and lived with the Amalekites.” This reading, however, is probably influenced by 1 Sam 15:6 (see also Num 24:20-21).
  26. Judges 1:17 tn Heb “Judah went with Simeon, his brother.”
  27. Judges 1:17 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Zephath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  28. Judges 1:17 sn The name Hormah (חָרְמָה, khormah) sounds like the Hebrew verb translated “wipe out” (חָרַם, kharam).
  29. Judges 1:18 tn Heb “The men of Judah captured Gaza and its surrounding territory, Ashkelon and its surrounding territory, and Ekron and its surrounding territory.”
  30. Judges 1:19 tn Or “seized possession of”; or “occupied.”
  31. Judges 1:19 tc Several textual witnesses support the inclusion of this verb.
  32. Judges 1:19 tn Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels,” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255, and the article by R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.
  33. Judges 1:20 tn Heb “they gave to Caleb.”
  34. Judges 1:21 sn The statement to this very day reflects the perspective of the author, who must have written prior to David’s conquest of the Jebusites (see 2 Sam 5:6-7).
  35. Judges 1:22 tn Heb “house.” This is a metonymy for the warriors from the tribe.
  36. Judges 1:22 tn Heb “went up.”
  37. Judges 1:24 tn Heb “saw.”
  38. Judges 1:26 tn Heb “the man.”
  39. Judges 1:27 tn Heb “The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shean and its surrounding towns, Taanach and its surrounding towns, the people living in Dor and its surrounding towns, the people living in Ibleam and its surrounding towns, or the people living in Megiddo and its surrounding towns.”
  40. Judges 1:27 tn Or “were determined.”
  41. Judges 1:27 tn Heb “in this land.”
  42. Judges 1:30 tn Heb “the people living in Kitron and the people living in Nahalol.”
  43. Judges 1:31 tn Heb “The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco, the people living in Sidon, Ahlab, Acco, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob.”
  44. Judges 1:33 tn Heb “the people living in Beth Shemesh or the people living in Beth Anath.”
  45. Judges 1:33 tn The term “Canaanites” is supplied here both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  46. Judges 1:34 tn Heb “come down into.”
  47. Judges 1:35 tn Or “were determined.”
  48. Judges 1:35 tn Or “Mount Heres”; the term הַר (har) means “mount” or “mountain” in Hebrew.
  49. Judges 1:35 tn Heb “Whenever the hand of the tribe of Joseph was heavy.”
  50. Judges 1:36 tn Or “the Ascent of Scorpions” (עַקְרַבִּים [ʿaqrabbim] means “scorpions” in Hebrew).
  51. Judges 1:36 tn Or “Amorite territory started at the Pass of the Scorpions at Sela and then went on up.”
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士师记 1
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)

犹大支派攻打迦南人

1 约书亚去世以后，以色列人求问耶和华：“我们哪一个支派先上去攻打迦南人呢？” 2 耶和华说：“犹大支派先去，我已把那片土地交在他们手中了。” 3 犹大人对西缅人说：“请跟我们一同到我们分得的地方攻打迦南人，我们也会同样帮助你们。”于是，西缅人便与犹大人同去。 4 犹大人攻打迦南人和比利洗人，耶和华使他们得胜，在比色杀了一万敌军。 5 他们又在那里遇见亚多尼·比色，与他交战，打败了他带领的迦南人和比利洗人。 6 亚多尼·比色逃跑，他们追上去擒住他，砍掉他的大拇指和大脚趾。 7 亚多尼·比色说：“从前七十个王的大拇指和大脚趾被我砍掉，在我桌下捡食物碎屑，现在上帝照我的行为报应我了。”他们把他带到耶路撒冷，他死在了那里。

8 犹大人攻陷耶路撒冷，杀了城内的所有居民，并放火焚城。 9 随后，他们下去攻打住在山区、南地和丘陵的迦南人， 10 又进攻住在希伯仑的迦南人，杀了示筛、亚希幔和挞买。希伯仑从前叫基列·亚巴。

11 他们从那里出兵攻打底璧，那里从前叫基列·西弗。 12 迦勒说：“谁攻取基列·西弗，我就把女儿押撒嫁给他。” 13 迦勒的兄弟基纳斯的儿子俄陀聂攻取了那城，迦勒便把女儿押撒嫁给他。 14 押撒出嫁的时候，劝丈夫向她父亲要一块田。她刚下驴，迦勒便问她：“你想要什么？” 15 她回答说：“求你恩待我，你既然把南部的干地赐给我，求你也把水泉给我吧。”于是，迦勒把上泉和下泉都给了她。

16 摩西岳父的后代基尼人和犹大人一同离开棕树城[a]，到犹大南部旷野的亚拉得附近，跟当地人一起居住。 17 之后，犹大人随西缅人一起攻打洗法城内的迦南人，彻底毁灭了那城。因此那城叫何珥玛[b]。 18 犹大人又夺取了迦萨、亚实基伦和以革伦三座城邑及周围地区。 19 耶和华与犹大人同在。他们攻占了山区，却没能赶走平原的居民，因为那里的人有铁战车。 20 照摩西的吩咐，迦勒得到了希伯仑。他把亚衲三族的人从那里赶走。 21 便雅悯人没有赶走居住在耶路撒冷的耶布斯人，耶布斯人至今仍和他们住在一起。

22 约瑟家族也上去攻打伯特利，耶和华与他们同在。 23 他们先派人去打探伯特利，那里从前名叫路斯。 24 探子看见一个人从城里出来，就对他说：“请你告诉我们进城的路，我们必善待你。” 25 那人便告诉他们进城的路，他们杀了城内所有的居民，只放走了那人及其全家。 26 后来，那人搬到赫人的地方，筑了一座城，称之为路斯，沿用至今。

27 玛拿西人没有赶走伯·善、他纳、多珥、以伯莲和米吉多众城邑及周围村庄的居民，因为这些迦南人执意住在那里。 28 以色列人强盛时，就强迫他们服劳役，却没有全部赶走他们。

29 以法莲人没有赶走住在基色的迦南人，这些迦南人仍然住在他们当中。

30 西布伦人没有赶走基伦和拿哈拉的居民，这些迦南人仍然住在他们当中，为他们服劳役。

31 亚设人没有赶走亚柯、西顿、亚黑拉、亚革悉、黑巴、亚弗革和利合的居民， 32 于是亚设人住在这些迦南人当中。

33 拿弗他利人没有赶走伯·示麦和伯·亚纳的居民，于是就住在这些迦南人当中，强迫他们服劳役。

34 亚摩利人强迫但人住在山区，不准他们下到平原。 35 亚摩利人执意住在希烈山、亚雅伦和沙宾，但约瑟家族强盛时，就强迫他们服劳役。 36 亚摩利人的边界从亚克拉滨山坡起，一直到西拉以北。

Footnotes

  1. 1:16 “棕树城”即“耶利哥”。
  2. 1:17 “何珥玛”意思是“覆灭之城”。
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Book name not found: Judges for the version: 1881 Westcott-Hort New Testament.
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