Judges 1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Israel’s Failure to Complete the Conquest of Canaan
1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the Lord, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”(A) 2 The Lord said, “Judah shall go up. I hereby give the land into his hand.” 3 Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; then I, too, will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him.(B) 4 Then Judah went up, and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated ten thousand of them at Bezek.(C) 5 They came upon Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has paid me back.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8 Then the people of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it. They put it to the sword and set the city on fire.(D) 9 Afterward the people of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10 Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.(E)
11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir (the name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher). 12 Then Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and takes it, I will give him my daughter Achsah as wife.” 13 And Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it, and he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.(F) 14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?”(G) 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing; since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also Gulloth-mayim.”[a] So Caleb gave her Upper Gulloth and Lower Gulloth.
16 The descendants of Hobab[b] the Kenite, Moses’s father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad. Then they went and settled with the Amalekites.[c](H) 17 Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the city was called Hormah.(I) 18 Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 The Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country but could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain, because they had chariots of iron.(J) 20 Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said, and he drove out from it the three sons of Anak.(K) 21 But the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived in Jerusalem among the Benjaminites to this day.(L)
22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 The house of Joseph sent out spies to Bethel (the name of the city was formerly Luz).(M) 24 When the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 So he showed them the way into the city, and they put the city to the sword, but they let the man and all his family go.(N) 26 So the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and named it Luz; that is its name to this day.
27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of[d] Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, but the Canaanites continued to live in that land.(O) 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor but did not in fact drive them out.
29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, but the Canaanites lived among them in Gezer.(P)
30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol, but the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.
31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Mahalab,[e] or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob,(Q) 32 but the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.
33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth-anath but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.
34 The Amorites pressed the Danites back into the hill country; they did not allow them to come down to the plain.(R) 35 The Amorites continued to live in Har-heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 The border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.(S)
Judges 1
Christian Standard Bible
Judah’s Leadership against the Canaanites
1 After the death of Joshua,(A) the Israelites inquired of the Lord,(B) “Who will be the first to fight for us against the Canaanites?”
2 The Lord answered, “Judah(C) is to go.(D) I have handed the land over to him.”(E)
3 Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Come with me to my allotted territory, and let’s fight against the Canaanites. I will also go with you to your allotted territory.” So Simeon went with him.
4 When Judah attacked, the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites(F) over to them. They struck down ten thousand men in Bezek.(G) 5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, fought against him, and struck down the Canaanites and Perizzites.
6 When Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.(H) 7 Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps[a] under my table. God has repaid me for what I have done.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8 The men of Judah fought against Jerusalem, captured it, put it to the sword, and set the city on fire. 9 Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the Judean foothills.[b] 10 Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron(I) (Hebron was formerly named Kiriath-arba(J)). They struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.(K) 11 From there they marched against the residents of Debir(L) (Debir was formerly named Kiriath-sepher).
12 Caleb(M) said, “Whoever attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher, I will give my daughter Achsah(N) to him as a wife.” 13 So Othniel(O) son of Kenaz, Caleb’s youngest brother, captured it, and Caleb gave his daughter Achsah to him as his wife.
14 When she arrived, she persuaded Othniel to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?” 15 She answered him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me land in the Negev,(P) give me springs also.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.(Q)
16 The descendants of the Kenite, Moses’s father-in-law,(R) had gone up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms[c](S) to the Wilderness of Judah, which was in the Negev of Arad.(T) They went to live among the people.
17 Judah went with his brother Simeon, struck the Canaanites who were living in Zephath, and completely destroyed the town. So they named the town Hormah.(U) 18 Judah captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory. 19 The Lord was with(V) Judah and enabled them to take possession of the hill country, but they could not drive out(W) the people who were living in the plain because those people had iron chariots.(X)
20 Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had promised.(Y) Then Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak(Z) who lived there.
Benjamin’s Failure
21 At the same time the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites have lived among the Benjaminites in Jerusalem to this day.(AA)
Success of the House of Joseph
22 The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the Lord was with(AB) them. 23 They sent spies to Bethel (the town was formerly named Luz(AC)). 24 The spies saw a man coming out of the town and said to him, “Please show us how to get into town, and we will show you kindness.”(AD) 25 When he showed them the way into the town, they put the town to the sword but released the man and his entire family. 26 Then the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a town, and named it Luz. That is its name still today.
Failure of the Other Tribes
27 At that time Manasseh failed to take possession of Beth-shean(AE) and Taanach(AF) and their surrounding villages, or the residents of Dor,(AG) Ibleam,(AH) and Megiddo(AI) and their surrounding villages; the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land.(AJ) 28 When Israel became stronger, they made the Canaanites serve as forced labor but never drove them out completely.(AK)
29 At that time Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived among them in Gezer.(AL)
30 Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron or the residents of Nahalol,(AM) so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced labor.
31 Asher failed to drive out the residents of Acco or of Sidon, or Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, because they failed to drive them out.
33 Naphtali did not drive out the residents of Beth-shemesh or the residents of Beth-anath. They lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, but the residents of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served as their forced labor.
34 The Amorites(AN) forced the Danites into the hill country and did not allow them to go down into the valley. 35 The Amorites were determined to stay in Har-heres, Aijalon,(AO) and Shaalbim. When the house of Joseph got the upper hand, the Amorites were made to serve as forced labor. 36 The territory of the Amorites extended from the Scorpions’ Ascent,(AP) that is from Sela(AQ) upward.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.