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Judges 1-2
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.

11 (N)From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debir was formerly Kirjath Sepher.)

12 (O)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, (P)Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife. 14 (Q)Now it happened, when she came to him, that [c]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, (R)“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 (S)Now the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up (T)from the City of Palms with the children of Judah into the Wilderness of Judah, which lies in the South near (U)Arad; (V)and they went and dwelt among the people. 17 (W)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 (X)Hormah. 18 Also Judah took (Y)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 (Z)chariots of iron. 20 (AA)And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. Then he [d]expelled from there the (AB)three sons of Anak. 21 (AC)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 [e]house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, (AD)and the Lord was with them. 23 So the [f]house of Joseph (AE)sent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city was formerly (AF)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 (AG)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.

Incomplete Conquest of the Land

27 (AH)However, Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its villages, or (AI)Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of (AJ)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 [g]under tribute, but did not completely drive them out.

29 (AK)Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

30 Nor did (AL)Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and [h]were put under tribute.

31 (AM)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 (AN)dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.

33 (AO)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, (AP)in Aijalon, and in [i]Shaalbim; yet when the strength of the house of Joseph became greater, they [j]were put under tribute.

36 Now the boundary of the Amorites was (AQ)from the Ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela, and upward.

Israel’s Disobedience

2 Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: (AR)“I led you up from Egypt and (AS)brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and (AT)I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. 2 And (AU)you shall make no [k]covenant with the inhabitants of this land; (AV)you shall tear down their altars.’ (AW)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 (AX)thorns[l] in your side, and (AY)their gods shall [m]be a (AZ)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 [n]Bochim; and they sacrificed there to the Lord. 6 And when (BA)Joshua had dismissed the people, the children of Israel went each to his own inheritance to possess the land.

Death of Joshua(BB)

7 (BC)So 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 which He had done for Israel. 8 Now (BD)Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was one hundred and ten years old. 9 (BE)And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at (BF)Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. 10 When all that generation had [o]been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who (BG)did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.

Israel’s Unfaithfulness

11 Then the children of Israel did (BH)evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; 12 and they (BI)forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed (BJ)other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they (BK)bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They forsook the Lord (BL)and served [p]Baal and the [q]Ashtoreths. 14 (BM)And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. So He (BN)delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and (BO)He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they (BP)could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had (BQ)sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.

16 Nevertheless, (BR)the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they (BS)played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so. 18 And when the Lord raised up judges for them, (BT)the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; (BU)for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. 19 And it came to pass, (BV)when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.

20 Then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and He said, “Because this nation has (BW)transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, 21 I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua (BX)left when he died, 22 so (BY)that through them I may (BZ)test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the Lord, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not.” 23 Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out immediately; nor did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:9 Heb. Negev, and so throughout the book
  2. Judges 1:10 attacked
  3. Judges 1:14 LXX, Vg. he urged her
  4. Judges 1:20 drove out from there
  5. Judges 1:22 family
  6. Judges 1:23 family
  7. Judges 1:28 to forced labor
  8. Judges 1:30 became forced laborers
  9. Judges 1:35 Shaalabbin, Josh. 19:42
  10. Judges 1:35 became forced laborers
  11. Judges 2:2 treaty
  12. Judges 2:3 LXX, Tg., Vg. enemies to you
  13. Judges 2:3 entrap you
  14. Judges 2:5 Lit. Weeping
  15. Judges 2:10 Died and joined their ancestors
  16. Judges 2:13 A Canaanite god
  17. Judges 2:13 Canaanite goddesses
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Judges 1-2
New International Version

Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites(A)

1 After the death(B) of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first(C) to fight against the Canaanites?(D)”

2 The Lord answered, “Judah(E) shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.(F)”

3 The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, “Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.” So the Simeonites(G) went with them.

4 When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites(H) into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.(I) 5 It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek(J) and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6 Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

7 Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back(K) for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem,(L) and he died there.

8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem(M) also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.

9 After that, Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country,(N) the Negev(O) and the western foothills. 10 They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron(P) (formerly called Kiriath Arba(Q)) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.(R) 11 From there they advanced against the people living in Debir(S) (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).

12 And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.

14 One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him[a] to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”

15 She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.(T)

16 The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law,(U) the Kenite,(V) went up from the City of Palms[b](W) with the people of Judah to live among the inhabitants of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.(X)

17 Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites(Y) their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed[c] the city. Therefore it was called Hormah.[d](Z) 18 Judah also took[e] Gaza,(AA) Ashkelon(AB) and Ekron—each city with its territory.

19 The Lord was with(AC) the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country,(AD) but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron.(AE) 20 As Moses had promised, Hebron(AF) was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak.(AG) 21 The Benjamites, however, did not drive out(AH) the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem;(AI) to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.

22 Now the tribes of Joseph(AJ) attacked Bethel,(AK) and the Lord was with them. 23 When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz),(AL) 24 the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well.(AM)” 25 So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword but spared(AN) the man and his whole family. 26 He then went to the land of the Hittites,(AO) where he built a city and called it Luz,(AP) which is its name to this day.

27 But Manasseh did not(AQ) drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor(AR) or Ibleam(AS) or Megiddo(AT) and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites(AU) were determined to live in that land. 28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.(AV) 29 Nor did Ephraim(AW) drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer,(AX) but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.(AY) 30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them, but Zebulun did subject them to forced labor. 31 Nor did Asher(AZ) drive out those living in Akko or Sidon(BA) or Ahlab or Akzib(BB) or Helbah or Aphek(BC) or Rehob.(BD) 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh(BE) or Beth Anath(BF); but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. 34 The Amorites(BG) confined the Danites(BH) to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain.(BI) 35 And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres,(BJ) Aijalon(BK) and Shaalbim,(BL) but when the power of the tribes of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. 36 The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass(BM) to Sela(BN) and beyond.(BO)

The Angel of the Lord at Bokim

2 The angel of the Lord(BP) went up from Gilgal(BQ) to Bokim(BR) and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt(BS) and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors.(BT) I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,(BU) 2 and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land,(BV) but you shall break down their altars.(BW)’ Yet you have disobeyed(BX) me. Why have you done this? 3 And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you;(BY) they will become traps(BZ) for you, and their gods will become snares(CA) to you.’”

4 When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud,(CB) 5 and they called that place Bokim.[f](CC) There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

Disobedience and Defeat(CD)

6 After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. 7 The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.(CE)

8 Joshua son of Nun,(CF) the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres[g](CG) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.(CH) 11 Then the Israelites did evil(CI) in the eyes of the Lord(CJ) and served the Baals.(CK) 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods(CL) of the peoples around them.(CM) They aroused(CN) the Lord’s anger(CO) 13 because they forsook(CP) him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.(CQ) 14 In his anger(CR) against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands(CS) of raiders who plundered(CT) them. He sold them(CU) into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.(CV) 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them(CW) to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.(CX)

16 Then the Lord raised up judges,[h](CY) who saved(CZ) them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted(DA) themselves to other gods(DB) and worshiped them.(DC) They quickly turned(DD) from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands.(DE) 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved(DF) them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented(DG) because of their groaning(DH) under those who oppressed and afflicted(DI) them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt(DJ) than those of their ancestors,(DK) following other gods and serving and worshiping them.(DL) They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn(DM) ways.

20 Therefore the Lord was very angry(DN) with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant(DO) I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out(DP) before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test(DQ) Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.(DR)

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:14 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate Othniel, he urged her
  2. Judges 1:16 That is, Jericho
  3. Judges 1:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  4. Judges 1:17 Hormah means destruction.
  5. Judges 1:18 Hebrew; Septuagint Judah did not take
  6. Judges 2:5 Bokim means weepers.
  7. Judges 2:9 Also known as Timnath Serah (see Joshua 19:50 and 24:30)
  8. Judges 2:16 Or leaders; similarly in verses 17-19
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