Judges 1:1-18
Holman 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 territory, and let us fight against the Canaanites. I will also go with you to your territory.” So Simeon went with him.
4 When Judah attacked, the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites(F) over to them. They struck down 10,000 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, seized 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 and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it 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 strikes down 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[c] to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her,[d] “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 of water also.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.[e](Q)
16 The descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law,(R) had gone up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms[f](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.[g]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 1:7 Lit toes are gathering
- Judges 1:9 Or the Shephelah
- Judges 1:14 LXX reads arrived, he pressured her
- Judges 1:14 LXX reads . . . field. She grumbled while on the donkey, and she cried out from the donkey, “Into the southland you sent me out,” and Caleb said
- Judges 1:15 LXX reads give me redemption of water, and Caleb gave her according to her heart the redemption of the upper and the redemption of the lower
- Judges 1:16 = Jericho; Dt 34:3; Jdg 3:13; 2Ch 28:15
- Judges 1:18 LXX reads Judah did not inherit Gaza and its borders nor Ashkelon and its borders nor Ekron and its borders nor Azotus and its surrounding lands
Judges 1:1-18
Common English Bible
The tribes and their military conflicts
1 After Joshua’s death, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who should go up first to fight for us against the Canaanites?”
2 The Lord said, “The tribe of Judah will go up. I’ve handed over the land to them.”
3 So the tribe of Judah said to the tribe of Simeon, their brothers, “Come up with us into our territory, and let’s fight against the Canaanites. Then we’ll go with you into your territory too.” So Simeon went with them.
4 When Judah went up, the Lord handed them the Canaanites and Perizzites. They defeated ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 There they found Adoni-bezek at Bezek, fought against him, and defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled, but they chased after him, captured him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 He said, “Seventy kings with severed thumbs and big toes used to pick up scraps under my table, so God has paid me back exactly for what I did.” They brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. 8 The people of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They killed its people with their swords and set the city on fire.
9 Afterward, the people of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the highlands, the southern plain,[a] and the western foothills.[b] 10 Judah moved against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron, known before as Kiriath-arba, and they defeated Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. 11 From there they moved against those who lived in Debir, known before as Kiriath-sepher. 12 Caleb said, “I’ll give my daughter Achsah as a wife to the one who defeats and captures Kiriath-sepher.” 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it; so Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. 14 When she arrived, she convinced Othniel to ask her father for a certain piece of land. As she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What do you want?”
15 Achsah said to Caleb, “Give me a gift. Since you’ve given me land in the southern plain, give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
16 The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law the Kenite went up with the people of Judah from Palm City into the Judean desert, which was in the southern plain near Arad. They went and lived with the Amalekites.[c] 17 Then the Judahites went with the Simeonites, their brothers, and they defeated the Canaanites who lived in Zephath, and they completely destroyed it. So the city was called Hormah.[d] 18 Judah also captured Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and all their territories.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 1:9 Heb negeb
- Judges 1:9 Heb shephelah
- Judges 1:16 LXX (cf 1 Sam 15:6); MT people
- Judges 1:17 Or destruction
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