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Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites
After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?”
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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 went with them.
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It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites.
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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 for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
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From there they advanced against the people living in Debir (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).
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Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed the city. Therefore it was called Hormah.
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The Benjamites, however, did not drive out the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.
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Now the tribes of Joseph attacked Bethel, and the Lord was with them.
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He then went to the land of the Hittites, where he built a city and called it Luz, which is its name to this day.
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But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land.
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When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.
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Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.
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Nor did Asher drive out those living in Akko or Sidon or Ahlab or Akzib or Helbah or Aphek or Rehob.
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The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out.
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The Amorites confined the Danites to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain.
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and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’ Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?
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And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snares to you.’”
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When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud,
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and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.
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Disobedience and Defeat
After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance.
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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.
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And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
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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.
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Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals.
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They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger
