Beginning
The Book of Judges
1 After Joshua was dead, Judah was constituted captain. 6 Adoni-Bezek is taken. 14 The request of Achsah. 16 The children of Keni. 23 The Canaanites are made tributaries, but not destroyed.
1 After that Joshua was dead, the children of Israel [a]asked the Lord, saying, [b]Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites to fight first against them?
2 And the Lord said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have given the land into his hand.
3 And Judah said unto Simeon his [c]brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites: and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot: so Simeon went with him.
4 Then Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.
5 And they found [d]Adoni-Bezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and slew the Canaanites, and the Perizzites.
6 But Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued after him, and caught him, and [e]cut off the thumbs of his hands and of his feet.
7 And Adoni-Bezek said, Seventy Kings having the thumbs of their hands and of their feet cut off, gathered bread under my table: as I have done, so God hath rewarded me, so they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
8 (Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and hath taken it and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and had set the [f]city on fire.)
9 ¶ Afterward also the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and toward the South, and in the low country.
10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron, which Hebron beforetime was called (A)Kirjath Arba: and they slew [g]Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
11 And from thence he went to the inhabitants of Debir, and the name of Debir in old time was Kirjath Sepher.
12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath Sepher, and taketh it, even to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.
13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz Caleb’s younger brother took it, to whom he gave Achsah his daughter to wife.
14 And when she came to him, she moved him to ask of her father a field, [h]and she lighted off her ass, and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?
15 And she answered him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a South country, give me also Springs of water: and Caleb gave her the springs above, and the springs beneath.
16 ¶ And the children of [i]Keni Moses’ father-in-law went up out of the city of the palm trees with the children of Judah, into the wilderness of Judah, that lieth in the South of Arad, and went and dwelt among the people.
17 But Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it, and called the name of the city (B)Hormah.
18 Also Judah took [j]Gaza with the coasts thereof, and Ashkelon with the coasts thereof, and Ekron with the coasts thereof.
19 And the Lord was with Judah, and he possessed the mountains: for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valleys, because they had chariots of iron.
20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as (C)Moses had said, and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.
21 But the children of Benjamin did not cast out the Jebusites, that [k]inhabited Jerusalem: therefore the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
22 ¶ They also that were of the house of Joseph, went up to Bethel, and the Lord was with them,
23 And the house of Joseph caused to view Bethel (and the name of the city beforetime was (D)Luz.)
24 And the spies saw a man come out of the city, and they said unto him, Show us, we pray thee, the way into the city, (E)and we will show thee mercy.
25 And when he had showed them the way into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his household depart.
26 Then the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz, which is the name thereof unto this day.
27 ¶ (F)Neither did Manasseh destroy Beth Shean with her towns, nor Taanach with her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor with her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam with her towns, neither the inhabitants of Megiddo with her towns: [l]but the Canaanites dwelled still in that land.
28 Nevertheless when Israel was strong, they put the Canaanites to tribute, and expelled them not wholly.
29 ¶ (G)Likewise Ephraim expelled not the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer, but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
30 ¶ Neither did [m]Zebulun expel the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol, but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.
31 ¶ Neither did Asher cast out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob,
32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them [n]out.
33 ¶ Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth Anath, but dwelt among the Canaanites the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, and of Beth Anath became tributaries unto them.
34 And the Amorites [o]drove the children of Dan into the mountain: so that they suffered them not to come down to the valley.
35 And the Amorites [p]dwelt still in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, and when the [q]hand of Joseph’s family prevailed, they became tributaries:
36 And the coast of the Amorites was from Maaleh-Akrabbim, even from [r]Sela and upward.
2 1 The Angel rebuketh the people, because they had made peace with the Canaanites. 11 The Israelites fell to idolatry after Joshua’s death. 14 They are delivered into the enemies’ hands: 16 God delivereth them by Judges. 21 Why God suffered idolaters to remain among them.
1 And an [s]Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I had sworn unto your fathers, and said, I will never break my covenant with you.
2 (H)Ye also shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land, (I)but shall break down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice. Why have ye done this?
3 Wherefore, I said also, I will not cast them out before you, but they shall be (J)as thorns unto your sides, and their gods shall be your [t]destruction.
4 And when the Angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
5 Therefore they called the name of that place, [u]Bochim, and offered sacrifices there unto the Lord.
6 ¶ Now when Joshua had [v]sent the people away, the children of Israel went every man into his inheritance, to possess the land.
7 And the people had served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the Elders that outlived Joshua, which had seen all the great [w]works of the Lord that he did for Israel.
8 But Joshua the son of Nun the servant of the Lord died, when he was an hundred and ten years old:
9 And they buried him in the coasts of his inheritance, in [x]Timnath Heres in mount Ephraim, on the North side of mount Gaash.
10 And so all that generation was gathered unto their fathers, and another generation arose after them, which neither knew the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
11 ¶ Then the children of Israel did wickedly in the sight of the Lord, and served [y]Baal,
12 And forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt and followed other gods, even the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger.
13 So they forsook the Lord, and served (K)Baal, and [z]Ashtoreth.
14 And the wrath of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers, that spoiled them, and he (L)sold them into the hands of their enemies round about them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.
15 [aa]Whithersoever they went out, the [ab]hand of the Lord was sore against them, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: so he punished them sore.
16 ¶ Notwithstanding, the Lord raised up [ac]Judges, which [ad]delivered them out of the hands of their oppressors.
17 But yet they would not obey their Judges for they went a whoring after other gods, and worshipped them, and turned quickly out of the [ae]way, wherein their fathers walked, obeying the commandments of the Lord: they did not so.
18 And when the Lord had raised them up Judges, the Lord was with the Judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the Judge (for the Lord [af]had compassion of their groanings, [ag]because of them that oppressed them and tormented them.)
19 Yet (M)when the Judge was dead, they returned, and [ah]did worse than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and worship them: they ceased not from their own inventions, nor from their rebellious way.
20 Wherefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, Because this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and hath not obeyed my voice,
21 Therefore will I no more cast out before them any of the [ai]nations, which Joshua left when he died,
22 That through them I may [aj]prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord, to walk therein, as their fathers kept it, or not.
23 So the Lord left those nations, and drove them not out immediately, neither delivered them into the hand of Joshua.
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