Beginning
Tribes Possess the Land
1 Now it came to pass after the death of Joshua that Bnei-Yisrael inquired of Adonai saying, “Who will be the first to go up for us against the Canaanites to attack them?” 2 Adonai said, “Judah will go up. Behold, I have given the land into his hand.”
3 Judah then said to his brother Simeon, “Come up with me to my allotted territory, so that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I also will go with you into your allotted territory.” So Simeon went with him. 4 When Judah went up, Adonai delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands; they struck down 10,000 of them at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, engaged him in battle, and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6 Though Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. 7 So Adoni-bezek said, “70 kings, having their thumbs and big toes cut off, used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” They brought him to Jerusalem and he died there.
8 Then the children of Judah attacked Jerusalem, captured it, struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 Afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites that dwelt in the hill country, in the Negev and in the lowland.
10 Judah then marched against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron (the former name of Hebron was Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. 11 From there Judah marched against the inhabitants of Debir (the former name of Debir was Kiriath-sepher). 12 Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, to him will I give my daughter Achsah for a wife.” 13 So Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger kinsman, captured it. So Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. 14 Now it came about when she came to him, she had persuaded Othniel to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you need?”
15 Give me a blessing,” she said. “For you have given me land in the Negev; you should also give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the Upper Springs and the Lower Springs.
16 The children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the children of Judah from the City of Palms to the wilderness of Judah, which is in the Negev of Arad. They went and settled with the people.
17 Then Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they defeated the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath. They utterly destroyed it, and thus the name of the city was called Hormah. 18 Also Judah captured Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory and Ekron with its territory. 19 Adonai was with Judah, and he possessed the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had iron chariots. 20 Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had promised, so he drove out from there the three sons of Anak.
21 But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem, so the Jebusites continued to live with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
22 Also the house of Joseph marched against Bethel, and Adonai was with them. 23 The house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel (the former name of the city was Luz). 24 Now the scouts saw a man coming out from the city and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance into the city and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 So he showed them the entrance into the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man go free with all his family. 26 So the man went into the land of the Hittites, built a city, and named it Luz, which is its name to this day.
27 Manasseh, however, did not drive out the inhabitants of 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. So the Canaanites resolved to dwell in that land. 28 When Israel became strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out.
29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites settled in Gezer among them. 30 Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites settled among them, but became subject to forced labor.
31 Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Zidon, Achlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik or Rehob; 32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites who were dwelling in the land, because they did not drive them out.
33 Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites dwelling in the land, though the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.
34 But the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill country, for they would not let them come down to the valley. 35 Also the Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon and in Shaalbim, but when the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, they became forced labor for them. 36 So the territory of the Amorites ran from the Ascent of Akrabbim[a] from the Rock and upward.
After Joshua, Israel Abandons Adonai
2 Now the angel of Adonai came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and He said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and took you into the land which I swore to your fathers. I also said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. 2 Now as for you, you must make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You must break down their altars.’ But you have not listened to My voice. What is this you have done? 3 Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out from before you, but they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.’” 4 Now when the angel of Adonai spoke these words to all Bnei-Yisrael, the people lifted up their voice and wept. 5 So they called the name of that place Bochim[b], and they sacrificed there to Adonai.
6 Now when Joshua had sent the people away, Bnei-Yisrael went every man to his inheritance to possess the land. 7 Then the people worshipped Adonai all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of Adonai that He had done for Israel. 8 Then Joshua son of Nun, the servant of Adonai, died at the age of 110 years, 9 and they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.
10 But when all that generation were gathered to their fathers, there arose another generation after them that did not experience Adonai or the work that He had done for Israel. 11 Then Bnei-Yisrael did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes, and worshipped the Baalim. 12 They abandoned Adonai, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples around them, and bowed down to them. So they provoked the anger of Adonai. 13 So they forsook Adonai and worshipped Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of Adonai burned against Israel, and He gave them over to the hands of plunderers who plundered them, and He sold them over into the hand of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand up before their enemies. 15 Whenever they went out, the hand of Adonai was against them for evil, as Adonai had spoken and as Adonai had sworn to them. So they were severely distressed.
Rise of Judges
16 Then Adonai raised up judges who delivered them from the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they listened not to their judges, for they prostituted themselves after other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned aside from the way in which their fathers walked in obeying the commandments of Adonai; they did not do so. 18 Whenever Adonai raised judges up for them, Adonai was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For Adonai was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and crushed them. 19 But when the judge died, they would keep turning back and acted more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods, worshipping them, and bowing down to them. They abandoned none of their practices and stubborn ways.
20 So the anger of Adonai burned against Israel, and He declared, “Since this nation has transgressed My covenant that I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, 21 I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether or not they will keep the way of Adonai to walk in it as their fathers did.” 23 So Adonai left those nations, without driving them out quickly. Thus so He had not given them into the hand of Joshua.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.