Judges 1

1 And it came to pass after the death of Joshua, that the children of Israel enquired of the Lord, saying, Who shall go up for us first against the Chananites, to fight against them?

After the death of Joshua, the sons of Israel consulted the Lord, saying, “Who will ascend before us, against the Canaanite, and who will be the commander of the war?”

2 And the Lord said, Judas shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

And the Lord said: “Judah shall ascend. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hands.”

3 And Judas said to his brother Symeon, Come up with me into my lot, and let us array ourselves against the Chananites, and I also will go with thee into thy lot: and Symeon went with him.

And Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Go up with me to my lot, and fight against the Canaanite, so that I also may go forth with you to your lot.” And Simeon went with him.

4 And Judas went up; and the Lord delivered the Chananite and the Pherezite into their hands, and they smote them in Bezek to [the number of] ten thousand men.

And Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanite, as well as the Perizzite, into their hands. And they struck down ten thousand of the men at Bezek.

5 And they overtook Adonibezek in Bezek, and fought against him; and they smote the Chananite and the Pherezite.

And they found Adonibezek at Bezek, and they fought against him, and they struck down the Canaanite and the Perizzite.

6 And Adonibezek fled, and they pursued after him, and took him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

Then Adonibezek fled. And they pursued him and captured him, and they cut off the ends of his hands and feet.

7 And Adonibezek said, Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered [their food] under my table: as I therefore have done, so God has recompensed me: and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

And Adonibezek said: “Seventy kings, with the ends of their hands and feet amputated, have been gathering the remnants of food under my table. Just as I have done, so has God repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 And the children of Judas fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote with the edge of the sword, and they burnt the city with fire.

Then the sons of Judah, besieging Jerusalem, seized it. And they struck it with edge of the sword, delivering the entire city to be burned.

9 And afterwards the children of Judas went down to fight with the Chananite dwelling in the hill country, and the south, and the plain country.

And afterward, descending, they fought against the Canaanites who were living in the mountains, and in the south, and in the plains.

10 And Judas went to the Chananite who dwelt in Chebron; and Chebron came out against him; [and the name of Chebron before was Cariatharbocsepher: ] and they smote Sessi, and Achiman, and Tholmi, children of Enac.

And Judah, going forth against the Canaanites who were living at Hebron, (the name of which from antiquity was Kiriath-Arba) struck down Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

11 And they went up thence to the inhabitants of Dabir; but the name of Dabir was before Cariathsepher, the city of Letters.

And continuing on from there, he went to the inhabitants of Debir, the old name of which was Kiriath-Sepher, that is, the City of Letters.

12 And Chaleb said, Whosoever shall smite the city of Letters, and shall first take it, I will give to him Ascha my daughter to wife.

And Caleb said, “Whoever will strike Kiriath-Sepher, and will lay waste to it, I will give to him my daughter Achsah as wife.”

13 And Gothoniel the younger son of Kenez the brother of Chaleb took it; and Chaleb gave him his daughter Ascha to wife.

And when Othniel, the son of Kenaz, a younger brother of Caleb, had seized it, he gave his daughter Achsah to him in marriage.

14 And it came to pass as she went in, that Gothoniel urged her to ask a field of her father; and she murmured and cried from off her ass, Thou hast sent me forth into a south land: and Chaleb said to her, What is thy request?

And as she was traveling on a journey, her husband admonished her, so that she would request a field from her father. And since she had sighed while sitting on her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What is it?”

15 And Ascha said to him, Give me, I pray thee, a blessing, for thou hast sent me forth into a south land, and thou shalt give me the ransom of water: and Chaleb gave her according to her heart the ransom of the upper [springs] and the ransom of the low [springs].

But she responded: “Give a blessing to me. For you have given me a dry land. Also give a watered land.” Therefore, Caleb gave to her the upper watered land and the lower watered land.

16 And the children of Jothor the Kenite the father-in-law of Moses went up from the city of palm-trees with the children of Judas, to the wilderness that is in the south of Juda, which is at the descent of Arad, and they dwelt with the people.

Now the sons of the Kenite, the relative of Moses, ascended from the City of Palms, with the sons of Judah, into the wilderness of his lot, which is toward the south of Arad. And they lived with him.

17 And Judas went with Symeon his brother, and smote the Chananite that inhabited Sepheth, and they utterly destroyed them; and they called the name of the city Anathema.

Then Judah went out with his brother Simeon, and together they struck the Canaanites who were living at Zephath, and they put them to death. And the name of the city was called Hormah, that is, Anathema.

18 But Judas did not inherit Gaza nor her coasts, nor Ascalon nor her coasts, nor Accaron nor her coasts, [nor] Azotus nor the lands around it.

And Judah seized Gaza, with its parts, and Ashkelon as well as Ekron, with their borders.

19 And the Lord was with Judas, and he inherited the mountain; for they were not able to destroy the inhabitants of the valley, for Rechab prevented them.

And the Lord was with Judah, and he possessed the mountains. But he was not able to wipe out the inhabitants of the valley. For they abounded with chariots armed with scythes.

20 And they gave Chebron to Chaleb, as Moses said; and thence he inherited the three cities of the children of Enac.

And just as Moses had said, they gave Hebron to Caleb, who destroyed out of it the three sons of Anak.

21 But the children of Benjamin did not take the inheritance of the Jebusite who dwelt in Jerusalem; and the Jebusite dwelt with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem until this day.

But the sons of Benjamin did not wipe out the Jebusite inhabitants of Jerusalem. And the Jebusite has lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem, even to the present day.

22 And the sons of Joseph, they also went up to Baethel; and the Lord was with them.

The house of Joseph also ascended against Bethel, and the Lord was with them.

23 And they encamped and surveyed Baethel: and the name of the city before was Luza.

For when they were besieging the city, which was previously called Luz,

24 And the spies looked, and behold, a man went out of the city, and they took him; and they said to him, Shew us the way into the city, and we will deal mercifully with thee.

they saw a man departing from the city, and they said to him, “Reveal to us the entrance to the city, and we will act with mercy toward you.”

25 And he shewed them the way into the city; and they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and his family.

And when he had revealed it to them, they struck the city with the edge of the sword. But that man, and all his relatives, they released.

26 And the man went into the land of Chettin, and built there a city, and called the name of it Luza; this [is] its name until this day.

And having been sent away, he went out to the land of the Hittites, and he built a city there, and he called it Luz. And so it is called, even to the present day.

27 And Manasse did not drive out [the inhabitants of] Baethsan, which is a city of Scythians, nor her towns, nor her suburbs; nor Thanac, nor her towns; nor the inhabitants of Dor, nor her suburbs, nor her towns; nor the inhabitant of Balac, nor her suburbs, nor her towns; nor the inhabitants of Magedo, nor her suburbs, nor her towns; nor the inhabitants of Jeblaam, nor her suburbs, nor her towns; and the Chananite began to dwell in this land.

Likewise, Manasseh did not destroy Bethshean and Taanach, with their villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor and Ibleam and Megiddo, with their villages. And the Canaanite began to live with them.

28 And it came to pass when Israel was strong, that he made the Chananite tributary, but did not utterly drive them out.

Then, after Israel had grown strong, he made them tributaries, but he was not willing to destroy them.

29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Chananite that dwelt in Gazer; and the Chananite dwelt in the midst of him in Gazer, and became tributary.

And now Ephraim did not put to death the Canaanite, who was living at Gezer; instead, he lived with him.

30 And Zabulon did not drive out the inhabitants of Kedron, nor the inhabitants of Domana: and the Chananite dwelt in the midst of them, and became tributary to them.

Zebulun did not wipe out the inhabitants of Kitron and of Nahalal. Instead, the Canaanite lived in their midst and became their tributary.

31 And Aser did not drive out the inhabitants of Accho, and [that people] became tributary to him, nor the inhabitants of Dor, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor the inhabitants of Dalaph, nor Aschazi, nor Chebda, nor Nai, nor Ereo.

Likewise, Asher did not destroy the inhabitants of Acco and Sidon, Ahlab and Achzib, and Helbah, and Aphik, and Rehob.

32 And Aser dwelt in the midst of the Chananite who inhabited the land, for he could not drive him out.

And he lived in the midst of the Canaanites, the inhabitants of that land, for he did not put them to death.

33 And Nephthali did not drive out the inhabitants of Baethsamys, nor the inhabitants of Baethanach; and Nephthali dwelt in the midst of the Chananite who inhabited the land: but the inhabitants of Bethsamys and of Baetheneth became tributary to them.

Naphtali also did not wipe out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Bethanath. And he lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. And the Beth-shemeshites and Bethanathites were tributaries to him.

34 And the Amorite drove out the children of Dan into the mountains, for they did not suffer them to come down into the valley.

And the Amorite hemmed in the sons of Dan on the mountain, and did not give them a place, so that they might descend to the flatlands.

35 And the Amorite began to dwell in the mountain of shells, in which [are] bears, and foxes, in Myrsinon, and in Thalabin; and the hand of the house of Joseph was heavy upon the Amorite, and he became tributary to them.

And he lived on the mountain at Har-heres, which is translated as ‘resembling brick,’ and at Aijalon and Sha-alabbin. But the hand of the house of Joseph was very heavy, and he became a tributary to him.

36 And the border of the Amorite [was] from the going up of Acrabin, from the rock and upwards.

Now the border of the Amorite was from the Ascent of the Scorpion, to the Rock and the higher places.