Judges 1

1 After Joshua died, the Israeli people asked Yahweh, “Which [of our tribes] should attack the Canaan people-group first?”

After Joshua died, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Which tribe from among us should go first and attack the Canaanites?”

2 Yahweh replied, “I will enable the tribe of Judah to defeat [IDM] the Canaan people-group.”

“Judah is to go first,” the Lord replied. “I have handed the land over to them.”

3 The men of Judah went to their fellow Israelis, [the men] from the tribe of Simeon, and said to them, “Come and help us to fight the Canaan people-group [in order that we can take from them] the land [that Yahweh] allotted to us. If you do that, we will go with you [and help you] conquer the people in the land [that Yahweh promised to give to] you.” So the men from the tribe of Simeon went with the men of the tribe of Judah.

The men of Judah said to their relatives of the tribe of Simeon, “Come with us to the land that has been allotted to us, and fight together with us against the Canaanites. Then we'll do the same for you and your allotted land.” So the tribe of Simeon joined with them.

4 When the men of those two tribes attacked, Yahweh enabled them to defeat 10,000 men of the Canaan people-group and the Periz people-group [DOU] at Bezek [city].

The men of Judah attacked the Canaanites and Perizzites, and the Lord handed them over in defeat. They killed ten thousand of the enemy at the town of Bezek.

5 During the battle they found Adoni-Bezek, the leader of the city,

There they confronted Adoni-bezek and fought with him, defeating the Canaanites and Perizzites.

6 but he [tried to] run away. The Israelis pursued him and caught him. Then they cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

Adoni-bezek ran away, but they chased after him and captured him, and then cut off his thumbs and big toes.

7 Adoni-Bezek said, “[My army captured] 70 kings. We cut off their thumbs and big toes. After that, [we forced] those kings to eat scraps that fell from our table. Now God has (paid me back for/done to me like) [what we did to them].” Then the men of Judah took Adoni-Bezek to Jerusalem, and he died there.

Adoni-bezek said, “I had seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off picking up left-overs from under my table. Now God has paid me back in the same way what I did to them.” They took him to Jerusalem where he died.

8 The army of Judah fought against the men of Jerusalem, and they captured the city. With their swords they killed [the people who lived there] and they burned [the houses in] the city.

The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and conquered it. They killed the inhabitants with the sword and burned the town down.

9 Later, the men of Judah went down to fight the Canaan people-group who lived in the hilly area, in the desert to the south, and in the foothills [to the west].

After this the men of Judah went to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the foothills of the lowlands.

10 The men of Judah also went to fight against the Canaan people-group who lived in Hebron [city], which at that time was named Kiriath-Arba. They defeated [the armies of kings] Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

They attacked the Canaanites who lived Hebron (previously known as Kiriath Arba) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

11 Then they left that area and went to fight against the people living in Debir [city], which was previously named Kiriath-Sepher.

From there they went on to attack the people living in Debir (previously known as Kiriath Sepher).

12 [Before they attacked the city], Caleb said to them, “If one of you attacks and captures Kiriath-Sepher, I will allow him to marry my daughter.”

Caleb announced, “I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to whoever attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.”

13 Othniel, who was the son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz, captured the city. So Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him, to become his wife.

Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, was the one captured it, so he gave him his daughter Acsah in marriage.

14 When Acsah married Othniel, she told him to ask her father to give him a field. [But she decided to ask him herself. She rode to Caleb’s house on her donkey], and when she got off the donkey, Caleb [could see that something was troubling her. So he] asked her, “What do you want?”

When Acsah came to Othniel, she encouraged him to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?”

15 She replied, “I want you to do a favor for me. You have given me some land in the southern desert, [but it is very dry there]. So please also give me some [land that has] springs of water.” So Caleb gave her some land on higher ground that had a spring, and some land on lower ground that also had a spring.

“Please give me a blessing,” she replied. “You gave me land that's like the desert, so please give me springs of water as well.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

16 The people of the Ken people-group who were descendants of Moses’ father-in-law left Jericho, which was called ‘The City of Palm Trees’. They went with some of the men of Judah to live with them in the southern desert area, near Arad [city].

The descendants of Moses' father-in-law, the Kenite, went with the people of Judah from the city of palms to the wilderness of Judah in the Negev near Arad where they settled among the people.

17 The men of Judah and their fellow Israelis from the tribe of Simeon defeated the people of the Canaan people-group who lived in Zephath [city]. They completely destroyed the city and gave it a new name, Hormah, [which means ‘complete destruction’].

Then Judah joined Simeon and defeated the Canaanites living in Zephath. They completely destroyed the town, so they named it Hormah.

18 The men of Judah also captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron [cities] and all the land that is near those cities.

Judah also captured the towns of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, each with its surrounding territory.

19 Yahweh helped the men of Judah to capture the hilly area, but they could not force the people who were living in the plains to leave, because [those people had better weapons—] had iron chariots.

The Lord was with Judah, and they took over the hill country, but they could not drive out the people living on the plain because they had iron chariots.

20 Hebron [city] was given to Caleb because Moses had promised him that he could have that city. And Caleb forced the three clans descended from Anak to leave that area.

As Moses had stipulated, Hebron was given to Caleb, who drove out from it the descendants of three sons of Anak.

21 But the people of the tribe of Benjamin could not force the people of the Jebus people-group to leave Jerusalem. So, since that time the people of the Jebus people-group have lived in Jerusalem with the people of the tribe of Benjamin.

However, Benjamin could not drive out the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so the Jebusites live among the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this very day.

22 The men of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh went to fight against [the men of] Bethel [city], and Yahweh helped them.

The descendants of Joseph went and attacked the town of Bethel, and the Lord was with them.

23 They sent some spies to [find out everything that they could find out about] Bethel, which was previously called Luz.

They sent spies to investigate Bethel, which was previously known as Luz.

24 The spies saw a man who was coming out of the city. They said to him, “If you show us a way to get into the city, we will be kind to you [and we will not kill you].”

The spies saw a man leaving the town and told him, “Please show us how to get into town, and we will treat you well.”

25 So the man showed them a way to enter the city. The men of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh entered the city and killed all the people with their swords, but they did not kill the man [who showed them how to get into the city], and they did not kill his family.

The man showed them the way into the town, and they killed all the inhabitants except the man and his family, whom they let go.

26 That man went to the area where the descendants of Heth lived, and built a city. He named the city Luz, and that is still the name of that city.

The man moved to the country of the Hittites, and built a town there and called it Luz, which is its name to this day.

27 There were people of the Canaan people-group who lived in Beth-Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo [cities] and in the surrounding villages. [The men of] the tribe of Manasseh did not force those people to leave those towns, because the people of the Canaan people-group were determined to stay there.

However, Manasseh didn't drive out the people living in the towns of Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo and their surrounding villages because the Canaanites insisted on living in the land.

28 Later, the Israelis became (stronger/more numerous), and they forced the people of the Canaan people-group to work for them [as their slaves], but they did not force all the people of the Canaan people-group to leave their land.

When the Israelites grew stronger, they made the Canaanites do forced labor, but they never completely drove them out.

29 [The men of] the tribe of Ephraim did not force the people of the Canaan people-group to leave Gezer [city]. So the people of the Canaan people-group continued to live with the people of the tribe of Ephraim.

Ephraim didn't drive out the Canaanites living in the town of Gezer, so the Canaanites went on living there among them.

30 [The men of] the tribe of Zebulun did nor compel the people of the Canaan people-group who were living in Kitron and Nahalol [cities] to leave. They stayed there and lived among the people of the tribe of Zebulun, but the people of Zebulun forced them to work for them as their slaves.

Zebulun didn't drive out the people living in the towns of Kitron and Nahalol, so the Canaanites went on living there among them. However, the Canaanites were made to do forced labor for the people of Zebulun.

31 [The men of] the tribe of Asher did not force the people of the Canaan people-group who lived in Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek and Rehob [cities] to leave.

Asher didn't drive out the people living in the towns of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob,

32 So the people of the tribe of Asher lived among them.

so the people of Asher went on living there among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they hadn't driven them out.

33 [The men of] the tribe of Naphtali did not compel the people who lived in Beth-Shemesh and Beth-Anath [cities] to leave, so the people in those two cities continued to live there, but the people of the Canaan people-group were forced to work as the slaves of the people of the tribe of Naphtali.

Naphtali didn't drive out the people living in the towns of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath. So the people of Asher went on living there among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they hadn't driven them out. However, the people of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath were made to do forced labor for the people of Naphtali.

34 The people of the Amor people-group forced the people of the tribe of Dan to live in the hills. They did not allow them to come down [and live] on the plain.

The Amorites pushed the people of Dan back into the hill country—they did not let them come down into the lowlands.

35 The people of the Amor people-group were determined to stay in Heres Mountain and in Aijalon and Shaalbim [cities]. But when the Israelis became (stronger/more numerous), they forced the people of the Amor people-group to work as their slaves.

The Amorites insisted on remaining in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim, but when the tribes of Joseph grew stronger, the Amorites were made to do forced labor.

36 The land where the Amor people-group lived extended from Scorpion Pass [toward the west] beyond Sela [town], up into the hilly area.

The border with the Amorites ran from Scorpion Pass through Sela and on up from there.