Judges - Chapter 1

1It happened after the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, Who shall go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them? 2Yahweh said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. 3Judah said to Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your lot. So Simeon went with him. 4Judah went up; and Yahweh delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they struck of them in Bezek ten thousand men. 5They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek; and they fought against him, and they struck the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. 7Adoni-bezek said, \"Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered [their food] under my table: as I have done, so God has requited me.\" They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. 8The children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire. 9Afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill-country, and in the South, and in the lowland. 10Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron before was Kiriath Arba); and they struck Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. 11From there he went against the inhabitants of Debir. (Now the name of Debir before was Kiriath Sepher.) 12Caleb said, He who strikes Kiriath Sepher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife. 13Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. 14It happened, when she came [to him], that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she alighted from off her donkey; and Caleb said to her, What would you? 15She said to him, Give me a blessing; for that you have set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water. Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. 16The children of the Kenite, Moses' brother-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and lived with the people. 17Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. The name of the city was called Hormah. 18Also Judah took Gaza with the border of it, and Ashkelon with the border of it, and Ekron with the border of it. 19Yahweh was with Judah; and drove out [the inhabitants of] the hill-country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. 20They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had spoken: and he drove out there the three sons of Anak. 21The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. 22The house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel; and Yahweh was with them. 23The house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.) 24The watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him, Show us, we pray you, the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you. 25He shown them the entrance into the city; and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family. 26The man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name of it Luz, which is the name of it to this day. 27Manasseh did not drive out [the inhabitants of] Beth-shean and its towns, nor [of] Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. 28It happened, when Israel had grown strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out. 29Ephraim didn't drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. 30Zebulun didn't drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites lived among them, and became subject to forced labor. 31Asher didn't drive 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; 32but the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. 33Naphtali didn't drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but he lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth Anath became subject to forced labor. 34The Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill-country; for they would not allow them to come down to the valley; 35but the Amorites would dwell in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became subject to forced labor. 36The border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.