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And it came to pass after the death of Joshua that the children of Israel asked Jehovah, saying, Which of us shall go up against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?

And Jehovah said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

And Judah said to Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, and let us fight against the Canaanites, and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot; and Simeon went with him.

And Judah went up; and Jehovah delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they smote them in Bezek, ten thousand men.

And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him, and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

And Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

And Adoni-Bezek said, Seventy kings, with their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gleaned under my table: as I have done, so God has requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

And the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

And afterwards the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the hill-country, and in the south, and in the lowland.

10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron—the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-Arba; and they slew Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

11 And from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher.

12 And Caleb said, He that smites Kirjath-sepher and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.

13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.

14 And it came to pass as she came, that she urged him to ask of her father the field; and she sprang down from the ass. And Caleb said to her, What wouldest thou?

15 And she said to him, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a southern land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, had gone 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 dwelt with the people.

17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it; and they called the name of the city Hormah.

18 And Judah took Gazah and its border, and Ashkelon and its border, and Ekron and its border.

19 And Jehovah was with Judah; and he took possession of the hill-country, for he did not dispossess the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

20 And they gave to Caleb Hebron, as Moses had said; and he dispossessed from thence the three sons of Anak.

21 And the children of Benjamin did not dispossess the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel; and Jehovah was with them.

23 And the house of Joseph sent to search out Bethel; now the name of the city before was Luz.

24 And the guards saw a man come forth out of the city, and said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, how [we] may enter into the city, and we will shew thee kindness.

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

26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.

27 And Manasseh did not dispossess Beth-shean and its dependent villages, nor Taanach and its dependent villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its dependent villages, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its dependent villages, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its dependent villages; and the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

28 And it came to pass when Israel became strong, that they made the Canaanites tributary; but they did not utterly dispossess them.

29 And Ephraim did not dispossess the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt among them in Gezer.

30 Zebulun did not dispossess the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.

31 Asher did not dispossess the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor Ahlab, nor Achzib, nor Helbah, nor Aphik, nor Rehob;

32 and the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not dispossess them.

33 Naphtali did not dispossess the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; and he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, but the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributaries to them.

34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill-country, for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley.

35 And the Amorites would dwell on mount Heres, in Ajalon and in Shaalbim; but the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, and they became tributaries.

36 And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock, and upwards.

And the Angel of Jehovah came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you; and as for you,

ye shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not hearkened unto my voice. Why have ye done this?

Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be [scourges] in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

And it came to pass, when the Angel of Jehovah spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice and wept.

And they called the name of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there to Jehovah.

And Joshua dismissed the people, and the children of Israel went every man to his inheritance to possess the land.

And the people served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders whose days were prolonged after Joshua, who had seen all the great works of Jehovah, which he had done for Israel.

And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, a hundred and ten years old.

And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-Heres, in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the mountain of Gaash.

10 And also all that generation were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them, which knew not Jehovah, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and served the Baals.

12 And they forsook Jehovah the God of their fathers, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and bowed themselves to them, and provoked Jehovah to anger.

13 And they forsook Jehovah, and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

14 And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about; and they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

15 Whithersoever they went out the hand of Jehovah was against them for evil, as Jehovah had said, and as Jehovah had sworn unto them; and they were greatly distressed.

16 And Jehovah raised up judges, and they saved them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.

17 But they did not even hearken to their judges, for they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves to them; they turned quickly out of the way that their fathers had walked in, obeying the commandments of Jehovah; they did not so.

18 And when Jehovah raised them up judges, then Jehovah was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it repented Jehovah because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and crushed them.

19 And it came to pass when the judge died, that they turned back and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them: they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.

20 And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel; and he said, Because this nation hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and hath not hearkened unto my voice,

21 I also will not henceforth dispossess from before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died;

22 that through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of Jehovah to walk therein, as their fathers did keep [it], or not.

23 Therefore Jehovah left those nations, without dispossessing them hastily, neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites(A)

After the death(B) of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first(C) to fight against the Canaanites?(D)

The Lord answered, “Judah(E) shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.(F)

The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, “Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.” So the Simeonites(G) went with them.

When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites(H) into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.(I) It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek(J) and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back(K) for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem,(L) and he died there.

The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem(M) also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.

After that, Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country,(N) the Negev(O) and the western foothills. 10 They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron(P) (formerly called Kiriath Arba(Q)) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.(R) 11 From there they advanced against the people living in Debir(S) (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).

12 And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.

14 One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him[a] to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”

15 She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.(T)

16 The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law,(U) the Kenite,(V) went up from the City of Palms[b](W) with the people of Judah to live among the inhabitants of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.(X)

17 Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites(Y) their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed[c] the city. Therefore it was called Hormah.[d](Z) 18 Judah also took[e] Gaza,(AA) Ashkelon(AB) and Ekron—each city with its territory.

19 The Lord was with(AC) the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country,(AD) but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron.(AE) 20 As Moses had promised, Hebron(AF) was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak.(AG) 21 The Benjamites, however, did not drive out(AH) the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem;(AI) to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.

22 Now the tribes of Joseph(AJ) attacked Bethel,(AK) and the Lord was with them. 23 When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz),(AL) 24 the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well.(AM) 25 So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword but spared(AN) the man and his whole family. 26 He then went to the land of the Hittites,(AO) where he built a city and called it Luz,(AP) which is its name to this day.

27 But Manasseh did not(AQ) drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor(AR) or Ibleam(AS) or Megiddo(AT) and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites(AU) were determined to live in that land. 28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.(AV) 29 Nor did Ephraim(AW) drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer,(AX) but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.(AY) 30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them, but Zebulun did subject them to forced labor. 31 Nor did Asher(AZ) drive out those living in Akko or Sidon(BA) or Ahlab or Akzib(BB) or Helbah or Aphek(BC) or Rehob.(BD) 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh(BE) or Beth Anath(BF); but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. 34 The Amorites(BG) confined the Danites(BH) to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain.(BI) 35 And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres,(BJ) Aijalon(BK) and Shaalbim,(BL) but when the power of the tribes of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. 36 The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass(BM) to Sela(BN) and beyond.(BO)

The Angel of the Lord at Bokim

The angel of the Lord(BP) went up from Gilgal(BQ) to Bokim(BR) and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt(BS) and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors.(BT) I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,(BU) and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land,(BV) but you shall break down their altars.(BW)’ Yet you have disobeyed(BX) me. Why have you done this? And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you;(BY) they will become traps(BZ) for you, and their gods will become snares(CA) to you.’”

When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud,(CB) and they called that place Bokim.[f](CC) There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

Disobedience and Defeat(CD)

After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.(CE)

Joshua son of Nun,(CF) the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres[g](CG) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.(CH) 11 Then the Israelites did evil(CI) in the eyes of the Lord(CJ) and served the Baals.(CK) 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods(CL) of the peoples around them.(CM) They aroused(CN) the Lord’s anger(CO) 13 because they forsook(CP) him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.(CQ) 14 In his anger(CR) against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands(CS) of raiders who plundered(CT) them. He sold them(CU) into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.(CV) 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them(CW) to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.(CX)

16 Then the Lord raised up judges,[h](CY) who saved(CZ) them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted(DA) themselves to other gods(DB) and worshiped them.(DC) They quickly turned(DD) from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands.(DE) 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved(DF) them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented(DG) because of their groaning(DH) under those who oppressed and afflicted(DI) them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt(DJ) than those of their ancestors,(DK) following other gods and serving and worshiping them.(DL) They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn(DM) ways.

20 Therefore the Lord was very angry(DN) with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant(DO) I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out(DP) before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test(DQ) Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.(DR)

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:14 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate Othniel, he urged her
  2. Judges 1:16 That is, Jericho
  3. Judges 1:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  4. Judges 1:17 Hormah means destruction.
  5. Judges 1:18 Hebrew; Septuagint Judah did not take
  6. Judges 2:5 Bokim means weepers.
  7. Judges 2:9 Also known as Timnath Serah (see Joshua 19:50 and 24:30)
  8. Judges 2:16 Or leaders; similarly in verses 17-19