Judges 1-4

New International Reader's Version

The Israelites Fight Against the Remaining Canaanites

1 Joshua died. After that, the Israelites spoke to the Lord. They asked him, “Who of us will go up first and fight against the Canaanites?”

² The Lord answered, “The tribe of Judah will go up. I have handed the land over to them.”

³ Then the men of Judah spoke to their fellow Israelites, the men of Simeon. They said, “Come up with us. Come into the territory Joshua gave us. Help us fight against the Canaanites. Then we’ll go with you into your territory.” So the men of Simeon went with them.

⁴ When the men of Judah attacked, the Lord helped them. He handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They struck down 10,000 men at Bezek. ⁵ The men of Judah found Adoni-Bezek there. They fought against him. They struck down the Canaanites and Perizzites. ⁶ But Adoni-Bezek ran away. The men of Judah chased him and caught him. Then they cut off his thumbs and big toes.

⁷ Adoni-Bezek said, “I cut off the thumbs and big toes of 70 kings. I made them pick up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them.” The men of Judah brought Adoni-Bezek to Jerusalem. That’s where he died.

⁸ The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They set the city on fire. They killed its people with their swords.

⁹ After that, the men of Judah went down to fight against some Canaanites. Those Canaanites were living in the central hill country. They also fought against those living in the Negev Desert and the western hills. ¹⁰ Then the men of Judah marched out against the Canaanites living in Hebron. Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba. The men of Judah won the battle over Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. ¹¹ From Hebron they marched out against the people living in Debir. It used to be called Kiriath Sepher.

¹² Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah to be married. I’ll give her to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” ¹³ Othniel captured it. So Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him to be his wife. Othniel was the son of Kenaz. He was Caleb’s younger brother.

¹⁴ One day Aksah came to Othniel. She begged him 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. You have given me some land in the Negev Desert. Give me springs of water also.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

¹⁶ Moses’ father-in-law was a Kenite. His family went up from Jericho. Jericho was also known as the City of Palm Trees. His family went up with the people of Judah to the Desert of Judah. They went there to live among its people. Those people were living in the Negev Desert near Arad.

¹⁷ The men of Judah marched out with their fellow Israelites, the men of Simeon. They attacked the people of Canaan living in Zephath. They set the city apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. That’s why the city was called Hormah. ¹⁸ The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron. They also captured the territory around each of those cities.

¹⁹ The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took over the central hill country. But they weren’t able to drive the people out of the plains. That’s because those people used chariots that had some iron parts. ²⁰ Moses had promised to give Hebron to Caleb. So Hebron was given to Caleb. He drove the three sons of Anak out of it. ²¹ But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day they live there with the people of Benjamin.

²² The tribes of Joseph attacked Bethel. The Lord was with them. ²³ They sent men to Bethel to check it out. It used to be called Luz. ²⁴ Those who were sent saw a man coming out of the city. They said to him, “Show us how to get into the city. If you do, we’ll see that you are treated well.” ²⁵ So he showed them how to get in. The men of Joseph killed the people in the city with their swords. But they spared the man from Bethel. They also spared his whole family. ²⁶ Then he went to the land of the Hittites. He built a city there. He called it Luz. That’s still its name to this day.

²⁷ But the tribe of Manasseh didn’t drive out the people of Beth Shan. They didn’t drive out the people of Taanach, Dor, Ibleam and Megiddo. And they didn’t drive out the people of the settlements that are around those cities either. That’s because the Canaanites had made up their minds to continue living in that land. ²⁸ Later, Israel became stronger. Then they forced the Canaanites to work hard for them. But Israel never drove them out completely. ²⁹ The tribe of Ephraim didn’t drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer. So the Canaanites continued to live there among them. ³⁰ The tribe of Zebulun didn’t drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron and Nahalol. So these Canaanites lived among them. But the people of Zebulun forced the Canaanites to work hard for them. ³¹ The tribe of Asher didn’t drive out the people living in Akko and Sidon. They didn’t drive out the people of Ahlab, Akzib, Helbah, Aphek and Rehob. ³² So the people of Asher lived among the Canaanites who were in the land. ³³ The tribe of Naphtali didn’t drive out the people living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath. So the people of Naphtali lived among the Canaanites who were in the land. The people of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced to work hard for them. ³⁴ The Amorites made the people of Dan stay in the central hill country. They didn’t let them come down into the plain. ³⁵ The Amorites made up their minds to stay in Mount Heres. They also stayed in Aijalon and Shaalbim. But the power of the tribes of Joseph grew. Then the Amorites were forced to work hard for them. ³⁶ The border of the Amorites started at Scorpion Pass. It went to Sela and even past it.

The Angel of the Lord Warns Israel at Bokim

2 The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim. There he said to the Israelites, “I brought you up out of Egypt. I led you into this land. It is the land I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. At that time I said, ‘I will never break the covenant I made with you. ² So you must not make a covenant with the people of this land. Instead, you must tear down their altars.’ But you have disobeyed me. Why did you do it? ³ I have said something else. I said, ‘I will not drive out those people to make room for you. They and their gods will become traps for you.’ ”

⁴ The angel of the Lord spoke these things to all the Israelites. Then the people wept out loud. ⁵ So that place was called Bokim. The people offered sacrifices there to the Lord.

The People Disobey the Lord and Lose Their Battles

⁶ Joshua sent the Israelites away. Then they went to take over the land. All of them went to their own shares of land. ⁷ The people served the Lord as long as Joshua lived. They also served him as long as the elders lived. Those were the elders who lived longer than Joshua did. They had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.

⁸ Joshua, the servant of the Lord, died. He was the son of Nun. He was 110 years old when he died. ⁹ His people buried him on his own property at Timnath Heres. It’s north of Mount Gaash in the hill country of Ephraim.

¹⁰ All the people of Joshua’s time joined the members of their families who had already died. Then those who were born after them grew up. They didn’t know the Lord and what he had done for Israel. ¹¹ The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They served gods that were named Baal. ¹² They deserted the Lord, the God of their people. He had brought them out of Egypt. But now the Israelites served other gods and worshiped them. They served the gods of the nations that were around them. They made the Lord angry ¹³ because they deserted him. They served Baal. They also served female gods that were named Ashtoreth. ¹⁴ The Lord became angry with the Israelites. So he handed them over to robbers. The robbers stole everything from them. The Lord handed the Israelites over to their enemies all around them. Israel wasn’t able to fight against them anymore and win. ¹⁵ When the Israelites went out to fight, the Lord’s power was against them. He let their enemies win the battle over them. The Lord had warned them that it would happen. And now they were suffering terribly.

¹⁶ Then the Lord gave them leaders. The leaders saved them from the power of those robbers. ¹⁷ But the people wouldn’t listen to their leaders. They weren’t faithful to the Lord. They served other gods and worshiped them. They didn’t obey the Lord’s commands as their people before them had done. They quickly turned away from the path their people had taken. ¹⁸ When the Lord gave them a leader, he was with that leader. The Lord saved the people from the power of their enemies. He did it as long as the leader lived. The Lord felt very sorry for the people. They groaned because of what their enemies did to them. Their enemies treated them badly. ¹⁹ But when the leader died, the people returned to their evil ways. The things they did were even more sinful than the things their people before them had done. They served other gods and worshiped them. They refused to give up their evil practices. They wouldn’t change their stubborn ways.

²⁰ So the Lord became very angry with the Israelites. He said, “This nation has broken my covenant. I made it with their people of long ago. But this nation has not listened to me. ²¹ Joshua left some nations in the land when he died. I will no longer drive out those nations to make room for Israel. ²² I will use those nations to test Israel. I will see whether Israel will live the way I, the Lord, want them to. I will see whether they will be like their people of long ago. I will see whether they will follow my path.” ²³ The Lord had let those nations remain in the land. He didn’t drive them out right away. He didn’t hand them over to Joshua.

3 The Lord left some nations in the land. He left them to test the Israelites who hadn’t lived through any of the wars in Canaan. ² He wanted to teach the men in Israel who had never been in battle before. He wanted them to learn how to fight. ³ So he left the five rulers of the Philistines. He left the people of Canaan and the people of Sidon. He left the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains. They lived in the area between Mount Baal Hermon and Lebo Hamath. ⁴ The Lord left those nations where they were to test the Israelites. He wanted to see whether they would obey his commands. He had given those commands through Moses to their people of long ago.

⁵ So the Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁶ They married the daughters of those people. They gave their own daughters to the sons of those people. And they served the gods of those people.

Othniel

⁷ The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God. They served gods that were named Baal. They also served female gods that were named Asherah. ⁸ So the Lord was very angry with Israel. He handed them over to the power of Cushan-Rishathaim, the king of Aram Naharaim. For eight years Israel was under his rule. ⁹ They cried out to the Lord. Then he provided someone to save them. The man’s name was Othniel, the son of Kenaz. He was Caleb’s younger brother. ¹⁰ The Spirit of the Lord came on Othniel. So he became Israel’s leader. He went to war. The Lord handed over to him Cushan-Rishathaim, the king of Aram. Othniel won the battle over him. ¹¹ So the land was at peace for 40 years. Then Othniel, the son of Kenaz, died.

Ehud

¹² Again the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord gave Eglon power over Israel. Eglon was the king of Moab. ¹³ He got the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him. All of them came and attacked Israel. They captured Jericho. Jericho was also known as The City of Palm Trees. ¹⁴ For 18 years the Israelites were under the rule of Eglon, the king of Moab.

¹⁵ Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord. Then he provided someone to save them. The man’s name was Ehud, the son of Gera. Ehud was left-handed. He was from the tribe of Benjamin. The Israelites sent Ehud to Eglon, the king of Moab. They sent him to give the king what he required them to bring him. ¹⁶ Ehud had made a sword that had two edges. It was about a foot and a half long. He tied it to his right leg under his clothes. ¹⁷ Eglon, the king of Moab, was a very fat man. Ehud gave him the gift he had brought. ¹⁸ After that, Ehud sent away those who had carried it. ¹⁹ When he came to the place where some statues of gods stood near Gilgal, Ehud went back to Eglon. He said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”

The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And all his attendants left him.

²⁰ Then Ehud approached him. King Eglon was sitting alone in the upstairs room of his palace. Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” So the king got up from his seat. ²¹ Then Ehud reached out his left hand. He pulled out the sword tied to his right leg. He stuck it into the king’s stomach. ²² Even the handle sank in after the blade. Eglon sagged and fell to the floor. Ehud didn’t pull out the sword. And the fat closed over it. ²³ Ehud went out to the porch. He shut the doors of the upstairs room behind him. Then he locked them.

²⁴ After he had gone, the servants came. They found the doors of the upstairs room locked. They said, “Eglon must be going to the toilet in the inside room of the palace.” ²⁵ They waited for a long time. They waited so long they became worried. But the king still didn’t open the doors of the room. So they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their king. He had fallen to the floor and was dead.

²⁶ While Eglon’s servants had been waiting, Ehud had gotten away. He passed by the statues of gods and escaped to Seirah. ²⁷ There in the hill country of Ephraim he blew a trumpet. Then he led the Israelites down from the hills.

²⁸ “Follow me,” Ehud ordered. “The Lord has handed your enemy Moab over to you.” So they followed him down. They took over the only places where people could go across the Jordan River to get to Moab. They didn’t let anyone go across. ²⁹ At that time they struck down about 10,000 men of Moab. All those men were strong and powerful. But not even one escaped. ³⁰ That day Moab was brought under the rule of Israel. So the land was at peace for 80 years.

Shamgar

³¹ After Ehud, Shamgar became the next leader. He was the son of Anath. Shamgar struck down 600 Philistines with a large, pointed stick used to drive oxen. He too saved Israel.

Deborah

4 After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. ² So the Lord handed them over to the power of Jabin. He was a king in Canaan. He ruled in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera. He lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. ³ Jabin used 900 chariots that had some iron parts. He treated the Israelites very badly for 20 years. So they cried out to the Lord for help.

⁴ Deborah was a prophet. She was the wife of Lappidoth. She was leading Israel at that time. ⁵ Under the Palm Tree of Deborah she served the people as their judge. That place was between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites went up to her there. They came to have her decide cases for them. She settled matters between them. ⁶ Deborah sent for Barak. He was the son of Abinoam. Barak was from Kedesh in the land of Naphtali. Deborah said to Barak, “The Lord, the God of Israel, is giving you a command. He says, ‘Go! Take 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun with you. Then lead them up to Mount Tabor. ⁷ I will lead Sisera into a trap. He is the commander of Jabin’s army. I will bring him, his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River. There I will hand him over to you.’ ”

⁸ Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I’ll go. But if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

⁹ “All right,” Deborah said. “I’ll go with you. But because of the way you are doing this, you won’t receive any honor. Instead, the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman.” So Deborah went to Kedesh with Barak. ¹⁰ There he sent for men from Zebulun and Naphtali. And 10,000 men followed him into battle. Deborah also went with him.

¹¹ Heber, the Kenite, had left the other Kenites. They came from the family line of Hobab. He was the brother-in-law of Moses. Heber set up his tent by the large tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.

¹² Sisera was told that Barak, the son of Abinoam, had gone up to Mount Tabor. ¹³ So Sisera gathered together his 900 chariots that had some iron parts. He also gathered together all his men. He brought them from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River.

¹⁴ Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! Today the Lord will hand Sisera over to you. Hasn’t the Lord gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor. His 10,000 men followed him. ¹⁵ As Barak’s men marched out, the Lord drove Sisera away from the field of battle. The Lord scattered all of Sisera’s chariots. Barak’s men struck down Sisera’s army with their swords. Sisera got down from his chariot. He ran away on foot.

¹⁶ Barak chased Sisera’s chariots and army. Barak chased them all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. All of Sisera’s troops were killed by swords. Not even one was left. ¹⁷ But Sisera ran away on foot. He ran to the tent of Jael. She was the wife of Heber, the Kenite. Sisera ran there because there was a treaty between Heber’s family and Jabin, the king of Hazor.

¹⁸ Jael went out to meet Sisera. “Come in, sir,” she said. “Come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent. Then she covered him with a blanket.

¹⁹ “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” So Jael opened a bottle of milk. The bottle was made out of animal skin. She gave him a drink of milk. Then she covered him up again.

²⁰ “Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “Someone might come by and ask you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ If that happens, say ‘No.’ ”

²¹ But Heber’s wife Jael picked up a tent stake and a hammer. She went quietly over to Sisera. He was lying there, fast asleep. He was very tired. She drove the stake through his head right into the ground. So he died.

²² Just then Barak came by because he was chasing Sisera. Jael went out to meet him. “Come right in,” she said. “I’ll show you the man you are looking for.” So he went in with her. Sisera was lying there with the stake through his head. He was dead.

²³ On that day God brought Jabin under Israel’s control. He was a king in Canaan. ²⁴ Israel’s power grew stronger and stronger against King Jabin. The Israelites became so strong that they destroyed him.