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Judges 1
The Message
Judges 1
The Message
1 A time came after the death of Joshua when the People of Israel asked God, “Who will take the lead in going up against the Canaanites to fight them?”
2 And God said, “Judah will go. I’ve given the land to him.”
3 The men of Judah said to those of their brother Simeon, “Go up with us to our territory and we’ll fight the Canaanites. Then we’ll go with you to your territory.” And Simeon went with them.
4 So Judah went up. God gave them the Canaanites and the Perizzites. They defeated them at Bezek—ten military units!
5-7 They caught up with My-Master-Bezek there and fought him. They smashed the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My-Master-Bezek ran, but they gave chase and caught him. They cut off his thumbs and big toes. My-Master-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to crawl under my table, scavenging. Now God has done to me what I did to them.”
They brought him to Jerusalem and he died there.
* * *
8-10 The people of Judah attacked and captured Jerusalem, subduing the city by sword and then sending it up in flames. After that they had gone down to fight the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the foothills. Judah had gone on to the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba) and brought Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai to their knees.
11-12 From there they had marched against the population of Debir (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher). Caleb had said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and takes it, I’ll give my daughter Acsah to him as his wife.”
13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, took it, so Caleb gave him his daughter Acsah as his wife.
14-15 When she arrived she got him
to ask for farmland from her father.
As she dismounted from her donkey
Caleb asked her, “What would you like?”
She said, “Give me a marriage gift.
You’ve given me desert land;
Now give me pools of water!”
And he gave her the upper and the lower pools.
* * *
16 The people of Hobab the Kenite, Moses’ relative, went up with the people of Judah from the City of Palms to the wilderness of Judah at the descent of Arad. They settled down there with the Amalekites.
17 The people of Judah went with their kin the Simeonites and struck the Canaanites who lived in Zephath. They carried out the holy curse and named the city Curse-town.
18-19 But Judah didn’t manage to capture Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron with their territories. God was certainly with Judah in that they took over the hill country. But they couldn’t oust the people on the plain because they had iron chariots.
20 They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had directed. Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak.
21 But the people of Benjamin couldn’t get rid of the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. Benjaminites and Jebusites live side by side in Jerusalem to this day.
* * *
22-26 The house of Joseph went up to attack Bethel. God was with them. Joseph sent out spies to look the place over. Bethel used to be known as Luz. The spies saw a man leaving the city and said to him, “Show us a way into the city and we’ll treat you well.” The man showed them a way in. They killed everyone in the city but the man and his family. The man went to Hittite country and built a city. He named it Luz; that’s its name to this day.
27-28 But Manasseh never managed to drive out Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo with their territories. The Canaanites dug in their heels and wouldn’t budge. When Israel became stronger they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they never got rid of them.
29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. The Canaanites stuck it out and lived there with them.
30 Nor did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites in Kitron or Nahalol. They kept living there, but they were put to forced labor.
31-32 Nor did Asher drive out the people of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek, and Rehob. Asher went ahead and settled down with the Canaanites since they could not get rid of them.
33 Naphtali fared no better. They couldn’t drive out the people of Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath so they just moved in and lived with them. They did, though, put them to forced labor.
34-35 The Amorites pushed the people of Dan up into the hills and wouldn’t let them down on the plains. The Amorites stubbornly continued to live in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the house of Joseph got the upper hand, they were put to forced labor.
36 The Amorite border extended from Scorpions’ Pass and Sela upward.
* * *
Judges 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Judges 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Judah’s Leadership against the Canaanites
1 After the death of Joshua,(A) the Israelites inquired of the Lord,(B) “Who will be the first to fight for us against the Canaanites?”
2 The Lord answered, “Judah(C) is to go.(D) I have handed the land over to him.”(E)
3 Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Come with me to my territory, and let us fight against the Canaanites. I will also go with you to your territory.” So Simeon went with him.
4 When Judah attacked, the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites(F) over to them. They struck down 10,000 men in Bezek.(G) 5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, fought against him, and struck down the Canaanites and Perizzites.
6 When Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, seized him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.(H) 7 Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps[a] under my table. God has repaid me for what I have done.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8 The men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire. 9 Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the Judean foothills.[b] 10 Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron(I) (Hebron was formerly named Kiriath-arba(J)). They struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.(K) 11 From there they marched against the residents of Debir(L) (Debir was formerly named Kiriath-sepher).
12 Caleb(M) said, “Whoever strikes down and captures Kiriath-sepher, I will give my daughter Achsah(N) to him as a wife.” 13 So Othniel(O) son of Kenaz, Caleb’s youngest brother, captured it, and Caleb gave his daughter Achsah to him as his wife.
14 When she arrived, she persuaded Othniel[c] to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her,[d] “What do you want?” 15 She answered him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me land in the Negev,(P) give me springs of water also.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.[e](Q)
16 The descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law,(R) had gone up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms[f](S) to the Wilderness of Judah, which was in the Negev of Arad.(T) They went to live among the people.
17 Judah went with his brother Simeon, struck the Canaanites who were living in Zephath, and completely destroyed the town. So they named the town Hormah.(U) 18 Judah captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory.[g] 19 The Lord was with(V) Judah and enabled them to take possession of the hill country, but they could not drive out(W) the people who were living in the valley because those people had iron chariots.[h](X)
20 Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had promised.(Y) Then Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak(Z) who lived there.[i]
Benjamin’s Failure
21 At the same time the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites have lived among the Benjaminites in Jerusalem to this day.(AA)
Success of the House of Joseph
22 The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the Lord was with(AB) them. 23 They sent spies to Bethel (the town was formerly named Luz(AC)). 24 The spies saw a man coming out of the town and said to him, “Please show us how to get into town, and we will treat you well.”(AD) 25 When he showed them the way into the town, they put the town to the sword but released the man and his entire family. 26 Then the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a town, and named it Luz. That is its name to this day.
Failure of the Other Tribes
27 At that time Manasseh failed to take possession of Beth-shean[j](AE) and its villages,[k] or Taanach(AF) and its villages, or the residents of Dor(AG) and its villages, or the residents of Ibleam[l](AH) and its villages, or the residents of Megiddo(AI) and its villages; the Canaanites refused to leave[m] this land.(AJ) 28 When Israel became stronger, they made the Canaanites serve as forced labor but never drove them out completely.(AK)
29 At that time Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived among them in Gezer.[n](AL)
30 Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron or the residents of Nahalol,(AM) so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced labor.
31 Asher failed to drive out the residents of Acco[o] or of Sidon, or Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, because they failed to drive them out.
33 Naphtali did not drive out the residents of Beth-shemesh or the residents of Beth-anath. They lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, but the residents of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served as their forced labor.
34 The Amorites(AN) forced the Danites into the hill country and did not allow them to go down into the valley. 35 The Amorites refused to leave[p] Har-heres, Aijalon,(AO) and Shaalbim. When the house of Joseph got the upper hand,[q] the Amorites[r] were made to serve as forced labor. 36 The territory of the Amorites extended from the Ascent of Akrabbim,(AP) that is from Sela(AQ) upward.
Footnotes
- Judges 1:7 Lit toes are gathering
- Judges 1:9 Or the Shephelah
- Judges 1:14 LXX reads arrived, he pressured her
- Judges 1:14 LXX reads . . . field. She grumbled while on the donkey, and she cried out from the donkey, “Into the southland you sent me out,” and Caleb said
- Judges 1:15 LXX reads give me redemption of water, and Caleb gave her according to her heart the redemption of the upper and the redemption of the lower
- Judges 1:16 = Jericho; Dt 34:3; Jdg 3:13; 2Ch 28:15
- Judges 1:18 LXX reads Judah did not inherit Gaza and its borders nor Ashkelon and its borders nor Ekron and its borders nor Azotus and its surrounding lands
- Judges 1:19 LXX reads hill country, for they were not able to drive out the residents of the valley because Rechab separated it
- Judges 1:20 LXX reads And he inherited from there the three cities of the sons of Anak.
- Judges 1:27 LXX reads Beth-shean, which is a Scythian city
- Judges 1:27 LXX reads its villages or the fields around it
- Judges 1:27 LXX reads Balaam
- Judges 1:27 LXX reads Canaanites began to live in
- Judges 1:29 LXX reads Gezer, and became forced labor
- Judges 1:31 LXX reads Acco, and they became for him forced labor and the residents of Dor
- Judges 1:35 Or Amorites determined to live in
- Judges 1:35 Lit When the hand of the house of Joseph was heavy
- Judges 1:35 LXX reads Joseph became strong on the Amorites, they
Judges 1
New International Version
Judges 1
New International Version
Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites(A)
1 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)”
2 The Lord answered, “Judah(E) shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.(F)”
3 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.
4 When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites(H) into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.(I) 5 It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek(J) and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6 Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
7 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.
8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem(M) also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.
9 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)
Footnotes
- Judges 1:14 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate Othniel, he urged her
- Judges 1:16 That is, Jericho
- Judges 1:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
- Judges 1:17 Hormah means destruction.
- Judges 1:18 Hebrew; Septuagint Judah did not take
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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