Judges 1 — AAB
The Conquest of Canaan Proceeds
1Verse 1After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?”Verse 2“Judah shall go up,” answered the LORD. “Indeed, I have delivered the land into their hands.”Verse 3Then the men of Judah said to their brothers the Simeonites, “Come up with us to our allotted territory, and let us fight against the Canaanites. And we likewise will go with you to your territory.” So the Simeonites went with them.Verse 4When Judah attacked, the LORD delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.Verse 5And there they found Adoni-bezek and fought against him, striking down the Canaanites and Perizzites.Verse 6As Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, seized him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.Verse 7Then Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered the scraps under my table. As I have done to them, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, where he died.The Capture of Jerusalem and Hebron
Verse 8Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.Verse 9Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the foothills.+Verse 10Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (formerly known as Kiriath-arba), and they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.Verse 11From there they marched against the inhabitants of Debir (formerly known as Kiriath-sepher).Verse 12And Caleb said, “To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage.”Verse 13So Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz captured the city, and Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage.Verse 14One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him+to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you desire?”Verse 15“Give me a blessing,” she answered. “Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs of water as well.”So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.Verse 16Now the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms+to the Wilderness of Judah in the Negev near Arad. They went to live among the people.Verse 17Then the men of Judah went with their brothers the Simeonites, attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and devoted the city to destruction.+So it was called Hormah.+Verse 18And Judah also captured+Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron—each with its territory.Verse 19The LORD was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the plains because they had chariots of iron.Verse 20Just as Moses had promised, Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, who drove out the descendants of the three sons of Anak.Verse 21The Benjamites, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the Benjamites.Verse 22The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them.Verse 23They sent spies to Bethel (formerly known as Luz),Verse 24and when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us how to get into the city, and we will treat you kindly.”Verse 25So the man showed them the entrance to the city, and they put the city to the sword but released that man and all his family.Verse 26And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called it Luz, which is its name to this day.