Judges

Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?

1Joshua was Israel's leader. After he died, the people of Israel asked the LORD a question. They said, "Who should go first to fight the Canaanites for us?" The Canaanites were people living in that land.

2And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

2The LORD said, "Judah will go first." Judah was one of Israel's family groups, called tribes. The LORD said, "I have handed the land over to them."

3And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.

3Judah's men spoke to their relatives from the tribe of Simeon. They said, "Come fight the Canaanites in the land given to us. Then we will help you fight in your land." So Simeon's men went with them.

4And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.

4Judah went up to fight. The LORD handed the Canaanites and the Perizzites over to them. At a place called Bezek, they killed ten thousand men.

5And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

5There they found a king named Adoni-bezek. They fought against him and beat his Canaanite and Perizzite soldiers.

6But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

6Adoni-bezek ran away. They chased him and caught him. Then they cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

7And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

7Adoni-bezek said, "I once cut the thumbs and big toes off seventy kings. They had to pick up scraps of food under my table. Now God has done to me what I did to them." They took him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

NoteIn 1611, "meat" meant food of any kind, not just meat from animals. The kings gathered scraps of food under the table. "Threescore and ten" means seventy.

8Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

8The men of Judah fought against the city of Jerusalem and took it. They killed the people there with swords and set the city on fire.

9And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.

9After that, Judah's men went to fight the Canaanites in the hills. They also fought those in the dry south and in the low valleys.

10And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

10Judah went to fight the Canaanites living in Hebron. Hebron used to be called Kirjath-arba. They defeated Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

11And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher:

11From there they went to fight the people of Debir. Debir used to be called Kirjath-sepher.

12And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

12Caleb said, "Whoever attacks Kirjath-sepher and captures it will get a reward. I will give him my daughter Achsah to be his wife."

13And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

13Othniel captured the city. He was the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. So Caleb gave him Achsah to be his wife.

14And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?

14When Achsah came to Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. Then she got down off her donkey. Caleb asked her, "What do you want?"

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

15She said, "Please give me a gift. You gave me dry land in the south. Give me springs of water too." So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

16The Kenites were the family of Moses' father-in-law. They left the City of Palm Trees and went with Judah's men. They came to the dry land of Judah, near Arad. There they lived among the people.

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

17Judah's men went with their relatives from Simeon. They fought the Canaanites who lived in Zephath. They destroyed the city completely and named it Hormah.

18Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.

18Judah also took the cities of Gaza, Askelon, and Ekron. They took the land around each of those cities too.

Note"Coast" here does not mean the seashore. It means the land and borders around a city.

19And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

19The LORD was with Judah. They drove out the people living in the hills. But they could not drive out the people in the valley. Those people had chariots made of iron.

20And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.

20They gave the city of Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had said. Caleb drove the three sons of Anak out of that city.

21And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.

21The people of Benjamin did not drive the Jebusites out of Jerusalem. So the Jebusites still live in Jerusalem with Benjamin's people today.

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

22The family of Joseph also went to fight against the city of Bethel. The LORD was with them.

23And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)

23They sent men to look the city over in secret. Bethel used to be called Luz.

24And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.

24The spies saw a man coming out of the city. They said to him, "Please show us the way in. If you do, we will be kind to you."

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

25The man showed them the way into the city. They killed the people of the city with swords. But they let that man and his whole family go free.

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

26The man went away to the land of the Hittites. He built a city there and named it Luz. It still has that name today.

27Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

27Manasseh's people did not drive out the Canaanites in some cities. Those cities were Bethshean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo, with their small towns. The Canaanites were set on staying in that land.

28And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.

28Later, when Israel grew strong, they made the Canaanites work for them. But they never drove them all out.

Note"Put to tribute" and "tributaries" mean the people had to work for Israel or pay them.

29Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

29Ephraim's people did not drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer. So those Canaanites went on living there among them.

30Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.

30Zebulun's people did not drive out the people of Kitron and Nahalol. Those Canaanites lived among them and had to work for them.

31Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:

31Asher's people did not drive out the people of Accho, Zidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob.

32But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.

32So Asher's people lived among the Canaanites who were already in that land. They did not drive them out.

33Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.

33Naphtali's people did not drive out the people of Bethshemesh and Bethanath. So they lived among the Canaanites of that land. But the people of those two cities had to work for them.

34And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley:

34The Amorites pushed the people of Dan back into the hills. They would not let them come down into the valley.

Note"Would not suffer them" means "would not allow them." In 1611, "suffer" often meant to let someone do something.

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 tributaries.

35The Amorites were set on staying in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But Joseph's family grew strong. Then the Amorites had to work for them.

36And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

36The land of the Amorites began at the pass called Akrabbim. It went on from the rock called Sela and beyond.