- 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? And the Lord said, Judah shall go up. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. And 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 you into your lot. So Simeon went with him. And 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. And they found Adonibezek in Bezek and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites, but Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. And Adonibezek said, Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their food under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
- Now 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. And afterward, the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites that dwelled in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley. And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelled in Hebron (now the name of Hebron before was Kiriath-Arba) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. And from there, he went against the inhabitants of Debir (and the name of Debir before was Kiriath-Sepher). And Caleb said, He that smites Kiriath-Sepher and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife. And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it, and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife. And 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 do you want? And she said unto him, Give me a blessing, for you have given me a south land. Give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. And 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 lies in the south of Arad, and they went and dwelled among the people. And 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. Also, Judah took Gaza with the borders thereof, and Ashkelon with the borders thereof, and Ekron with the borders thereof. And the Lord was with Judah, and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain, but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had chariots of iron. And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said. And he expelled from there the three sons of Anak.
- And 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. And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el, and the Lord was with them. And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Beth-el (now the name of the city before was Luz) and the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Show us, we pray you, the entrance into the city, and we will show you mercy. And when he showed 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. And 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. Neither 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. And it came to pass when Israel was strong that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out. Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelled in Gezer, but the Canaanites dwelled in Gezer among them. Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol, but the Canaanites dwelled among them and became tributaries. Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphek, nor of Rehob, but the Asherites dwelled among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out. Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath, but he dwelled among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them. And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain, for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley, but 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. And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.
- And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I swore unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land, you shall throw down their altars. But you have not obeyed my voice. Why have you done this? Wherefore, I also said, I will not drive them out from before you, but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spoke these words unto 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 unto the Lord. And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance, to possess the land. And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being a hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-Heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
- And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers, and there arose another generation after them who knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baalim. And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. And the anger of the Lord 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, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said and as the Lord had sworn unto them. And they were greatly distressed.
- Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not listen unto their judges, but they went whoring after other gods and bowed themselves unto them. They turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord, but they did not so. And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge, for the Lord listened because of their groanings (by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them). And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned and corrupted themselves more than their fathers in following other gods, to serve them and to bow down unto them. They ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. And he said, Because this people has transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not listened unto my voice, I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died, that through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord, to walk therein as their fathers did keep it, or not. Therefore, the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily, neither did he deliver them into the hand of Joshua.
- Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan (only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof): namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelled in Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath. And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would listen unto the commandments of the Lord which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. And the children of Israel dwelled among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites. And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
THE BOOK OF JUDGES
Chapter 1