| NET Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1After Joshua died, the Israelites asked the LORD, "Who should lead the invasion against the Canaanites and launch the attack?" | 1Sometime after Joshua had died, the Israelis asked the LORD, "Who is to lead us against the Canaanites in our opening attack against them?" |
| 2The LORD said, "The men of Judah should take the lead. Be sure of this! I am handing the land over to them." | 2The LORD replied, "The tribe of Judah is to lead you. Look! I've given the land into their control." |
| 3The men of Judah said to their relatives, the men of Simeon, "Invade our allotted land with us and help us attack the Canaanites. Then we will go with you into your allotted land." So the men of Simeon went with them. | 3But the tribe of Judah told the tribe of Simeon, the descendants of Judah's brother, "Come with us into our territory, and we'll both fight the Canaanites. In return, we'll go with you when you fight in your territory." So the army of the tribe of Simeon accompanied the army of the tribe of Judah. |
| 4The men of Judah attacked, and the LORD handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They killed ten thousand men at Bezek. | 4When the army of the tribe of Judah went into battle, the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their control, and they defeated 10,000 men at Bezek. |
| 5They met Adoni-Bezek at Bezek and fought him. They defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites. | 5They located Adoni-bezek in Bezek, fought him, and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. |
| 6When Adoni-Bezek ran away, they chased him and captured him. Then they cut off his thumbs and big toes. | 6Adoni-bezek ran off, but they pursued him, caught him, and amputated his thumbs and big toes. |
| 7Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up food scraps under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them." They brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. | 7Adoni-bezek used to brag, "Seventy kings without thumbs and big toes used to eat what was left under my table. God has repaid me for what I've done." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he later died there. |
| 8The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They put the sword to it and set the city on fire. | 8Then the army of Judah attacked Jerusalem, captured it, executed its inhabitants, and set fire to the city. |
| 9Later the men of Judah went down to attack the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev, and the lowlands. | 9Later, the army of Judah left Jerusalem to attack the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, the Negev, and the Shephelah. |
| 10The men of Judah attacked the Canaanites living in Hebron. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba.) They killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. | 10They attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Hebron (formerly known as Kiriath-arba) and fought Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. |
| 11From there they attacked the people of Debir. (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) | 11The army of Judah then proceeded to attack the inhabitants of Debir, which used to be known as Kiriath-sepher. |
| 12Caleb said, "To the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher I will give my daughter Acsah as a wife." | 12Caleb announced, "I'll give my daughter Achsah in marriage to whomever leads the attack against Kiriath-sepher and captures it." |
| 13When Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it, Caleb gave him his daughter Acsah as a wife. | 13Othniel, Caleb's nephew through his younger brother Kenaz, captured the city, so Caleb awarded him his daughter Achsah in marriage. |
| 14One time Acsah came and charmed her father so she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, "What would you like?" | 14Later on, after she had arrived, she urged Othniel to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, "What do you want for yourself?" |
| 15She answered, "Please give me a special present. Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water." So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs. | 15"I want this blessing from you," she replied. "Since you've given me land in the Negev, give me water springs, too." So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs. |
| 16Now the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the City of Date Palm Trees to Arad in the desert of Judah, located in the Negev. They went and lived with the people of Judah. | 16The descendants of the Kenites, the tribe from which Moses' father-in-law came, accompanied the descendants of Judah from the city of the palms to the Judean wilderness, which is in the desert area south of Arad, and lived with the people there. |
| 17The men of Judah went with their brothers the men of Simeon and defeated the Canaanites living in Zephath. They wiped out Zephath. So people now call the city Hormah. | 17The army of Judah accompanied the army of Simeon, Judah's brother, as they attacked the Canaanites who were living in Zephath, and they completely destroyed it. Then they renamed the city Hormah. |
| 18The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the territory surrounding each of these cities. | 18The army of Judah captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory. |
| 19The LORD was with the men of Judah. They conquered the hill country, but they could not conquer the people living in the coastal plain, because they had chariots with iron-rimmed wheels. | 19The LORD was with the army of Judah, and they captured the hill country, but did not expel the inhabitants of the valley because they were equipped with iron chariots. |
| 20Caleb received Hebron, just as Moses had promised. He drove out the three Anakites. | 20They gave Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had promised, and he drove out the three sons of Anak from there. |
| 21The men of Benjamin, however, did not conquer the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites live with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this very day. | 21However, the descendants of Benjamin did not expel the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the descendants of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. |
| 22When the men of Joseph attacked Bethel, the LORD was with them. | 22Then the army of the tribe of Joseph attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them. |
| 23When the men of Joseph spied out Bethel (it used to be called Luz), | 23The army of the tribe of Joseph scouted out Bethel, which had been formerly named Luz. |
| 24the spies spotted a man leaving the city. They said to him, "If you show us a secret entrance into the city, we will reward you." | 24The scouts observed a man coming out of the city and they promised him, "Please show us the entrance to the city and we'll deal kindly with you." |
| 25He showed them a secret entrance into the city, and they put the city to the sword. But they let the man and his extended family leave safely. | 25So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they attacked the city with swords, but they let the man and his entire family escape. |
| 26He moved to Hittite country and built a city. He named it Luz, and it has kept that name to this very day. | 26So the man traveled to the land of the Hittites and built a city that he named "Luz," and it is called by that name to this day. |
| 27The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shan, Taanach, or their surrounding towns. Nor did they conquer the people living in Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo or their surrounding towns. The Canaanites managed to remain in those areas. | 27The army of the tribe of Manasseh did not conquer Beth-shean and its villages, Taanach and its villages, the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages. Instead, the Canaanites continued to live in that land. |
| 28Whenever Israel was strong militarily, they forced the Canaanites to do hard labor, but they never totally conquered them. | 28When Israel had grown strong, they subjected the Canaanites to conscripted labor and never did expel them completely. |
| 29The men of Ephraim did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites lived among them in Gezer. | 29The army of the tribe of Ephraim did not expel the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. |
| 30The men of Zebulun did not conquer the people living in Kitron and Nahalol. The Canaanites lived among them and were forced to do hard labor. | 30The army of the tribe of Zebulun did not expel the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but were subjected to conscripted labor. |
| 31The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco or Sidon, nor did they conquer Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob. | 31The army of the tribe of Asher did not expel the inhabitants of Acco nor the inhabitants of Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. |
| 32The people of Asher live among the Canaanites residing in the land because they did not conquer them. | 32So the descendants of Asher lived among the Canaanites who continued to inhabit the land, because they did not expel them. |
| 33The men of Naphtali did not conquer the people living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath. They live among the Canaanites residing in the land. The Canaanites living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced to do hard labor for them. | 33The army of the tribe of Naphtali did not expel the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and the inhabitants of Beth-anath. Instead, they lived among the Canaanites who inhabited the land. However, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath were subjected to conscripted labor. |
| 34The Amorites forced the people of Dan to live in the hill country. They did not allow them to live in the coastal plain. | 34Later on, the Amorites forced the descendants of Dan into the hill country and did not permit them to come into the valleys of the hills. |
| 35The Amorites managed to remain in Har Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. Whenever the tribe of Joseph was strong militarily, the Amorites were forced to do hard labor. | 35Furthermore, the Amorites continued to inhabit Mount Heres in Aijalon and Shaalbim. Eventually, however, after the tribe of Joseph had become strong, the Amorites were subjected to conscripted labor. |
| 36The border of Amorite territory ran from the Scorpion Ascent to Sela and on up. | 36The Amorite border extended upward from the Akrabbim Ascent, that is, from Sela. |
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