Judges 1:1-26 ▼

1 And it came to pass after the death of Joshua, that the sons of Israel asked of YHWH, saying, “Who shall go up for us against the Canaanite as the first to fight against them?”

2 And YHWH said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.”

3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into my allotment, that we may fight against the Canaanite. And will go likewise I with you into your allotment.” And Simeon went with him.

4 And Judah went up, and YHWH delivered the Canaanite and the Perizzite into their hand, and they struck them in Bezek—ten thousand men.

5 And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they struck down the Canaanite and the Perizzite.

6 And Adoni-bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his feet.

7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings, with the thumbs of their hands and their feet cut off, have been scavenging under my table; as I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 And the sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and they took it, and they struck it with the mouth of the sword, and they sent the city into fire.

9 And afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanite dwelling in the hill country, and in the Negev, and in the Shephelah.

10 And Judah went against the Canaanite dwelling in Hebron (and the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they killed Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

11 And they went from there against those dwelling in Debir (and the name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher).

12 And Caleb said, “Whoever strikes down Kiriath-sepher and takes it, I will give to him Acsah my daughter as wife.”

13 And Othniel son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb, took it. And he gave to him Acsah his daughter as wife.

14 And it came to pass in her coming in, that she urged him to ask from her father the field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What shall be unto you?”

15 And she said to him, “Give to me a blessing. Since the land of the Negev you have given me, give to me springs of water.” And Caleb gave to her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 And the sons of the Kenite, father-in-law of Moses, went up from the City of Palms with the sons of Judah into the Wilderness of Judah, which is in the Negev of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they attacked the Canaanite dwelling in Zephath and devoted it to destruction. And they called the name of the city Hormah.

18 And Judah took Gaza and its territory, and Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory.

19 And YHWH was with Judah, and he possessed the hill country. But he did not dispossess those dwelling in the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

20 And they gave to Caleb Hebron, as Moses had said, and he dispossessed from there the three sons of Anak.

21 And the Jebusite who inhabited Jerusalem, the sons of Benjamin did not dispossess. And the Jebusite has dwelt with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 And the house of Joseph went up—even they—against Bethel, and YHWH was with them.

23 And the house of Joseph they sent to spy out in Bethel (and the name of the city was formerly Luz),

24 and the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Show us, please, the entrance to the city, and we will show you kindness.”

25 And he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the mouth of the sword. And the man and all his family they sent away.

26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city, and he called its name Luz; that is its name to this day.